This morning I went for a 2 hours hike and I wasn't tired at all, in fact I was leading on the way back! :) The work outs have certainly paid off! I'm also pretty happy given I was having a breathing problem.
For some reason, while I was cantering a couple of days ago, my chest felt very heavy and with each bounce in the canter I can feel the pressure of something crushing down inside me. After that, it hurt every time I take a deep breathe.
Not sure how this suddenly happened, it maybe because of the roller coaster ride that I went on a few days earlier during Halloween inside Knott's scary farm. I walked away from the ride with a hoarse voice, bruised knees and pelvic bones. You think how can someone get this from just a ride, well I was super anxious and tense thus my body must have been rigid and was likely bashing around in the roller coaster cage. Arghh...it really gets to me that I'm can't enjoy roller coasters and other awesome rides. I see others having so much fun and I'm just so damn envious.
Or it could be because of my horse fall a couple of weeks ago where I got winded. And speaking of horse riding, I got a flat tire the other night after a riding lesson.
It was dark and I wanted to get home quickly but thought I'd better change the flat tire so I pulled into a gas station to borrow some light. I have to say that my car jack thing is pretty inefficient (at least how I was using it). A cute guy came and asked if I needed any help, I said no I will be okay although I know I was not, he ended up leaving but came back to make sure I was okay, I just ignored him (I have to stop doing this). Of course, the bolts were rusted and although I hate to say this, I wasn't strong enough to unscrew them, so I decided to risk it and drive home in my flat tire. On the freeway, my car suddenly went stagnant at 50miles/hr and slowly died down as I smelled the horrible stench of burning rubber. Damn! I pulled over to the emergency stopping lane and called Geico. The Geico guy assumed that I must be scared, hm not particularly given I got myself into this mess. 40min later a tire changer guy came but it was too narrow for him to work since I was parked on a bridge. Long story short, CHP (California Highway Patrol) dropped by and stopped all traffic so that my car can safely rumble off the freeway. So yeah, because of my flat tire the 134E freeway was temporarily shut down.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Saturday, October 23, 2010
NZ Trip Planning and Other Things
Alright, so we are going to New Zealand for our vacation! It will be a 11 day epic journey! (may not be as epic as Lord of Rings but then again I'm not yet prepared to sacrifice myself for the good of human race) I can't wait for all the hiking, seeing the beautiful scenery, breath in the fresh air and in general just having a good time. I hope to incorporate some horse riding, mountain bike riding and perhaps jet skiing in the trip too. I've literally been counting down the days and thought I should note down how excited I am now because as a mere human being subject to the enigmatic human nature, the excitement of the wait and build up can sometimes overwhelm and diminish the excitement during the actual thing...
I'm watching the Joy Luck Club, I've been meaning to see this for quite sometime! It's a story about the lives of 4 Chinese women raised in China and their daughters who are born in America. The movie does stereotype a few things but there are many things that are very realistic. Like how Chinese families tend to show off their worth through the achievements of their children and the general public display of self criticism. The mother-daughter relationships are portrayed I think almost perfectly here. The parts about why a mother took opium and suicided and why another gave up her twin daughters - when you find out the reasons behind them it will leave you stunned and in awe of the wonderful moms that they are. The significance of 2 sides to every story is depicted very well here! And by the way, all of the men-women relationships here are flawed and so complicated that it makes me happy that I'm not in a relationship. The real reason is probably because I can't afford to get my heart broken. Anyway back on track, all in all, it's a beautiful and candid movie. I will surely watch this again and I do highly recommend it.
On a side note, I fell for the 3rd time while horse riding today. Florida spooked again and I fell off (she was the culprit behind one of my other falls too). I was doing cantering and my instructor was telling me to slow down a bit, which I tried but the spooking process has already began and she didn't listen, we came around a corner while she was doing her kicking thing, I lost balance and fell. I landed on my side and used my arm as support. It didn't really hurt but now I understand what it means to get winded from an accident, because I tried to stand up immediately and discovered that I could hardly breathe! I had to sit back down and take some slow deep breathes! My arm was bleeding a bit, after tacking Florida up etc I went to wash up and sprayed some alcohol ahhh how it stung!
I'm watching the Joy Luck Club, I've been meaning to see this for quite sometime! It's a story about the lives of 4 Chinese women raised in China and their daughters who are born in America. The movie does stereotype a few things but there are many things that are very realistic. Like how Chinese families tend to show off their worth through the achievements of their children and the general public display of self criticism. The mother-daughter relationships are portrayed I think almost perfectly here. The parts about why a mother took opium and suicided and why another gave up her twin daughters - when you find out the reasons behind them it will leave you stunned and in awe of the wonderful moms that they are. The significance of 2 sides to every story is depicted very well here! And by the way, all of the men-women relationships here are flawed and so complicated that it makes me happy that I'm not in a relationship. The real reason is probably because I can't afford to get my heart broken. Anyway back on track, all in all, it's a beautiful and candid movie. I will surely watch this again and I do highly recommend it.
On a side note, I fell for the 3rd time while horse riding today. Florida spooked again and I fell off (she was the culprit behind one of my other falls too). I was doing cantering and my instructor was telling me to slow down a bit, which I tried but the spooking process has already began and she didn't listen, we came around a corner while she was doing her kicking thing, I lost balance and fell. I landed on my side and used my arm as support. It didn't really hurt but now I understand what it means to get winded from an accident, because I tried to stand up immediately and discovered that I could hardly breathe! I had to sit back down and take some slow deep breathes! My arm was bleeding a bit, after tacking Florida up etc I went to wash up and sprayed some alcohol ahhh how it stung!
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Chocolate/Nut/Fruit Cookie Recipe
I'm glad to say that the cookies I'm baking now are made from scratch. And damn! do they taste good! I realized that the main problem I was having was that I didn't add enough butter (for health reasons of course) but the perfect amount of butter is essential.
So here I have my eclectic cookie recipe. I don't have a measuring cup - so I've described everything in terms of handfuls (very rudimentary I know)
Ingredients
1 stick of butter
1 egg
3 handfuls of normal unbleached flour
1 handful of walnut pieces
1/2 handful of dried fruits (I used mixed berries - cranberries, cherries and blueberries)
1 handful of baking chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate)
a generous dash of brown sugar
a tiny sprinkle of baking powder
melt butter and mix with egg, add everything else and mix together thoroughly, separate into 12 portions on a baking tray and flatten them out (otherwise you will end up with ugly looking golf ball cookies), stick them into a preheated oven at 350oF and bake for 12-15min.
very simple and delicious! mmm
So here I have my eclectic cookie recipe. I don't have a measuring cup - so I've described everything in terms of handfuls (very rudimentary I know)
Ingredients
1 stick of butter
1 egg
3 handfuls of normal unbleached flour
1 handful of walnut pieces
1/2 handful of dried fruits (I used mixed berries - cranberries, cherries and blueberries)
1 handful of baking chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate)
a generous dash of brown sugar
a tiny sprinkle of baking powder
melt butter and mix with egg, add everything else and mix together thoroughly, separate into 12 portions on a baking tray and flatten them out (otherwise you will end up with ugly looking golf ball cookies), stick them into a preheated oven at 350oF and bake for 12-15min.
very simple and delicious! mmm
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Another year has gone by
I'm writing this on the eve of my 25th birthday. I remember when I was 18 I thought I was already getting old and made a decision that I shall die at the age of 40 because I didn't think I could deal with aging both in terms of appearance and deterioration of health. As I look back on this now I can't help but laugh at my nativity and narrow-mindedness in viewing life.
For the past few birthdays, I've been feeling somewhat bitter-sweet as each one comes and goes. Bitter in that I hoped I have accomplished more than I have in the passing year and also as I come to a greater realization of just how fleeting life is. Sweet in that I have gained more life experiences and hopefully became a better person. Yes, I'm always trying to become a better person, although I can't exactly pin-point what makes one a good person. I guess that definition is rather subjective. But the acknowledgment of one's imperfections is a start and humbleness in dealing with others is also important.
Life is but a dream - time flies by just like that and sometimes you look back and regret the things you've done or worse you haven't done. Yet unlike dreams, we have control over our own paths in life and so my motto for the coming year is, learn from the past, live in the moment and hope for the future....
For the past few birthdays, I've been feeling somewhat bitter-sweet as each one comes and goes. Bitter in that I hoped I have accomplished more than I have in the passing year and also as I come to a greater realization of just how fleeting life is. Sweet in that I have gained more life experiences and hopefully became a better person. Yes, I'm always trying to become a better person, although I can't exactly pin-point what makes one a good person. I guess that definition is rather subjective. But the acknowledgment of one's imperfections is a start and humbleness in dealing with others is also important.
Life is but a dream - time flies by just like that and sometimes you look back and regret the things you've done or worse you haven't done. Yet unlike dreams, we have control over our own paths in life and so my motto for the coming year is, learn from the past, live in the moment and hope for the future....
Monday, September 27, 2010
Updates
I've being living in my new apartment for about 6 weeks now. It took 3 weekends and around $2000 to get everything set up. I have to say that my place is quite beautiful and have a modern yet cozy feel to it. It's seriously wonderful and relaxing to have place to call my own!
An update on my horse riding crusade. I've been going horse riding every Thursday night and I'm progressing on cantering. I'm also supposed to do the sitting trot, I say 'supposed to' because I think it's physically impossible. During this rather uncomfortable ordeal, the horse is hurting me and I'm sure I'm hurting the horse...we'll see how that goes. Btw I'm still eagerly awaiting for jumping...
My Dell Adamo laptop broke on me, long story short - it's a piece of junk from the beginning. So tonight after some serious thought I got a Mac Pro (although I stubbornly refused to before cos I just don't like the look of it). But it's benefits seem to outweigh my initial and hopefully dying prejudice. 3 years later, when I get my signing contract, I'm going to get my beloved Sony Vaio Z series laptop :) I'll just suck it up for now with a Mac although at $1399 plus tax (and $200 applecare) there really shouldn't be any complaints.
Lately, I feel that I haven't being working hard enough. I've being going into work at 9 and leaving at 6. It would all be very well if I was productive, but I think waking up late really kills my day. Then again, it is SO hard to get up early. This can not keep going. I've decided to work from 8am to 6pm from now on and also come in on Saturdays as necessary. As time progresses, I hope to change to 7 to 6 workdays.
An update on my horse riding crusade. I've been going horse riding every Thursday night and I'm progressing on cantering. I'm also supposed to do the sitting trot, I say 'supposed to' because I think it's physically impossible. During this rather uncomfortable ordeal, the horse is hurting me and I'm sure I'm hurting the horse...we'll see how that goes. Btw I'm still eagerly awaiting for jumping...
My Dell Adamo laptop broke on me, long story short - it's a piece of junk from the beginning. So tonight after some serious thought I got a Mac Pro (although I stubbornly refused to before cos I just don't like the look of it). But it's benefits seem to outweigh my initial and hopefully dying prejudice. 3 years later, when I get my signing contract, I'm going to get my beloved Sony Vaio Z series laptop :) I'll just suck it up for now with a Mac although at $1399 plus tax (and $200 applecare) there really shouldn't be any complaints.
Lately, I feel that I haven't being working hard enough. I've being going into work at 9 and leaving at 6. It would all be very well if I was productive, but I think waking up late really kills my day. Then again, it is SO hard to get up early. This can not keep going. I've decided to work from 8am to 6pm from now on and also come in on Saturdays as necessary. As time progresses, I hope to change to 7 to 6 workdays.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Space tourism
It looks like space tourism is becoming a reality within the next decade, with Boeing joining Virgin Galactic in this commercial market. Going to space has been a dream of mine since...forever?! That was the reason why I wanted to become an astronaut when I was small with hopes of exploration and discovery.
Now there are flights available at 200k per person for a 2hour Low Earth Orbit (LEO) ride. Where according to Virgin Galactic you will be a 'future astronaut' haha...This is like calling a passenger on a ship a 'sailor', anyway just one of their marketing strategies aimed at rich arrogant folks. People have been going to space and landing on the moon since decades ago. The only differences now are that this will be LEO flight, where the money comes and goes, and purpose of the flight. I want to go to space for exploration and hopefully learn and discover new things for the advancement of human race - which space tourism does not seem capable of offering. But hey, if I have money sitting around and could not find any better use for it for instance my less fortunate fellow human beings, then why not splurge on this indulgence...
Now there are flights available at 200k per person for a 2hour Low Earth Orbit (LEO) ride. Where according to Virgin Galactic you will be a 'future astronaut' haha...This is like calling a passenger on a ship a 'sailor', anyway just one of their marketing strategies aimed at rich arrogant folks. People have been going to space and landing on the moon since decades ago. The only differences now are that this will be LEO flight, where the money comes and goes, and purpose of the flight. I want to go to space for exploration and hopefully learn and discover new things for the advancement of human race - which space tourism does not seem capable of offering. But hey, if I have money sitting around and could not find any better use for it for instance my less fortunate fellow human beings, then why not splurge on this indulgence...
Monday, September 6, 2010
Super sweet chocolate chip cookies
Very random post - but I haven't baked anything (haven't opened an oven) since coming to the states and a couple of days ago I decided to bake some cookies which was quite monumental. I can't exactly say that I made them all by myself cos I got one of those premixed packages. All I had to do was mix a stick of butter and an egg before adding the premix = cookie dough ready for baking. I baked them for 15min cos I like hard and crunchy cookies. The appetizing aroma from the oven was heavenly albeit a bit too sweet. Taste test...what did they put in those chocolate chips!? It has to be the sweetest thing that I've tasted! Nevertheless, I'm very happy with my otherwise tasty and hard cookies and from now on, I shall be making my own cookies rather than buying them. I see some nuts and perhaps dried fruits mixed in in the future and I'll also be making them from scratch.
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