Unfortunately, I can’t. So I choose to eat the lesser of 2 evils.

Growing plants does not increase carbon emissions. In fact, based on what limited knowledge I remember from Science class in school, plants help clean our air and supply us with oxygen. Plants do not emit waste that clog our waterways and pollute our water systems. On the other hand, rearing livestock for human consumption is the highest contributor to carbon emissions and the grain used to feed these livestock can be used to feed the hungry in third world nations instead.

And don’t even get me started on the junk they feed/inject livestock with for them to grow faster with less feed.

Commercial fishing is depleting our oceans faster than they can replenish and fishing activities result in a lot of ‘collateral damage’ i.e. other ocean species being killed in the process of catching your tuna and other types of fish. Seabeds are being damaged from trawling activities to catch your prawns and other sea creatures.

So yes, this is why I choose to reduce my meat (and seafood) consumption.
I choose to stick with my veggies over meat any day, any time.

Why do I spend the extra effort and money to search for and purchase natural/organic products?
Simple. Because I do not wish to put synthetic chemicals in by body and because it is less polluting to the environment. For as long as I can afford it, I am willing to pay extra and spend the effort to get natural/organic products.

When you shower, do you ever wonder where your shampoo and soap/shower gel residue flow to? Do you wonder what chemicals you’re washing your body with? When you wash your dishes after a meal, do you wonder where your dishwashing liquid flows to? When you spray aerosol to get rid of mosquitoes, who breathes in the air containing aerosol particles? When you apply lipstick or foundation or body lotion, do you wonder what chemicals are getting absorbed into your skin (and ultimately into your body)?

I don’t claim to be a completely environmentally-friendly person. Because I’m not. I still drive my fully fuel-powered car everyday. I still use plastic (although bio-degrabable ones).

I try to make changes in small ways. Use less toilet paper each time I use the toilet, use the hand dryer instead of paper towels to dry my hands (I learnt that using the hand dryer uses a bit less energy than it would take to produce paper towels). Refuse plastic bags and use my reusable bags instead when buying things. Buy things in bulk (i.e. larger packaging) as opposed to those that come in small convenient packaging, which adds up to more thrash that we throw away at the end of the day.

If anyone faults me for trying to do the best for myself and the world I live in through my choices above, they should instead reflect on themselves and what they are doing to contribute to making the world a better place. I always maintain that taking care of ourselves and the planet we live in is not a choice. It’s a responsibility. And it’s a responsibility that we should gladly and willingly step up to, because we’re dealing with our own health and our home. Coz heck, isn’t it just common sense to want to take care of one’s health and home? To me, that’s simple enough to understand and want to do something about it.

Myself, I actually enjoy having the windows open and curtains not drawn. I enjoy hearing the sound of the night… not total silence but just a type of silence where I know most of the world around me is asleep but there are a few souls out there still awake, driving their cars or working on their machines.

And the shadows playing on the ceiling and walls of my bedroom, cast from the streetlamps outside, give me a sense of peace and tranquility as I fall into a deep sleep.

*zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz*

I simply cannot stand people who say they want to do something, but let other things sway the path to their goal. But then if they are so easily swayed, maybe what they wish to do is NOT even their goal to begin with.

And if you can’t stick to achieving your goal (due to whatever reasons, except unless you’ve tried your utmost best), please do not complain that you’re not achieving what you set out to achieve. Because I firmly believe that if you really want to achieve something, you can do it. So if you choose to use excuses as reasons for you not achieving what you set out to achieve, sorry buddy, not acceptable.

We can’t make a change unless we ourselves acknowledge the problem and are motivated and committed to make a change.

Firstly, I cannot imagine my ex-boss being this sweet coz he definitely doesn’t show any inkling of it But then again, we’re not his fiancee, haha.

But in all seriousness, I do agree with her. It’s not about grand gestures and big fancy gifts. Women these days are perfectly capable of buying material things on their own. It’s the small, everyday things that matter. Things that may seem trivial but really do show that our partners’ sincerely care for our needs and well-being. And a man who knows how to care for his woman this way (willingly and without being asked to) is a keeper coz they’re quite rare to come by.

This is the guy who would, every morning, drive from their place in Sg. Besi to Jalan Tun Razak (near IJN) to drop her off and drive all the way to Shah Alam to get to work. And he still gets in to office before I do! But when we try to get him to drive out during lunch, he’d be the last to offer I think I know of more guys who are the opposite i.e. who treat their friends/colleagues a tad better than they do their partners.

I wonder what it feels like to be treated like a princess… hmmm…

I wish them both the very best in their lives together

I’m the sort where if I tell you I’m facing a problem, I won’t directly ask for your help (unless I’m really desperate). I work on the understanding that if you care enough and you’re sincere enough to want to help, you would offer. And this offer would mean the world, because it’s from the heart. Because to me, if you need to be told what to do in these situations, then the offer wouldn’t be from the heart, thus would seem less sincere. Actually, even sparing a thought by asking how I’m doing or how my situation is faring would suffice, coz I would most likely decline an offer to help if I can resolve it myself. But just by you asking me how things are, shows me that you care.

I’ve a good friend who’s really good at this. Whenever he hears that I’m not well, he’d call to check how I am and ask if there’s anything I need. And I’m still amazed and touched by his thoughtfulness each time he does. I’m ashamed to admit that I’m not as diligent as he is to do this, but because of him, I’m motivated to remind myself to be a bit more thoughtful, and hopefully making some progress to being a better friend and ultimately, a better person.

What would I do to be healthier?
- Exercise at least 3 times a week consistently. Currently, I’m only at 2x a week.
- Eat healthier, preferably a vegetarian diet. Currently, I do eat fish and some seafood.
- Watch my portioning. I think Malaysians eat too much for our own good because we have so many types of yummy (but unhealthy food) available anywhere, anytime. I pledge not to eat more than I need.

What I’m currently doing :
- Avoiding deep fried food
- Avoiding carbonated drinks (I allow myself the occasional 1oo-plus and Coke)
- Eating my veggies. I love veggies!

If there’s nothing else I admire about the Scandinavians at the workplace (work-wise, that is), the one thing that I DO admire about them is how well they keep themselves in shape. I was told that our CEO can run a full marathon without any problems. I know another colleague who is an avid cyclist and diver. An American dude is always seen munching on his fruits during meetings. I don’t work with many of them but from physical appearance alone, most of them appear to be quite trim so I assume they do something to keep themselves in shape.

So I am very glad that our CEO is promoting being healthy. Hopefully this will trigger people to rethink their lifestyle and make a change for the better. Being healthy is not a one-off effort. It requires ongoing commitment and effort to maintain and remain healthy till we’re old and grey.

Started with a sorethroat on Saturday, then my cough came back. That was the worst bummer because it took me so bloody long and a whole bottle of cough syrup to get rid of it. Phoeey.

Now my nose is runny and I’m sneezing my head off. Shucks.

Regardless of this all, I’m still reluctant to take the flu jab. Never been much of a fan of vaccinations of illnesses that continuously evolve like the flu bug. The first time I took the jab (1.5 years ago) was almost under duress — the doc jabbed me before I could make my final decision. Although that year, I didn’t catch the flu that often, but the drawback is that the flu vaccination needs to be updated every year. So this means a new jab every single year. Bleargh.

No thanks you. Let’s see how long I can do this without getting jabbed again.

The fever went off for a while after I took 2 Panadols but by the next morning, it was back again in full force. Went to the doc to get checked up and got another prescription of antibiotics. Yucks.

Decided that I’ve had enough of getting sick (and I didn’t want to take the flu jab*), I went to see the doc who practices traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) because I do feel that Western medication usually only addresses the symptoms, not the root cause of the problem. Here, root cause being my weakened immune system. However, I’m a bit wary of TCM because sometimes, I don’t know what they put in the meds, especially the grounded up ones in powder form (could be some endangered animal bones, for all I know), but I’m ok with the roots/herbs they prescribe to be boiled and drunk because I can see that they are either roots or seeds or flower buds.
*I took my first and only flu jab in 2009 under pressure from my doc at that time, and I wanted to try avoiding it this time

So this time, as the doc listened to my pulse, he picked up on my ectopic heartbeat. The last time that I went to see him (which was a few years ago), I haven’t yet developed this condition. I informed him that I’d already been to a cardiologist to get it checked out but they didn’t find anything wrong with me so I just thought I had to live with it. The TCM doc told me that this condition can cause the immune system to weaken and that it can be fixed by taking some herbs.

Just a quick note, this TCM doc is not one of those seemingly quack doctors you sometimes see at some dingy-looking Chinese medical hall. This guy had graduated from the University of Shanghai in this area of study. So I’m pretty confident with his prescriptions plus my mom and sis have been seeing him for health supplements for years.

Anyway, in addition to the roots/herbs I had to boil and drink for my flu, he also prescribed me with a week’s supply of some sort of powdered meds, which I’m supposed to take morning and night for a week, after which I’m to go back to him for a follow up. My only concern about this powdered concoction is that I have no idea what’s in it! I did ask him if it’s only herbs and he said yes. But then again, I didn’t ask specifically what herbs is in it, not that I would know what they were if he did tell me. So I can only hope and pray that it doesn’t contain any parts of endangered animal(s) *crossing fingers*

I believe it all stemmed from an agreement that his mom had apparently made, pertaining to one of their yearly family traditions, which conflicted with his wife’s family’s tradition. They had proposed a compromise where the could would perform the tradition but on another day, which my friend’s mom had agreed to initially. But later on, she apparently did an about turn and changed her mind, accordingly to my friend. Which resulted in an argument and in them not speaking to each other since then.

While I think that family is family (i.e. blood is thicker than water, and all that), and at the end of the day, we’re stuck with each other and it may be best to forgive and forget (unless what was committed was so severe in consequence — I can’t imagine what), I commend my friend for standing up to his mom for what they had agreed about. I find that it is difficult to find Asian men who have the guts to stand up to their parents, especially when it comes to defending their wives. It’s not about taking sides, it’s about doing what is required when the need calls for it. And a lot of Asian men, sad to say, are not capable of stepping up to the role. At least for my friend’s wife, she doesn’t have to worry about her husband being a mommy’s boy who gives in to all his mom’s demands.

I do hope that my friend will make up with his mom soon though.

Yesterday was the first day after getting sick on Cambodia last Friday, that I managed a good meal

It’s good to be on the mend.