Walking on Sunshine - Part 2

Remember my Mobile Broadband problem?

Well, M1 called me today and updated me on the status of my complaint. I was informed that their engineers are looking into enhancing the signal in my area and that may take a few weeks to complete. I'm totally fine with this.

The following exchange made me feel like a fool (minus the last portion)....
M1 : With regards to your request to downgrade your existing plan (7.2mbps) to 2mbps, we will be able to accomodate it but do note that you will no longer enjoy the discount after the change of plans.
Me : How much is the 2mbps plan without any discount?
M1 : $38
Me : Look, it simply doesn't make sense for me to pay $38 for 2mbps when I'm paying only $34 for 7.2mbps! In fact, I shouldn't even be paying a cent when you are not even fulfilling your SLA!
M1 : Sir, I understand your concerns and our engineers are trying to boost the signal strength in your area.....
Me : Boosting the signal strength has got nothing to do with the discount issue now. I signed up the 7.2mb because your were offering 50% off during the PC Show. Now that you cannot meet the SLA, shouldn't you allow the downgrade together WITH the same offer?
M1 : I understand your concerns, Mr Lee. I'd note your feedback and check with the relevant department before giving you a reply? In the meantime, I'd extend a $10 discount off your current plan for the next 3mths until the signal boost is ready. Hope this is fine with you.
Me : Yes, of course. That will be extremely nice!

I'M WALKING ON SUNSHINE again.... :)

7 Habits of Highly Effective Peoples by Stephen Covey

12 quick tips for boosting your happiness at work

1. Check for eyestrain by putting your hand to your forehead in a salute. If your eyes feel relieved, your work space is too bright.

2. Sit up straight with your shoulders down — every time I adjust my sitting position, I instantly feel more energetic and cheerier.

3. Get a phone headset. I resisted for a long time, because it looks so preposterous, but it’s really much more comfortable. Also, it lets me pace while I talk on the phone, which also looks preposterous, but is energizing.

4. Don’t keep candy on your desk. Studies show that people are much more likely to snack when a treat is within easy reach, and a handful of M&Ms each day could mean a weight gain of five pounds by year’s end.

5. Never say “yes” on the phone; instead, say, “I’ll get back to you.” When you’re actually speaking to someone, the desire to be accommodating is very strong, and can lead you to say “yes” without enough consideration. Along the same lines…

6. When deciding whether to say “yes,” imagine that you’re accepting a job that you’ll have to do next week. Don’t agree to something just because it seems so far off that it doesn’t seem onerous.

7. Don’t let yourself get too hungry. My husband goes without eating for hours and hours at a time, so once, trying to be helpful, I bought him a big bag of granola to keep in his desk. He ate the whole bag in one day and ended up sick as a dog. Lesson: eat regularly.

8. Take care of difficult calls, tasks, or emails as quickly as possible. Procrastinating makes them harder; getting them done gives a big boost of relieved energy.

9. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, think hard about how you spend your time. Be honest. How much time do you spend surfing the internet, looking for things you’ve misplaced, or doing a task that’s really someone else’s job? Also…

10. Let yourself stay ignorant of things you don’t need to know.

11. Go outside at least once a day, and if possible, take a walk. The sunlight and activity is good for your focus, mood, and retention of information.

12. Say “Good morning” to everyone. Social contact is cheering, and if you feel that you’re on good terms with all the people in your office, you’ll be happier each day. Also, it’s polite.

Fat-Free Salad?

Got such a thing?

If you had asked me about it few hours back, I'd tell you "Bullshit! Where got such thing as Fat-Free Salad? The mayo's the killer!"

As I got home from gym today, Z was busy cutting carrots. I was kinda puzzled as arrangement had been made to eat out tonight, didn't she remember? As if turned out, she was busy making salad for 'dessert'. Before she can complete her masterpiece, we went out for dinner....

When we're back, she resumed her 'thing', cooking the macoroni and mixing the mayo into it. I took a look at the Nutrition Information of the mayo and saw 0% fat. Not convinced, I searched through the label on the bottle and found the words "Fat Free Mayo..."!!

Great! Looks like Z can do more salad for me liao :p

The FAT Race

The FAT Race is a term coined from the Arms Race....

The term Arms Race, in its original usage, describes a competition between two or more parties for real or apparent military supremacy. Each party competes to produce larger numbers of weapons, greater armies, or superior military technology in a technological escalation. Nowadays the term is commonly used to describe any competition where there is no absolute goal, only the relative goal of staying ahead of the other competitors.

In the context herein, the FAT Race refers to a 'competition' thats 'taking place' amongst my gym kakis whereby a few of us are trying to 'out do' each other in our bid to lose weight/fats/mass. It was initially started off discreetly by Alan, who had always been mindful of his food intake. Then, Shaw joined the bandwagon because his Personal Trainer instructed him to. Feeling the heat, I took the plunge as well. Soon, Garion, Mich & even Tim is now in the thick of action.

I'm sure all of us can pull it off, save for Tim. He's trying but he's ill-disciplined. The most successful one has got to be Garion, who lost 8kg in 2wks!! He combined dieting (to the extend of only 2 small meals/day?) with lots & lotsa exercise before losing those kgs. Kudos to him! Shaw's another extreme one... He's combining diet with training to the extend of cutting out carbs from 95% of his meals. However, to be honest, I really do not see much results from him... :p

Not too sure about the rest, but I'm taking it easy :
- half portion of carbs each time
- no gravy on rice
- minimal visible animal fats/skins
- no supper
- cereal or fruit bar for breakfast only
- take soupy meal course if possible, especially at night
- drinks with reduced sugar whenever possible
- more vege & meat

Looks simple? It actually is not that simple if you're used to those 'rubbish' diet. A colleague of mine, Gary, could not fathom the thoughts of himself dieting like I do. Also, to keep to a low/no-carb diet is not cheap....

Visit a foodcourt today to do your maths....

Staff Satisfaction Survey 2009

xxx conducted their annual Staff Satisfaction Survey recently. Below's an extract of my response...



Enough said....

A Walk Down Memory Lane....

Something came over me just now which resulted in my not going for BC @ Vivo. I went for a run around my estate instead. This decision isn't easy for me to make because under normal circumstances, I'd choose BC over any other sports. Today, somehow, I also don't know how, laziness managed to set in and 'convinced' me to not go Vivo for BC and go jogging instead.

JOGGING! Yes, the very sport which I had listed in my 'Top 10 Most Disliked Activities' listing. Don't ask me what made me go for a run. As mentioned earlier, 'somehow, I also don't know how'.

I took a relatively 'new' route. New in my context.... I ran down Ave 3 towards Brickland Rd, turn left into it and went straight until I reached the junction of Brickland & Bukit Batok Rd. I took a left here and ran down Bukit Batok Rd towards Choa Chu Kang Rd before making another left into Choa Chu Kang Way.

By the time I stopped at the petrol kiosk along the route for a much needed drink, I was already dripping sweat like never before. The lady behind the counter was careful not to let my hands touch her merchandise :p

With the bottle of Gatorade in, I can no longer run or I'd get stitches. Walking back home, I purposely made a detour such that I'd pass by the row of terrace houses where my cousin used to stay. They've moved away some 10yrs back due to financial difficulties and the house is now occupied by don't know who. There were some cosmetic change such a wider maindoor & a little pond in the front porch. Other things, such as the iron gate, the facade and the exterior flooring remains as per what I can recall from those years.

I stood outside there admiring the surroundings for a few minutes, all the time mindful of the elderly lady a few houses away looking in my direction. She must be wondering whats this sweaty chap doing standing there around my neighbourhood and looking around? As I stood there, memories of yesteryears started surfacing.... I remembered those days where I'd pactically go over to his place every other day to play be it ball or computer games. We'd use the iron gate as goalpost and one of us would be goalkeeper while the other shoot. I remember breaking one of his neighbour's window panes once! We'd also play table tennis too as they used to have a set of table tennis table. At times, they had BBQs or such and we'd all sit outside on the kerb eating and talking....

Oh man... how I missed those days........

For the 1st Time in my BC Regime.....

I walked out in the middle of a class... Sue's class!!

When T1 was on-going, I still felt ok. By T2, can feel something not right already. T3, I was contemplating whether to walk out or not. When T4 comes around, I'm quite sure I need to go. T5.... I walked out.

Rested awhile at the treadmill there b4 going into the changing room and hit the toilet where I spent a good 10mins purging everything (almost) from my system. By the time I completed my shower, the folks had started coming in for theirs'. It's precisely at this time that I realised I'm blessed to have a bunch of caring buddies. As I walked out, each one I met asked (including Sue) : "How come you halfway walked out?"

Even as I typed away now, my tummy's still feeling abit weird. Hope things will turn out properly soon....

When is it coming?

The more I waited, the more anxious I get. The longer it drags, the more disillusioned I get. I've been waiting since last September for it....

Last July, an idiot told me : "I think your technical skills is not good enough..."

With these words, I was determined not to work work under her by next July, which is coming in another 3mths. Why was I so pissed with that idiot that I made up my mind in such a record time? Just imagine if your boss DOESN'T guide you in your work, DOESN'T help you to solve problems when you can't manage and DOESN'T show concerns for you when you showed lack of concentration at work, how are you ever able to perform at your best?

To me, a good boss is not only someone who produces results, but someone who is also able to command the respect of his/her staff. Yes, the idiot produces results but which of her staff is respectful of her? At least I'm not.... Hats off to her in areas of work. But talk about management and communications, she's POS (Piece-Of-Shit)! I cannot fathom why the SM likes her so much that even when her team's got the HIGHEST turnover rate, he still thinks she's doing a great job.

There had been talk of my department under-going a re-organisation since last October and it seemed like very close to coming true already. However, it seemed like the CEO had other ideas and am apparently 'sitting' on the proposal for the moment.

Please SIR, please approve it quickly and get me out of my misery.....

Body Combat Playlist for April 2009

Body Combat Playlist for April 2009 :

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Theme : Body Combat Release 30 (the Release I started off with)

• Track 01 : BC3001, Apache Rocks The Bottom + Somebody Told Me
• Track 02 : BC3002, We’re Not Gonna Take It
  
• Track 03 : BC3003, Shooting Star
  
• Track 04 : BC3004, Rock Me Amadeus
  
• Track 05 : BC3005, Shock To The System
  
• Track 06 : BC3006, Bring The Noise
  
• Track 07 : BC3007, We Will Rock
  
• Track 08 : BC3008, Paradise
• Track 09 : BC3009, Paradise City
  
• Track 10 : BC3010, Because We Believe
  

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Compiled by Uncle Law...