New Life in Singapore

It's been about 2 weeks since I arrived in Singapore. I just got my internet broadband yesterday, so I can start blogging again. After all life is not bad over here, at least for me.. I heard a lots of unpleasant things prior of leaving... i.e too strict, no freedom, cannot do this, cannot do that, cost of living very high etc....

I am not in exception, but as usual, I don't allow my judgment to be overshadowed by those remarks.... I used to think about the suffering I will have to endure  without my car, about have to get up early in the morning, about having to start over to build my network again and all those sort of "What If" questions which popping out of my mind most of the time.

It was not easy for me to make this decision, but as usual, I prayed. Thanks God, after about 2 weeks over here, everything seems to be alright.... work wise, well, ppl seems to be able to accept me even not all of them. You know, some people are mentally unstable, how good or friendly you trying to be, they just ignore you or pretend like you does not exist. But, that's just a small matter. Most important thing now is to find my footing.

Living cost? I would say it's cheaper compare to Malaysia if we compare dollar to dollar. In KL my average 1 day meal expenses like Breakfast -RM 2.5 (canteen food), Lunch - RM5-8(Including drinks) and dinner easily about RM6-8. So 1 day meals can reach up to RM16 - 18/day. But in Singapore, my breakfast is only $0.8 (Free tea and coffee).... my lunch and dinner hardly exceed $5 respectively (normal hawker shop).. so all in all its about $8-10.

What abt other things? I would say general items here are relatively cheaper. (Based on my experience) Energizer battery (2pcs) is $1.6 compare to RM 4, my favorite choclate is $4.5 compare to RM 8.3, KFC snake plate is $6.7 compare to RM9, shower cream is $4 compare to RM7 etc... There are lots more items which I found cheaper here..... Beer? believe me its only around $2.3/can (tiger  n carls)... Even with this price, they claimed it still expensive.

The only thing that I found quite expensive here is the accommodation. I am renting a common room at $700/mth for couple. Earlier I thought it was reasonable, anyhow many of  friends of mine told me otherwise. So, I am waiting until everything is stable first before making the next move. Some more, the environment is quite comfortable here. So will decide later on whether wana move out or not.

Transportation is very convenient and systematic. I thought I will feel isolated without my car ready at hand, but no... there are ample access to buses and trains as well. You can go almost everywhere as the transportation is well connected. You only need to know which bus to take. For MRT, its quite straight forward.

Lastly, I am getting my internet broadband at $27/month for 2.0Mbps speed. Do you know how much we have to pay for half of the speed in Malaysia? Its about 100 plusss.... The highest speed available here is 7.2 Mbps with monthly subscription of $41....cheap and affordable right?

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Men's Health 2010 Run Result (My result)

It was rainy evening. I woke up at 6.13 pm and rushed to shower. I did realized that I already late. Not to mentioned that I sent my running shirt to the laundry. After picked them up, we (Me n my roommate) left house around 7pm. Federal highway was slow moving. I took the emergency lane hoping that there were no police around. Some more it was raining.

Upon reaching the highway, I sped off up to 140km/hr (max). I am very proud of my kelisa .... its still doing a good job for me. Still young and kicking.. kekke ... So I arrived at Putrajaya around 740pm.... change everything inside the car and went straight to the starting point..... Luckily I managed to pee.

I felt good. Everything is nice as it wasn't raining in Putrajaya. As usual I put my music on... Once I passed the gantry point, I look at my watch... its 2-3 minutes pass 8pm.... So just assume I started at 8pm.... Route were smooth, sometimes a bit hilly... Scenery was great... I was astonished when I passed through the bridge. It was beautiful....

There were some point where I  felt tired, slight muscle cramp and pain di bawah perut. But thank God, it slowly disappear.  When I saw the distance marker (Another 3 km to go), I looked at my watch. It was 850pm. I remembered that it was what I trained myself for.... 20 minutes to complete 3km.. So, its a good estimate that in 20 minutes I will reach the finishing line. I try to run faster and faster....

Approximately 9.10 pm, I reached the finishing line. I got my cert without name printed on it. But, WHERE IS MY MEDAL??? I realized that even with 70 minutes to complete 12.3 Km, is not good enough to be on the Top 85. But never mind. This is my best time so far.... I am happy for it, even though I might not be able to maintain it in a long distance run.

THESE ARE WHAT I GOT

Pics are blur since my camera phone is not that good to capture picture during nite time.

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Proceed on: "Men's Health 2010 Run Result (My result)"

Mens Health Run 2010

Tomorrow I will be joining the Men's Health Run 2010 which will be held in Putrajaya. One of the main attraction of this event for me is this:

Every participant will receive a goodie bag* containing: • A Men’s Health bag • A Runner’s tee** from Reebok worth RM79 • Nature Valley® Crunchy Granola Bars • BIC® Easy Clic (Starter Kit) & BIC® 3 Shaver (pack of 2) worth RM10 • Johnson Fitness Sports Towel • 3 bottles of Clear Men 30ml Shampoo • 3 bottles of Clear Anti-Dandruff 30ml Shampoo • Naturale Choice Veggie Snackl • Juice Works Free Drink Voucher worth RM10 • Kenko 30mins Fish Spa Voucher worth RM38 • NT-Flam™ 5’s • Perskindol sachets & Guardian voucher worth RM5 off Perskindol range of products • TruDtox Tea Bag • 7-UP Revive 325ml • Bleu Mineral Water 600ml • True Fitness 14-Day Membership:

I got my runner's race pack yesterday. The T-shirt design by the way is kinda weird. I feel like a "Gaban" wearing that. Some more its thicker and heavier compare to PBIM Shirt. Luckily it's just 12.3 KM away. As relieving as it may sound, only the first 85 runners will receive qualifying medal.

So, the big question is... AM I GOING TO BE AMONG THE 85? Well, I don't know. But I set my target to complete in 70 minutes. Whether this 70 minutes/12.3 KM will qualify me for a medal, I don't know. I will try to push and maintained my speed at 11-12 km/hr. Even with this speed will takes me approximately an hour to the finishing line. 

Do you know at what speed I train myself on the treadmill? 10km/hr... and its not more that 20 minutes running as I want to spare some energy for weight lifting as well. Looking backwards, what makes me to start this kind of lifestyle? It's all due to my first ever blood test  result which shows my cholesterol level as high. 

I encourage you all my blog reader, to do everything in your power to keep yourself healthy. Prevention is better than cure and it's really true! It's far more important than money.... (Jangan sudah sakit baru telangap-langap mau cari pakar specialist)

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I am going home...

Yesss... Today is the day! I am going back to my lovely hometown. I am packing my stuff now. Will catch my flight in the afternoon. I feel happy and relieved. I am happy because I can go for a long holiday, enjoy the foods and meeting with my frens n family. It will be a wonderful time over there. I relieved because I am getting better from the Flu. I can't wait to see my fiancee too.

My post will be very short today as I need more time to pack up my things... hahaha. One thing for sure, I will be enjoying lots and lots of beers as I have several events to attend. Wedding events for sure, and some outings as well. So, who cares.... I am not working anyway :)

One nice facts I read from the magazine (Menhealth). We always think that beer gives us belly. But the fact is:

1. When  we drink alcohol, liver stop using fatty acids for  fuel and switches to using alcohol instead.

2. So, it leaves the fatty acids it should have been using to be stored in adipose tissue.

3. Eventually, beer belly is formed.

Thank you, and have a great day! (THE END)

Proceed on: "I am going home..."

Health

I received my blood n urine test result recently and everything is good except my cholesterol & uric acid level which is higher compare to normal. I am just wondering why my cholesterol level never falls within the normal range. Of course it reduced from 6.3 MMol/L to 5.7, but the reference range should be below 5.2 MMol/L. I guess, this is what happen when 98% of your diet is meat-based. I dont like fish. It's smelly! Well, what I have to say is, it could be worse if I didn't exercising. So, be it.

As a summary;

Uric Acid = 0.44 MMol/L (Ref: 0.20 - 0.42)

Total Cholesterol = 5.7 MMol/L (Ref: < 5.2)
LDL = 3.8 MMol/L (Ref: < 2.6)
HDL = 1.26 MMol/L (Ref: >1.024)

Apart from that, my Hepatitis A & B result is nonreactive. So, immunisation shall definitely be considered as a prevention act. :)

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I Dont Know

I had been busy lately. I mean in the office; as there are a lot of things to do. Anyhow I enjoyed doing it, as it is not boring. Relationship has improved as I gained more respect and responsibility than before. Thanks to God for answering my prayer….. and thanks to my ex-company, for the precious knowledge they had given me. It’s really worth it.

I’d finish downloading Prison Break E21 & E22. Thanks to Mr Well, for such a resourceful blog. I am gonna watch it tonight after taking my medication. I transferred money into my ASB account through Maybank2u. But I am not sure whether it goes through or not. So, I tried for a small amount first. Need to update my account especially the correspondence address which is still written USM Transkerian as the current record.

Yesterday my friend sent me an email which contains a picture of a kind of food which I used to eat during my childhood as what people say can cure sinusitis or Resdung ka??? It’s a pig nose (Hidung babi). I forgot to save the picture but it seems very delicious. Hehehehe

Well, talking about swine flu, eating the SWINE actually does not make you get the flu. I read about this before, but still some people seem to be misunderstood. See the Sabah Government banned for pork import. But, it’s ok. Sabah does not need imported pork. They have enough on their own; be it a city swine or a jungle swine (New Term)….. hehehe. But I love both.

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I sick

I went back from KL yesterday, and now I am not feeling good. I went to see a doctor just now and took some medication and try to sleep but my eyes resisted. I get up and I think I should write something while waiting for my eyes to get heavy. What’s wrong with me? Actually I got fever. The doctors said, I should wait for another 2 days before going for the Swine Flu screening. Suru sita, palis palis.

It’s not necessary but just as precaution step. I hate being sick. Especially during this time where people getting very sensitive if they sense that you are likely not feeling well. I need to be extra careful taking my medication tomorrow to avoid chaos. Now I am feeling drowsy. Need to sleep now.

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Thought of Friday.....

I am glad, today is Friday. I was busy thinking about my job, my career. Indeed, I contributed most of my time and energy to prepare myself, applying for jobs here and there, both government and private sector. I believe some people will think that I am crazy… looking for a job in this tough time? Might not be a good move, might be the opposite too. But, in the end, what I think is that matter.

I was a bit surprised as I lose 3kg from my total body weight. I had been exercising regularly for the past 4 weeks, with an intention of maintaining my health, as I am diagnosed with high cholesterol level. Today, one of my colleagues from other department which haven’t seen me for that period told me that I looked thinner. I checked it out and found that I indeed lose 3 kilos. Actually I want to maintain my ideal body weight which is 60kg. I guess I need to eat more from now onwards.

Next week will be marked a start of the Lent season. I will attend the Ash Wednesday Mass on the 25th February 2009 at 8.00pm. What is Ash Wednesday?

It is a day when we remember our mortality and mourn for our sins. We again convert our hearts to the Lord, who suffered, died, and rose for our salvation. We renew the promises made at our baptism, when we died to an old life and rose to a new life with Christ.

I didn’t realize that, next week will be the last week of February. There will be another one month before we can say, 1st Qtr of 2009. I still remember last year when I said, my plan will be accomplished within the 1Q of 2009. I do not want to say anything before the 1st Q of 2009 is over. Hopefully everything gonna be okay.

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Cholesterol

Today I received my blood test result. My concerned is about my cholesterol level. Anyhow, the latest result shows an improvement. My cholesterol level already reduced to almost a normal range. Just slightly higher.


Normal Total Cholesterol <5.2>

August Result = 6.3 mmol/L
Jan 09 Result = 5.3 mmol/L


Normal LDL Cholesterol <2.6>

August Result = 4.2 mmol/L
Jan 09 Result = 3.5 mmol/L

Normal Triglycerides <1.7>

Jan 09 Result = 1.3 mmol/L

How it can reduced?
1. Reduce meat intake, especially pork.
2. Increase vege n fruits consumption
3. Force to Eat more fish – sweet n sour (I don’t really like to eat fish)

I believe as I add up regular exercise in my health plan, my LDL will reduce further…. Will follow up after 3 months later…. Year 2009 is the time to live a healthy life… I am 27 man… 27 yrs old…. Ahh… muda lagi bah….

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