Gazebo

Before

After Today's short story is about our KL home, in particular our little green patch at the back i.e. 'The Garden'. This little garden is our pappa's passionate hobby. He has nurtured the bare space (since we moved in 2006) into a beautiful garden.

Finally our long ago purchased gazebo (personally hand-picked and brought over via sea from Bali) has been fixed in our garden. It was constructed yesterday and I will only be seeing it next month as I am in Borneo now.

My father-in-law forwarded a picture of the gazebo via mms (Note: I am impressed that my 75 old pappa is so up to date - so 'canggih' unlike some young chap that I know. That young chap happens to be very dear to me and stays with me tapi sampai sekarang tak erti guna mms...ada saja alasan dia tak mau belajar...penatlah, nak tidurlah, tak ada mood lah etc. etc. etc. Sigh!!)

I have attached 2 photos (the garden before gazebo and after gazebo been placed).

9 Perfect Fitness Food

Ready to eat your way to better results? These 9 food and drink items are guaranteed to make any type of exercise you do more effective—long after you’ve broken a sweat.

Source: http://health.yahoo.com/experts/eatthis/33979/8-perfect-fitness-foods/


1. SPINACH

Spinach is muscle fuel. But not because it instantly turns you lean and sexy. Researchers from Rutgers University found that a compound in the leafy green increases protein synthesis by 120 percent, helping your muscle tissue to repair itself faster after you work out. The problem, however, is that you’d have to eat Popeye-sized quantities to experiences dramatic results (we’re talking almost 2 pounds of the iron-packed veggies a day). The good news is that spinach isn’t the only food that can help you to look and feel better than ever--even when you're not exercising.The right fitness foods help burn fat, build muscle, and even boost your cardiovascular health. Ready to eat your way to better results?

2.PINEAPPLE AND PAPAYA:

Good For: Muscle recovery.

Both of these tropical fruits are loaded with bromelain and papain, enzymes that not only help break down proteins for digestion but also have anti-inflammatory properties to speed up your post-workout recovery.

3.SALMON

Good for: Cardiovascular fitness.

Australian researchers found that cyclists who took fish oil for 8 weeks had lower heart rates and consumed less oxygen during intense bicycling than a control group did. The fatty acids in fish oil need to become incorporated into muscle and heart cells to have an effect, and that takes weeks of consumption—so either take fish oil pills each day, or try to eat fish rich in fatty acids multiple times a week to see similar results.

4. PASTA WITH MEAT SAUCE

Good for: Muscle building and repair.

The perfect post-weight training repast has about 400 calories, with 20 to 30 grams of protein (to build new muscle) and 50 to 65 grams of carbohydrates (to repair old muscle). Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or a small bowl of pasta with meat sauce fits that formula.

5.PORK TENDERLOIN

Good for: Waist-trimming.

Lean meats are a great low-calorie source of protein, and scientists at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, found that eating more protein may reduce the fat around your midsection. People who ate 20 more grams of protein every day than the group average had 6 percent lower waist-to-hip ratios.

6. EIGHT (8) OUNCES OF CHOCOLATE MILK

Good for: Hydration

The best sports drink may come from a cow. British researchers found that milk does a better job than water or sports drinks at rehydrating the body after exercise. Why? To begin with, milk has more electrolytes and potassium. The addition of chocolate gives milk the perfect balance of carbs, protein, and fat for speedy muscle recovery.

7.COFFEE

Good for: Pain relief

University of Georgia scientists revealed that taking a caffeine supplement (equal to two cups of coffee) after exercise reduces muscle soreness more than pain relievers can. Caffeine blocks a chemical that activates pain receptors.

8.COLD WATER

Good for: Endurance

Drinking cold water before and during exercise can help improve your endurance. In a British study, cyclists who drank about 30 ounces of a chilled drink in the half hour before riding in a hot, humid environment—and smaller amounts as they rode—were able to bike 23 percent longer than riders who downed lukewarm liquids. Drinking cold water may be the most direct way to reduce core body temperature, so it takes you longer to heat up and slow down.

9.GREEN TEA

Good for: Muscle recovery

Brazilian scientists found that participants who consumed three cups of green tea every day for a week had fewer markers of the cell damage caused by resistance to exercise. So drinking a few cups every day may help your muscles recover faster after an intense workout.
And please share your nutrition and weight-loss tips and tricks with the rest of us.

Rest in Peace

It is 6.30 am and I am on the way to mom's place to pick up my sister and send her to school (Been my daily ritual since mom got sick. Every morning, it takes me 35 minutes to drive from Bangsar to Ampang - well, I am a bit lucky, you see my route takes me against the mad morning traffic jam in KL city!)

As usual, music will be blasting from my car - which is compulsory and a basic necessity (otherwise it is almost impossible to drive)...Gosh, for some reason each and every station (Hits, Mix, Slow & easy etc. etc. ) were playing Michael Jackson's song(s)....it was so bizarre for a brief 5 minutes...At first I thought it was a joke or some prank by the Hitz FM crew! But then it's not April (so April Fool's day is out)....

Then the announcement came...MJ is dead (He died 4.00 am Malaysian time today).

I actually froze for a moment. I stopped my car at the side of the road, took a deep breath and sms couple of people about it.....Then continued driving....

I grew up listening to MJ (as well as Jackson 5) ....... it seems so bizarre and sad that he is gone forever. May God bless his soul.

The End in Year 2012

Is it true that the world will come to an end in the Year 2012?

The Mayan Calendar says so.

Year 2012 gained the patina of doom with the best-selling 1966 book "The Maya" by Harvard archaeologist Michael D. Coe. He noted that the Mayan culture's famously complex "Long Count" calendar simply ends on 12/21/12, speculating that civilization might come crashing down on that date. Other scholars argue, however, that the Mayan calendar would merely flip over like an odometer that reached 100,000 miles.

Anyhow, whatever must be, will be. I sincerely believe that if you live your day to day life simply like the last day of your life...then you will not miss anything when the end comes (whenever it happens).

Rain oh Rain

Aha, hooooooray.........

Finally the rain has come to Miri (or at least where we are staying). It feels darn good to have rain showering the earth. Even though this means that all of our clothes will take another 2 days to dry. Nevertheless, no complains.

Indian Cow

An essay written on the INDIAN COW by a candidate appearing for IAS exam. This was published in the Marathi daily news paper - Loksatta

Click Marati News-Indian Cow.

After reading this, you would probably forget your English language and knowledge of a cow all together!

MUGGED in Bangsar

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Written by Nil Timbadia
(This article is posted with permission from the author)

Snatched.

My dad was snatched theft today.

The incident happened near our home in Bangsar. He was walking back from the post office on Jalan Telawi after paying bills.

As he was walking around Jalan Terasek 4, a person on a motorcycle snatched his gold chain around his neck and rode off.

The thief is suspected to be of Indian origin.

My dad is 75 years old and has some heart problems, so naturally in an incident like this, there is some impact.

Thankfully the impact was minor and he only had some palpitations for a while and some scratches around his neck from the chain being pulled.

Apart from that he seems to be okay when I spoke to him and a friend.

I got the news from wifey whom Pappa had called. Wifey immediately called me and I immediately called a friend of ours living nearby to go check on Pappa. He was on his way back home and quickly diverted to go check on Pappa and spend some time with him.

I also received a call from this friend JJ who said that Pappa was not hurt severely and was feeling okay.

Nevertheless, the snatch theft thing in KL is getting to a ridiculous level. Wifey has been snatched twice in the city area and in front of witnesses who would not even bother to go help.

Pappa was snatched in a housing area.

A year or so back, on Jalan Telawi itself, another person had robbed my friend's wife of her vehicle at knife point just across their house.

There are times when I am in KL and am even afraid or extra careful when I am in a shopping mall like Suria KLCC.

There seems to be little or no effort from the enforcement to curb these activities and as the economy becomes worse and more people find it difficult to find jobs, I see the trend of thefts increasing.

I am sick and tired of living in a constant lookout and in fear. When I was in Europe, while you are street smart and careful, the level of petty theft if generally lower. Then again, you keep hearing of people getting laptops stolen and purses stolen in pretty much every city in the world.

In crime in KL higher than other cities?

The cops in Malaysia say that it is not and we have a safer city compared to Tokyo and Hong Kong etc. I do not know what comparisons are used for this checks not do I know whether the facts are right.

What I do know is that things have definitely become a lot worse from the time I was growing up, and every year it has been getting worse at a larger proportion than the year before.

What I also know is a lot of petty crime and snatch theft goes unreported and as such does not become part of the statistics. For example, my dad is not going to make a report.

Do I blame him for not making a report. Of course I do not. Blaming him would be blaming the victim, no different from how some countries blame a rape victim for being raped and punish them with being gang raped.

Maybe that is what we have become, a snatch theft victim deserves to be snatched - it seems like that is how our law enforcement thinks.

I hope for a safe and brighter future for my loved ones - family, friends and pretty much everyone.

May the thieves burn and rot in hell, but that is not for me to determine - a supreme being will determine their fate.

Take care and be well.