New year resolutions anyone?

I know I am a little late, but Happy New Year! I am not the make-a-list-of-resolutions person, but 2 days ago I decided that I shall try to be an almost-vegetarian. Why almost? Because I know for a fact that I cannot and will not eliminate meat & fish from my diet totally. But I definitely want to cut them out for most part of my diet. I will still take eggs and dairy products, and I am not going to pick out little bits of minced pork or whatever from non-meat dishes like claypot toufu or something. I will do my best to go for vegetarian sandwiches instead of a turkey sandwich, or opt for pasta instead of a juicy steak. Animal fat is evil. That includes fish (and please don’t tell me how fish oil/fat is healthy. I know there are many benefits, but animal fat is animal fat and that is that.) which is the most painful for me to cut. I love love love fish and I eat fish almost everyday. But for a start, I am going to try cutting down to alternate days. I have said before that I don’t really buy the whole no-carbs diet thing. I think it really just boils down to what kind of carbs you are eating. Moreover, people who do not take carbs usually overcompensate with protein, and lets face it, unless you can survive on just eggs and toufu, chances are you will be taking more meat than usual. And unless you can survive on boiled lean chicken breast (or similar) and eggs and toufu that are cooked in oil-free ways, I am guessing the overall fat content is going to be more than a brown rice salad or a thick slice of grainy oaty bread with lovely strawberry jam.

I am not sure how long I can keep up with this ‘vegetarian’ thing, but I will at least try damn hard. So far I have survived the weekend meatless and that is not too bad I reckon.

Earlier on, there was a “work lunch” at Zhou’s kitchen and I don’t know where I got the will power from, but I managed to sit through the braised trotters, fried prawns etc AND loads of dim sum without touching any of those. I even skipped the noodles dish and dessert! I will surely be hungry later, but I have my lovely Cedele wholewheat bread ready and I will buy my all time fav Mr Bean soy bean milk

I am itching to go to the gym for a power workout after missing this morning’s run and my lunchtime Spinning class.

Cannot wait for work to end!

My first self-bought watch in 4yrs or so … …

I guess it is about time that I invest in a ‘good watch’ that can last me ‘forever’.

I have never had a thing for delicate dainty watches. I adore huge chunky watches, men’s watches, the big bulky type. Even if I get a ‘girly watch’ in pink, it will not be something that is tiny and extremely ladylike. I just have this odd preference for big/more masculine watches.

A Tag Heuer is probably a ’standard’ good watch that most people will buy at least once in their lifetime. I was tempted to get something with even more diamonds (more bling!) but I decided that I don’t actually want to spend THAT much money on a watch. I don’t care too much about watches really, at least not the way I care about bags or shoes.

Anyhow, I got myself this ‘boy sized’ Tag with some bling bling. The ladies size one is just not something that I fancy too much and I don’t want to splash out on something which I don’t really really like. The men’s one is obviously way too big and I am sure I will look weird wearing it. Fortunately for some of the designs, they have an ‘in-between’ size. So YAY!

I seriously doubt I will be spending money on another watch for the next few years at least. I think I can survive on my Tag for most days, my pink leather strap Titus watch for a more girly look, and my chunky Panerai with black rubber strap for a more sporty look. Like I said, I don’t really care about watches, as long as it doesn’t obviously clash with my outfit, I am good to go!

Byebye Gucci Hello Prada

I finally changed my wallet! The old Gucci was getting kind of grotty and gross, and I have been wanting to change it for a while now. I finally got down to getting myself a new one. I wanted to get a MiuMiu but didn’t see anything I fancy, so ended up with a Prada instead. Yay new wallet! Woohoo!

Bag lady :)

It has been way too long since I last pampered myself with a new bag. A life without many gorgeous bags is a bland one. I can do without the latest cell phone, or fancy Apple products which people seem to adore, or blingbling pieces of jewellery from Tiffany & Co. but I cannot do without bags. Expensive bags for that matter. Just thinking about the awesome leather, or the brilliant design, or the feel of the handle in my hand makes me weak in the knees.

This is my latest baby Everyone say hello to my lovely brown Prada.

Kit Kat – Always a reason to smile …

In case it isn’t obvious, the second one is ‘Jujitsu Yasai’ flavour

Blogging @ Work …

is NOT a cool thing to do … but I am doing it anyway because I honestly have nothing to do right now and I think I can spare 15min being completely irresponsible. It isn’t my fault that the system is down for maintenance, and I am the only one in my department that is in office right now. So besides attending to emails, there really isn’t anything for me to do today. And I am gonna enjoy this freedom

So, I think I have been incredibly antisocial lately.  It was Halloween 2 days ago, and the same day last year I was having a blast @ Velvet. But this year? I was home in bed with my laptop. The ENTIRE day. Yeap, how super happening eh?

I haven’t been feeling very good recently. Physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally. I get tired easily, and I lack interest in most things. I want to feel excited or enthusiastic about stuff, but I just can’t. I am not grouchy or sulky or anything like that, I just feel … well, neutral I suppose. Kind of like a yeah-whatever state of mind.

I hope I snap out of it soon. This is seriously detrimental to my social life and probably my mental health in the long run.

I think the only person that I can imagine spending lots of time with right now is my best friend. Well, and my godson of course. I am not really sure I can stand being with other people for an extended period of time without feeling irritated or just plain bored. And the idea of noisy company in a large group is just so so unappealing. I have always preferred one-to-one time, or small intimate get togethers to loud gatherings (with exceptions, like when I am in a party mood or feeling like a social butterfly). I still think that I can be uber sociable, I have no problems talking to most people, I am totally comfortable with having random conversations with people I don’t know very well, I can share jokes with complete strangers, and I think I can even have fun while making frivolous chatter with others. But I also realized that I am now a lot less inclined to want to do stuff like that, even when a “good reason” (such as expanding my social circle) exists. I’d do it (and not resentfully may I add) if required, or I’d gladly do it if networking at a particular function is what my work entails, and I’d do it without complaints if it is a favour to a friend to help out at a party. But to do it for my own personal ‘benefit’? I think I’ll pass. For now at least.

I wonder if I am just getting increasingly hard to please or am I looking at the wrong places at the wrong time. I just can’t seem to find anything, be it an activity, an object or a person, particularly interesting. Everything is just ‘ok’, ‘alright’, ‘not bad’ or ‘I don’t know’. 

It sucks when everything is so bland.

Pure indulgence

Indulgence is dinner @ Shimbashi Soba with your best friend,  your Godson & bestie’s sis-in-law.

Indulgence is chilling @ Royal Copenhagen having chocolate cake and drinks.

Indulgence is an evening of good conversation, good food & good company.

Indulgence is holding a bundle of joy close to you and breathing in his powdery baby scent.

This is indulgence.

Day 14 :)

Today is Day 14 of my Lose-Weight-Mission.

So far so good

Hopefully there will be fairly significant results by the time I get to Day 25 or so.

This is going to be a slow and steady journey. Not expecting nor aiming for drastic weight loss which is likely to be temporary anyway. And I definitely don’t want to look pale and haggard at the end of this because that would really defeat the purpose of losing weight. The skinny druggie look is so not what I want even if some people might find that appealing (you know, in the starved-supermodel way).

Anyway, my ThinPrep Pap Smear came back all cleared! Wheeeeeee! Normal results finally!! Very expensive to do so many tests ok!! *relieved*

I am having a massive craving for Japanese food right now. I want juicy sticks of yakitori and lots of delish sushi. But right now I can only THINK about them. Eating them would spell disaster.

Control is key!

Run.Ran.Running

I bought my first pair of Asics a couple of days ago Congratulations to me!

It is the first step to committing myself to regular runs. Afterall, the shoes are incredibly expensive (to me at least, I normally spend <$100 on workout shoes seeing how mine tend to wear out faster due to frequent usage) and they are *ahem* ‘REAL’ running shoes. Or so people who run claim.

The goal is to run 2 or 3 times a week, not more than an hour each time.  I’ll be satisfied if I can keep to that for the next few months. Perhaps in time to come, I will be able to run more without hurting my knees.

I googled and found a pic of my new shoes! Nice?

It’s time …

I have decided that it is time I get 100% serious about losing weight.

The amount of weight that I have gained over the last 2yrs is just obscene. And “working out regularly” and “eating healthy” are no longer good enough. Such vague dieting concepts may be effective for most people, but sadly they ain’t good enough in my case.

It is time to focus and enforce even more discipline and put in place a more defined plan.

I have to do this.

I need to do this.

I will do it.