The facilitator was great at first, but he kept telling personal stories one slide after the other. So it got real old, real fast. By the time it was 9.30AM, I kept looking at my phone, and checking my e-mail for updates from the boyfriend in Hadralmaut. (I haven’t heard from him since Friday, so that might influence my mood.)

Right now, I’m just letting my dinner settle in nicely, and then I’m off to bed because only sleep can console me.

I’ve been watching the ninth season of American Idol, and so far, ever since the auditions, I haven’t got my mind set on somebody. No one’s that good yet. Though Big Mike, Alex Lambert, and Lee Dewyze have been leaving good impressions, they’ve still a lot to prove. Not rooting on for Andrew Garcia, Brunei’s obvious favourite contestant, but I look forward to his performances, just to see if he does anything different.

What I can say about the girls is that they were very disappointing last week. The only one I was impressed with was Crystal Bowersox who sang one of my favourite songs, Hand In My Pocket. Other than that, I can only catch the Top 10 Girls which is later on tonight to see if they have improved.

Moving on to something a bit closer to home, I had to replace the battery to Putih. That blew another hole in my wallet (a BND120 hole), but it lasts a year, so that’s like BND10 per month? It’s OK. I still love my Putih. Though I did graze the front bumper on something, and left a few marks. Sigh. Let’s hope it comes off, and the paint isn’t chipped (that bad.)

How am I supposed to save money when things just need fixing?? Sigh.

My favourite thing to bring to a meeting is a notepad. Yes, a notepad in which I can write, or doodle in. Not my laptop because it makes too much noise when I type, and any touch pad in this world annoys me. Speaking of typing, I was typing something when my laptop was plugged into the projector in a meeting room one day, and my superior asked if I had typing lessons because I typed fast. LOL. I think it’s the excessive online chats and blogging that acts as practice.

I digress.

I was talking about bring my notepad to meetings, yes? Well, I was just browsing through one of my favourite notepads (non-lined, of course!) and stumbled upon a few doodles and writings that made me laugh.

Here’s my attempt to make feather patterns:

Feathers! (Supposedly.)

And here’s an excerpt of my writing in the notepad:

Oh, God. This meeting is very mundane. I hear the chairman suggesting that meetings with certain someone be held twice a week. Yikes? Sucks to be him/her. My body is aching just sitting in this room.

I can never compose well-written posts anymore. I am rather uninspired to pen my words and whatnot. Blame it on Twitter and Tumblr. Evil.

My neck hurts. So does my head. What is happening? Gah. I don’t even know what to write about anymore. Oh, please. This dude is asking me if I know ‘data dictionary’. PLEASE. I am from an IT background. A semester of my HND was dedicated to bleeping data dictionaries!!! Urgh!

I hope this stupid meeting ends soon.

P.S.: The chairman has no sense of good time management.

Loverly.

I’ll pen off now, maybe there’s something to read off my Twitter feed.

I’ve heard reviews about how boring it was, but in my head, I was expecting it to be a typical transformation-thriller-type movie. Did not expect the extras on the side. Let’s just say I got very scared and shrieked in the cinema during some parts of the movie. :P

So. There was a mosquito last night in my bedroom before I headed off to slumber land. I just switched on the air-con, and figured that it would get cold enough soon and it would come to its (freezing) senses and fly out of my room. Boy, was I wrong. I was tossing and turning in bed, sporting two big bites on my left arm and one major one on my right!

I didn’t realize I kept on waking to scratch my arms, because I had mosquito bites in my dream last night, and I thought it was just that: a dream. But when I had a clear moment of consciousness, I decided to cover my whole body with my blanket. Left my head out so I could breathe easy. Wrong move.

Got a bite on my earlobe after that. GAHD. I don’t know WHY that mosquito was so persistent. Lapar banar jua! Ish. So now I’m at the office… All sleepy. I don’t know why I’m sleepy because I only remembered waking up a few times.

It’s been a rather dull start of the midweek for me, but I am looking forward to my weekend. It’ll be my little cousin’s 8th birthday, and it’s going to be all sorts of fun! Hope I’ll have the will to post pictures from the day.

In other news, I just came back from registering my sister’s DST line at their Giant branch, and I asked about downgrading my Prima subscription. I had the Prima Extra Text, and I always don’t get to use the free 500 texts… So now you’re looking at a Prima Essential user! We’ll see how I fare this next month, yes? :)

Hopefully I don’t need to upgrade again. Haha. Oh, by the way, I love the service that my sister and I was given by the lady at the counter. She was patient with us, and was very nice. I don’t know her name, though. If I could have given her a star, I would! Hehe.

So what has happened? Not much. Life is pretty much the same, though my jeans are a bit loose, and I’m not looking forward to spend more money on clothes. I’ve spent a lot of my money on Threadless t-shirts, though. They’re very comfortable and cool for Brunei’s hot weather.

I’m settling in nicely with my new lifestyle, though I wish other aspects of my life would change. I guess I’m just going to have to wait for a few more months, and bear with it.

Anyway, I’ve shared this on Twitter and Facebook, but I’d just like to share this video, uploaded originally by someone I know from my aerobics classes. It’s sort of cool to see it on video.

Oh, and a follow-up from my last post, if you are planning on losing weight, don’t just eat a balanced diet. You will need to exercise! Everyday! If you want to maintain a healthy lifestyle, exercise at least 30 minutes per day. If you want to maintain a healthy lifestyle and lose weight, exercise at least 45 minutes per day. Remember, this is everyday. There is no use if you spend your three hours in the gym, but it’s only for a day in the week. You have to use up the calories you consume, so don’t forget your exercise! :)

My progress has been slightly slower than before, as I have only lost 3kgs after I’ve left KBS. But I have until September to reach my short-term target weight, which is another 3kgs. Here’s to hoping that I’ll make it!

Until next time! (For mini updates, follow me on Twitter!)

Before, I wasn’t very much aware of calories, exercise intensity, food categories, and food proportions! Even though you might laugh at me for that, but if you joined The Program, you would be surprised. The food pyramid they jammed into our heads when we were younger? That should be the guideline you follow forever.

Most of those who joined The Program were either referred to by their doctors, or they needed to lose weight because if they don’t, they won’t get their bonuses this year, or they wanted a better, healthier lifestyle. I had to be honest with myself, my peers, and the MOH officers there: I joined because I wanted to lose weight and look good. Plus, having your doctors drone on and on about your BMI and how fat you are are getting a bit too much. Got too boring, really.

But as I go through the program, I was in for more than just losing weight. I was in for a lifestyle change. A major shift in the food area, which was a bit difficult because, trust me when I say, I love my food. However, after a few lectures, you start to find out how many teaspoons per day should you have your food in oil, you kind of learn fast. And after all that was taught, we practiced it, and not only did I lose weight, I felt really good about myself. I rarely get headaches, which I often get after work, and I just feel like I am living right.

All this goes down to our dietitian, psychologist, and ‘trainer’. Hahaha.

The dietitian, Nura, has been very good. She doesn’t take your excuses, no sir. There is no reason for you to skip your three main meals of the day, and no reason for your lack of calcium intake. There is no such thing as, “Inda pandai minum susu.” And with her plan, she’s got the food diary going on, which enables you to monitor what you’ve been eating! Personally, this is great practice, because you will realize just how much you have consumed for the day.

Mun, the psychologist, has been great as well, teaching us to focus, now that we have achieved full awareness of living healthy, and to maintain that lifestyle. She taught us how to stop listening to other people’s taunts, like, “Eh, jangantah dulu exercise atu. Makan tahhh. Enjoy!” Which is great, because mentality is the key to maintain this lifestyle. She also taught us that we have to have belief in ourselves in order to be successful.

Bryan is also very good to us, prodding us slowly with his workout plan, which is, to start slow. If you are not fit, don’t push yourself. Go slow at first, then if you can do better, go to the next stage, then the next. I didn’t have much problem in this area, but with The Program’s exercise regime, I have a newfound favourite pastime: Hiking! :D (Even though I don’t get excited when it rains. :P )

The rest of the officers at the Health Promotion Center has also been very, very supportive. I will miss them loads when Saturday comes and goes, even though we are still welcomed to use their gym and swimming pool. The latter, in which, I have found great fun! ;)

If you are interested in a healthier lifestyle for yourself, find out at the Ministry of Health’s KBS at the Health Promotion Center, over at Commonwealth Drive, nearby the Ministry of Finance. The gray building with the colourful squares. Those who have a lower BMI than 30 might not be able to join, though. But I think you can work something out with them at KBS.

The Program is KBS, by the by, and it stands for Klinik Badan Sihat. :)

I can’t sleep. The boyfriend’s off to a short trip to Dubai, and I miss him. :(

Can’t even put up a proper post. Ish.

There was a blind girl who hated herself because she was blind. She hated everyone, except her loving boyfriend. He was always there for her. She told her boyfriend, “If I could only see the world, I will marry you.”

One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her. When the bandages came off, she was able to see everything, including her boyfriend.

He asked her, “Now that you can see the world, will you marry me?”

The girl looked at her boyfriend and saw that he was blind. The sight of his closed eyelids shocked her. She hadn’t expected that. The thought of looking at them the rest of her life led her to refuse to marry him.

Her boyfriend left in tears and days later wrote a note to her saying: “Take good care of your eyes, my dear, for before they were yours, they were mine.”

:weep: