Christmas 2011: New Year's Eve (Hogmanay)

My last dinner of the year :)  This time next year Cat will be celebrating New Year's in Singapore and it'll come to her before the UK.  This evening mum cooked scallops with spring onions, salmon with spring onions, boiled corn-fed free range chicken, vegetable stir fry and some leftover turkey.  It was nice.  Later on after I washed the dishes we had panettone cake.  It was nice, a wee treat before the New Year kicks in.

Right now "Still Game" is on BBC One.  I've seen this episode before ("Hootenanny") as I own the complete boxset.  There are still good laughs in it.  Haha!  It's gonna be a quiet New Year for 2011.  Cat is away out to friend's place for the countdown.  It will be nice for her especially since she'll be in Singapore next year.  Yup I've mentioned that already.  Lol!  Things will certainly be different when she's away.  I think I will miss Cat a lot once she's away.  It hasn't hit me yet but when I left my mind free to imagine scenarios without Cat and it'll be quite sad.  For example, once she's gone she won't be buying mum clothes.  I won't be very good at that.  She can't be mum's fashion advisor.  I definitely can't step in for her.  She won't be buying lots of bargains from the supermarkets and go grocery shopping with mum on Fridays.  I don't like shopping very much but will have to make changes.  Cat bakes a lot, so we won't have much home baking to eat.  I'll have one less person to talk to about the gym and fitness stuff, one less person to exercise with me at home.  One less person to share laughs and personal jokes with.  Even thinking about it now is quite sad... I think I'll stop here.

There are great stuff to look forward to in 2012 of course.  It will NOT be the end of the world, however, as some people have tried to predict.  I mean, even the infamous "prophetic predictions" of rapture and Judgement Day for 21 October 2011 by Harold Camping did not come true.  I pity the people who really believed him and who may have done what some people typical would do when they know life would end: quite their jobs, spend all their money, live life to the max etc and expect life to end, but then to realise they are still here on Earth after the predicted time, and then have to pick up the pieces.  It is quite sad.  I choose not to believe these things, or such things like "Forward this email to five friends and you will get good luck/ your wish will come true.  Fail to do this and you will die/ someone you know will die in the next few hours".  It is all a lot of gumph.  Nobody has to power to end life through an email nor to predict the end of the world.  Only God knows the return of the Lord Jesus and will decide when the world will end. 

As it says in the Bible: "Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night" - 1 Thessalonians 5:1-2 

I have nothing fear and know that as long as I live each day according to His will, as much as possible, I will not fear the return of the Lord and will hope to hear the words, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."

Living a God-pleasing life consistently will be impossible, this I know for sure.  But I hope in the coming year that I will be more mindful of the Lord in all I say and all I do.  Do my best not to grieve the Holy Spirit within.  One of my spiritual goals for the New Year will be to keep up my devotional time with the Lord.  It will mean early morning wake ups as I prefer to read the Lord's Word first thing in the morning before my mind is crowded with different stuff distracting me.  Last night I was on the Youversion website.  They provide FREE Bible apps for iPhone and Android etc.  I have my free app for my Android already and will need it again once I get my new phone.  There are reading plans on the Youversion site, like 'Read the Bible in One Year', 'Read the Bible in 90 Days' etc.  There are a few other plans to follow too.  I think reading the whole Bible in One Year will definitely be a big big goal for me and I'd like to achieve this one day.  However, it seems the website had reading plans but no commentary materials/ study notes.  Which means I might be reading the five chapters a day and there is no guarantee I will understand what I'm reading and might just read to fill my daily quota.  What I'd really like for this coming year is to really understand the Bible, the different books, the authors, the timeline of the books and to understand what is written in it's context, not just to know certain verses and use them occasionally.  After being a Christian since 1994, I still feel my Bible knowledge is still not strong enough.  I do not think I know enough to use the Word of the Lord for

"teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness..." - 2 Timothy 3:16

So in yesterday's blog post I commented how I am not satisfied with my physique and noticed certain areas that need improving/ strengthening: traps, abs and calves.  Well regarding my spiritual health I want to strengthen my knowledge of the Bible and develop a deeper understanding of the Living Word.  I will aim to renew my mind with the Bible everyday.  Spiritual food from God - it can only be good for me and those around me =)

As I end here, I want to wish every one of my readers a very nice new year in 2012.  No matter if you are a believer in God or our Lord Jesus or not, I wish the Lord's blessing upon you and all that you do.  For those who have yet to personally know the Lord like I and many others in the world have, I hope in the next 365 days you will have a personal encounter with God.  I hope when the moment comes that you will let God into your heart and into your life.  You will not regret it.  For everyone else who is a fellow believer in the Lord, let us continue walking in the light of the Lord.  Let us continue to love and support each other as brothers and sisters in Christ.  Wherever you are in the world, we are one big family!  =D

Christmas 2011: Inbetween Days

Last gym session of 2011 today.

Treadmill: Intervals of sprint and walk for 12 minutes.
PullUps - Deadlifts - Bench Press - Box Jumps - Thrusters - Rolling Dumbbell extensions - Plyo PushUps with Dive Bombers to finish off.  Was pretty good workout and certainly broke a good sweat out of me.  I still didn't feel 100% today but better than yesterday at least when I was coughing and it sounded pretty rough that even Caroline the PT said "Oh that doesn't sound too healthy(!)".  I laughed it off and said, "Yeah trying to fight it here!"  =P  Got a compliment from a guy at the gym when I was at the cardio suite.  Went over to shake his hand (as you do when you greet buddies and wishing a good Christmas and New Year) and he said he had been eating everything this Christmas and will want to head back to full training again from January.  He commented that I was looking good and look leaner compared to when he last saw me in the gym (just a few weeks ago).  Must be the top I was wearing.  Haha!  Anyway, yeah, I am glad that I started the ATHLEAN-X training program back in May this year.  It has certainly helped me lose lots of bodyfat whilst building and maintain muscle mass.  It is generally each to do both at the same time, hence bodybuilders go through the "bulking stage" when they pump iron whilst eating lots and lots and get big (gaining lots of muscle and fat along the way), then they go for the "cutting phase" and do lots of cardio in place of eating lots and hope to lose the bodyfat, revealing the muscle they built up during their bulking phase.  It sounds easier than in reality as the bodyfat will never be shifted away completely or the level we'd like, at least not naturally.  I've been through that stage of the game before and I can say it was fun whilst it lasted but now I train in a much more smarter way, training like an athlete, lots of bodyweight exercises along with free weights and generally get more body parts involved to increase anabolic and metabolic rate and the results speak for themselves.  =)

The above picture was a random idea when I was in the changing room getting ready to leave.  I had my shaker cup at hand whilst mixing my protein supplement after my shower.  I took this picture because I wanted a record of how I look at the end of 2011 and I want to use this to better myself in 2012.  I have great aims for 2012, spiritual and physical goals.  Talking about physical goals, I don't like the picture above: I would like to build up my trapezius muscles, they look pretty flat compared to my shoulders.  Also there is still too much bodyfat around the waist and I need to do more to burn away the stubborn layers.  (Doing ab exercises alone will NOT do anything btw, that is called spot reduction - does not work!).  Cutting away sweet stuff (apart from my supplements and stuff like yoghurts) and lowering carbs in the evenings will help too.  So when it turns 2012, in less than 48hrs, I will be lowering my sugar intake whenever possible.  I will still have my vitamin c drink of course (orange taste), but will be abstaining from sweet empty calories like sweets, chocolate etc.  Please, do not offer such things to me.  I will let myself some freedom when it's Cat's wedding (July/ August) and really celebrate then, especially in Singapore!!  =D  One final thing, I want to build bigger calf muscles.  This one I am NOT looking forward to, even as I type this, I would rather work anything else but these stubborn stubborn muscles.  But I know if I want bigger calves to look better in my kilt then I better get to work.  Lol!  So again in January I will start training the calves specifically.  There are so many different exercises and believe me, these weak muscles will always ache the few days after the workout.  LOL!!  So these are the three physical goals I have for the new year.  I will share my other goals next time :)

Last day of work tomorrow (Hogmanay!).  Three lessons: 0930-11AM, 11-1PM then 330-5PM and then I'll be done!!  Off work for a whole TWO days!!  Haha!!  Not sure what's happening for New Year yet.  Might be a very quiet one this year =)

Christmas 2011: Inbetween Days

It has become somewhat of a tradition of mine that every year I listen to this song Lonely Christmas by Eason Chan at this time of year.  Last occasions have been the week leading up to Christmas.  This year has not been that lonely cos it was spent at church service with the whole family of God and later in great fellowship in Aaron's place.  However, this song is always nice to listen and sing along to when feeling 'emo' this time of year.  Haha!  This is the full version video but does not have lyrics.  Lyrics are in Chinese anyway and hard to find translation.  However, with the help of Google Translate, it has managed to come up with something like what's below... bad grammar but hopefully the meaning is still there.  I think the rest you can catch from the video...  Enjoy!

Lonely Christmas - Eason Chan

Who is riding a sleigh flying, forgetting to drop down a present for me.

Tonight the lights shine the brightest, but they reveal my loneliness.

Who is kind enough to kiss me, from the lips can verify that I was once happy.

The overhead snow wants to land my shoulder, eventually it has to leave too.

Merry, Merry Christmas
Lonely, Lonely Christmas
Want to speak sincere words to you among so many people, but you just want to listen to a joke
Lonely, Lonely Christmas
Merry, Merry Christmas
Lighting must be removed tomorrow in exchange for a cheer.

Who is kind enough to kiss me, from the lips can verify that I was once happy.

The overhead snow wants to land my shoulder, eventually it has to leave too.

Merry, Merry Christmas
Lonely, Lonely Christmas
Want to speak sincere words to you among so many people, but you just want to listen to a joke
Lonely, Lonely Christmas
Merry, Merry Christmas
Lighting must be removed tomorrow in exchange for a cheer.

Tomorrow comes will not remember who we hugged whilst drunk.

Still giggling but you also know I want to cry.

With whom I bump into, not afraid of strangers.

Would rather get drunk and vomit.

Still with a headache, cannot hear the chorus of the song.

Merry, Merry Christmas
Lonely, Lonely Christmas
Want to speak sincere words to you among so many people, but you just want to listen to a joke
Lonely, Lonely Christmas
Merry, Merry Christmas
Lighting must be removed tomorrow in exchange for a cheer.

Merry, Merry Christmas
Lonely, Lonely Christmas
Want to speak sincere words to you among so many people, but you just want to listen to a joke
Lonely, Lonely Christmas
Merry, Merry Christmas
Lighting must be removed tomorrow in exchange for a cheer.

In exchange for a cheer.

Christmas 2011: Inbetween Days

So after yesterday's impulse purchase at Hollister (haha!  forgot to mention that did I?) I have decided I will no longer be pursuing after the Samsung Galaxy S2.  For the past two weeks I have been online searching for the cheapest sim-free version so when my Vodafone contract expires (March 2012), I can ask them to give me discounted tariff if I don't take a phone off them.  Does that make sense?  So far the lowest price I can find for the smartphone is on eBay at £379.95, but this has now increased to £384.95.  I had thought about getting the handset itself and then getting cheap tariff from Vodafone whilst trying to maintain my current credentials: 600 Anytime Minutes, Unlimted SMS, 500MB Internet and Stop the Clock.  It will be hard to get anything like that for anything cheaper than £17.50 though, so that means if I buy the phone and get another 18-month contract with them, it might add up to £695 for eighteen months.  If I settle for getting the phone from Vodafone I would expect my tariff to go back up to £36 a month and that will mean 18x36 = £648.  Yes it will be cheaper by £47 but the phone MIGHT be tied to Vodafone after it and I might have to have it unlocked later. Unless it only "appears locked" like I discovered recently!

That's the phone issue settled, kinda, for now.  Just awaiting the call from Vodafone to ask me if I want to continue my contract with them and then I'll try my best to get the handset for free AND try lowering monthly tariff.  Could both be possible you think?  Haha!  We'll see!

Phone issue sorted, now next item on my "to-think" list is: Singapore.  The time is drawing near for me to start looking for flights to Singapore for Cat and Nick's wedding banquet in August.  The actual date is 4th August so mum and I will need to get there at least a few days before the 4th and anticipate fighting off any jetlag.  We didn't feel any jetlag back in 2008 when we went to HK, so don't expect to get any this time either, but hey, you never know.  Both mum and I have aged since then, haha!  =P  So trying to get the cheapest flights of course and more importantly, we should consider/ discuss visiting neighbouring countries like Hong Kong and/ or Malaysia, possibly elsewhere?  There is a small issue: mum does not want to be off work for that long.  She wants everything to be done and dusted and back to work within her two weeks annual leave.  She doesn't want to take any more than two weeks off work.  I, on the other hand, see this as a great opportunity to go travelling, sight seeing, eat great food, see friends, take photos, try new things etc.  You get the drift!  However, I cannot leave my mum to travel back to Glasgow on her own of course.  So... how long shall we stay in Singapore?  Will ten days be enough?  If I wanna go travelling and mum does not, will she be ok staying in Singapore whilst I travel around then come back for her and we fly back to UK?  Questions, questions....

Christmas 2011: Inbetween Days

Today was the last day of me taking antibiotics.  The five-day course has came to it's end.  I took the last two pills just before leaving the house for work in the morning.  And I hope no more pills again for a long time.  I can't actually remember the last time I had any medication for being ill.  Actually I think last winter I had Beechams Powder to eradicate cold-like symptoms (sore throat, slight cough etc).  Guess this year I was not quick enough in taking action against the symptoms and they took over.  Haha!  So after taking this course of antibiotics, I do feel lots better.  At least I managed to return to work for the second day today.  There were moments when coughing got in the way, like during my second lesson and I was teaching the Left Reverse manoeuvre for the first time to a pupil and had to talk lots to explain everything.  The itchiness of throat with the weakness of lung and feeling of breathlessness made me cough more than a few times.  =(  Again, always covered up and followed up "pardon me!".

The coughing also irritated me after work.  Even when I was talking to Oz when we were hanging out, at the shopping centre, at Hollister, at the cinema and during dinner.  =(  I am really glad Oz didn't mind, and glad that I can be myself, although it was embarrassing speaking half a sentence and stopping halfway to cough!  Haha!  It was good to catch up with Oz.  Enjoyed "Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol" and then had nice dinner at Nando's, the second attempt at getting our chicken.  The first branch we discovered was CLOSED because the ovens was broken down!  Haha!  Gosh!!  I'm glad we got to the Xscape branch with an hour to eat before closing time.  Lol!

And tomorrow it will be time for the gym!!  Looking forward to it. Yesterday's gym session was my first visit in over a week and was a pretty lethargic experience and disappointing.  I still don't feel my lunges are at 100% capacity yet with the occasional shortness of breath when gasping for air, the nose being runny and the need to cough when throat feels tickled.  Had to refrain from coughing as much as I could cos it would not leave a good impression coughing so much in front other gym users especially when we all share equipment etc.  Anyway, I really wanna fight these germs and bugs and really want my focus back tomorrow!!

These days inbetween Christmas and New Year are the strange days for different people.  Some are still on holiday mode.  Some are back to work.  Even those who are back to work are on holiday mode!  Haha!  So I hope everyone is enjoying this very relaxed period of the calendar.  Once New Year comes and passes, everything will be "back to normal" and then we'll slowly forget these "happy days".  But at least we will have lots of new things to look forward to, lots of hopes and dreams to realise, lots of targets to meet =)

Christmas 2011: Boxing Day

Came home quite late last night from dinner at Aaron Sam's place.  So after getting home, shower, opening Christmas presents and going online, it didn't leave much time to sleep before today's Boxing Day Sale.  Just before bed I found out, via responses on my Facebook status, that the Next Sale was scheduled to start at 6AM, not the traditional 7AM like in previous years.  That gave me a little dilemma.  Mum was due to start work at 7AM on Sauchiehall Street, so I promised her I'd take her to work by 6:45AM, drop her off, drive along a little further then park up and go to Next Sale.  Win-win situation.  However, if the sale were to start at 6AM then I'd have to work something else out.  Gave it a few moments of thought then decided to go to bed and had alarm set for 5AM...

5AM arrived and the alarm went off.  Only once this time as I didn't snooze.  Good boy!  Then I got up, got ready for going out, had porridge with a banana (no muesli this time), had a cup of tea with two croissants AND two antibiotic tablets.  Then I left the house at 5:45AM and headed out for Next to meet Xiaoling.  It was her first time checking out the Next Sale at opening time, and this was the earliest at 6AM!!  Haha!  Hardcore stuff man!  So I went to get my essentials, underwear and socks and whilst looking for something for Kenneth I came across a plain white shirt also and grabbed that in excitement!!  Paid for my stuff (three-figure sum??) then headed home to pick mum up.  Oh yeah, before I left Next I took a picture of the shopfloor at 6:20AM.  Check the picture out here (if you are my Fb friend).

Got home, dropped my stuff off, took mum to work in plenty of time, then went back out to Next to meet Xiaoling.  After Next was River Island, after River Island it was 8AM and I had to move my car from a single yellow line road (outside Cineworld) into Chinatown carpark, hoping for free parking if there were no parking attendant guy in the cabin box thing.  Nope, no guy there.  Great!  Walked back out to town, this time to Frasers, then Zara.  Bumped into Vivian Lai in Frasers then Danny and Candy when queueing outside Zara.  Again another stampede took place once the doors of Zara opened.  This time not as bad as the Buchanan Galleries one cos this female security guard was huge!!  =P  Zara Men was disappointing again.  Nothing there suitable to me.  I tried one thin wool top on: L was too tight.  XL was too loose.  Fail!!  Haha!  Went for breakfast at Costa Coffee back up at Buchanan Galleries and bumped into Joey.  After our break Xiaoling went to meet Alethea for girly shopping whilst I went to Cineworld to watch "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows".  It was quite a good film.  Funny, witty and often very clever ;)

After the movie I was beginning to feel tired so decided to go home.  Took a slight detour to visit the nearby HMV first before really going home.  Mainly looked at the blu-rays section and dvd boxsets but didn't find anything worth getting.  Saw this guy holding all four seasons of Heroes on blu-ray though.  Had a really tempting moment there.  But when I went to check out the shelves, only seasons one and four were left, at £15 each.  Doh!  Never mind!  I got home and went online again, checked some stuff out, Play.com being one of my sites, then checked out reviews on mobile phones, football scores and later it was time to cook the turkey for dinner with mum when she got home.  The turkey took quite a long time.  1hr 50mins initially, remove foil, put in another 30mins basting it occasionally then recover with foil and sit for 30mins.  So it was about 6PM when we started dinner.  I washed up after dinner, unpacked all my shopping, showered and tried on my white shirt.  Guess what!!  I actually later found out that my shirt was NOT part of the Next Sale!!  It was a non-sale item but somebody had slotted it into the 16.5ins shirt tray with everything else, and in my excitement I grabbed it.  No wonder it came to triple figures!!  LOL!  Ah well, I really liked the shirt.  Next Signature brand.  Even the collarbones are metal and there are two spares also!  Haha!  Hard to find a white shirt that fits AND is not see-through, so I'll keep it this time =P

So there you have it.  Eventful busy morning but a quiet and unexciting evening.  And now I'm feelinng tired although it is only 10:30PM.  Usually still 'early' for me, but I think after this I will brush, floss and scrape then head to bed.  Back to work tomorrow.  Still occasionally coughing but nothing like few days ago.  Voice still a little hoarse (noticed by people yesterday and this morning) but nothing like few days ago.  Two more days of antibiotics to finish and I really hope I will be fully fit again.  So... working tomorrow 10AM-3PM then gym after that.  Really wanna get back into routine now.  Have not stepped into Greens since last Saturday I think (17th!!)  =O

Christmas 2011: Merry Christmas!!

Hey guys!  Had such a good day today!

So much to write about but I'll head to bed first.  Need to get up for 6AM sale tomorrow!!  =D

Christmas 2011: Christmas Eve!!

Currently busy watching "Young Bruce Lee"... brb

Young Bruce Lee was very good.  It was uploaded on Youtube through eleven parts and I watched it all.  Mum was tired from work so only managed to stay awake until the sixth part and then fell asleep.  I guess she'll have to catch up next time.  Haha!

Well Christmas even was pretty boring to be honest.  I was not well enough to work not go to the gym.  So was pretty gutted I missed out on the 90-Minute Body Attack class which Cat and Iain went to.  So sad!  =(  I could not string 3-4 sentences without coughing like crazy.  Really felt like something was tickling the walls of my throat resulting in coughing fit.  If that was only talking, then think of how much coughing would result from rapid breathing in response to face paced exercising!  And also, how much coughing from talking lots during the driving lessons.  =(  As a result I had to cancel my two lessons as well.

Spent more time in bed.  Slept till midday before getting up for brunch, medication, then went online, did devotionals, listened to more worship songs on Youtube and then burned an MP3 cd for the car.  It wasn't until after dinner in the evening that I suggested to mum that we watch the Young Bruce Lee movie.  She was a little reluctant at first because she said she was uber tired from work cos McDonald's so was uber packed due to the last day of shopping for most people and they was crazy rush to town to get those presents.

Before we knew it, it was midnight and Christmas arrived.  We greet each other a Merry Christmas and I went on to tidy up the computer to TV set up as I had linked it up for the movie.  Think I got to bed about 1AM after being on Facebook and reading lots of different, yet the same, updates full of Christmas wishes.  Haha!  Will be a long day ahead for Christmas Day.  Church service then dinner at Aaron Sam's place.  =)

Christmas 2011: Two days to go!!

Woke up this morning just after 8AM and felt terrible.  Rolled around in bed until 8:30AM then got up to make two important phone calls.  One was to the DVLA making an enquiry about driving licences and secondly a call to the local GP to see if they had any free slots available.  Was given 9:40AM.  Those phone calls were so tough, especially the DVLA one, cos my voice was like sooooo rough!!  Argh!!  Was tad bit embarrassing but hey, it had to be done and I didn't have time to call later once my voice "warmed up" because the place shut at midday due to holiday.  Ah well, I'm sure Cathy who answered the phone has totally forgotten about me now anyway as she prepares for her Christmas =)

09:30AM I made my way to the doctor's surgery and dropped off a bag of stuff for the local Salvation Army store.

10:30AM I had my first antibiotic tablet.  Was given a ten-day course, two to be taken daily.  Here's hoping it will help me feel better for Sunday =)

11:30AM I was in Tesco getting stuff for Christmas and getting two more little presents for my little ones ;)  The place was packed full of people!

12:30PM I prepared lunch: reheated leftover roast chicken with rice, gravy and Tabasco sauce.  Maybe not best to add spicy stuff considering my throat, but it were only a few drops.

1:30PM Hoovered the whole house

2:30PM Started looking for songs to download to make an MP3 cd for the car.  Mainly Christian songs so far.

3:30PM Was reading Nutrition and Fitness articles

4:30PM Early dinner, prepared by Cat.  I washed dishes afterwards.  Mum had a relaxing time at home after her busy day at work.  Extremely busy day.

5:30PM Did some exercises on the mat with my weights.  Wanted to try a few exercises out.  Was good.

6:30PM Was on Facebook for a while and checked out some funny videos too like this one which made me think of Secret Santa reactions.  Haha!  =P

7:30PM Started watching "The Romancing Star 2" on Youtube.  Then later discovered there is a "Young Bruce Lee" movie uploaded also, which was released last year.  That is now on my 'to-watch' list.  Haha!

9:30PM Started watching "Initial D" dvd with Cat on the dvd.  Wanted a break from the computer.  Haven't watched "Initial D" for such a long time.  I forgotten about the ending as well.  Oooh, very open-ended for a sequel.  Actually... has there been a sequel yet?!

11:30PM Logged on to blog of course!  Haha!

Right now I have topped up my honey lemon and just sipping that whilst typing this.  Oh yeah, had my second antibiotic tablet at 10:20PM.  Throat is still quite croaky and I cannot seem to string together more than a few sentences without feeling the urge to cough.  Seems my lunges have weakened, or there is something tickly around my throat that makes me cough kinda thing.  Not sure how I will manage to teach tomorrow.  OR how I can manage a 90-minute special Body Attack class at the gym!

Ok la, time for bed.  Will see what happens tomorrow eh!  Goodnight all!

Christmas 2011: Three days to go!!

Just three days till Christmas and I am still unwell.  I couldn't get up this morning for devotions and exercise.  The alarm went off at 7:15AM and it was my second time getting up.  First time was around 3:40AM when I got up for the toilet.  In fact I woke up cos I felt I couldn't sleep.  Think maybe the temperature was too hot or something.  I suspected fever, but thankfully no more signs of it through the day.  Anyway, I silenced the alarm the slumped back to bed.  I couldn't handle getting up and just wanted to give my body a rest.  A little rest turned into a long rest and I sprung up at the discovery of the time on my phone, 9AM!!  I had half an hour to get myself ready and out of the house for my 10AM lesson at Maryhill area!!  Gosh!

Made it on time for the lesson but I sooo wasn't in the mood for work today.  Gah!!  My voice had gotten much rougher through the night and it was not clearing today.  So each time I spoke it was very coarse, very croaky.  I didn't like it.  =(  First lesson was two hour long, after which I had a lunch break before second lesson of one and a half hours.  I was sooo relieved at the end of the second lesson.  I went home to get changed and then had to decide given my condition did not improve through the day, that it was not worth going out to Henry's birthday dinner.  It would be unfair of me to spread any germs around my friends.  Not a very good nice birthday gift for Henry either.  So I had to text him to apologise.  =(

I have a day off tomorrow though and hopefully I will get a long lie in.  Might get up 8:30AM and call the local surgery and see if I can get an appointment to see the GP.  Might need some antibiotics for this if there is so much bateria in me.  =(  Meant to be resting tomorrow but already I have a few things I plan to do: read, collect stuff to give to local Salvation Army shop, hoover the house, iron a new shirt, call the DVLA to make an enquiry (must call before noon when they shut!), select songs to burn onto an MP3 cd, and last but not least, contact Vodafone to ask if they can give me an unlocking code for my HTC Magic.

Oh!  More on that last point!  I made a really cool discovery, just moments ago!  I was searching on Google for HTC Magic unlocking codes.  I wanted to see if I can unlock the phone from Vodafone so it makes it more flexible for use with other sim cards, like UK networks or even abroad to HK or next year, Singapore.  I remember I called up Vodafone for unlocking code for my K800i waaaaay back when as I came to end of contract with them.  They gave me the code no bother.  So I was curious whether technology has advanced since then (2007?) and I might get a code off the internet instead.  Whilst searching I came across some websites asking for IMEI numbers before they sold you a code for about £10-£20.  Among the searches there were also threads that discussed unlocking codes and someone said that Vodafone don't tend to lock their phones anymore, that some phones are just branded Vodafone but works with other network sim cards.  So.... I was very intrigued by this and thought to try my Orange PAYG sim card on the HTC Magic.  And... it WORKED!!  It took a few moments for the sim to be picked up and a signal established.  Although the startup screen displayed Vodafone as per usual, the Orange signal was strong and I was able to call "453" and it told me the account balance of my Orange sim card!  Whoo-hoo!  How cool is that?  That's one less item on my to-do list for tomorrow!  Haha!!  So now it seems I have two sim free phones at home.  Will be handy when travelling abroad or when there are visitors in Glasgow who require a phone I can lend them either my Ericsson K810i or HTC Magic, but for the latter, would have to warn about lagging etc.  Haha!  Nah, won't be that bad after a I perform a handset reset.  Oooh yeah!  Will do that once I get a replacement phone.  Lol!

Christmas 2011: Four days to go!!

Meant to be in bed right now, but have been tempted/ distracted by a website: Vodafone.co.uk.

My current contract expires mid-Feb, Vodafone allows upgrading up to 90 days before contract ends.  It was almost a year ago when Vodafone offered me Half Price Line Rental for a 12-month term, meaning I was due to pay £17.50 a month and still get the full benefits of my tariff - 600 Anytime minutes, Unlimited text messages, Unlimited Data usage and Stop the Clock.  The 12-month is running out soon, and although I was previously told I would get nine months at £17.50 and the last three at full tariff, out of goodwill (and my miscalculation), I called up Vodafone and they kindly discounted my tariff again in November AND December bills.  Praise God!  =)  However, now I know it is definitely time to get a replacement phone.  My phone (HTC Magic) has lost it's magic.  Coming up to being two and a half years old, it is running uber slow, the contact name/ number often don't display when the phone rings, camera takes ages to load and process pictures, even turning the phone back to the welcome screen (pressing of home button) takes such a loooong while to refresh.  I can no longer use the quick way of Google-searching things which this phone was designed for also, due to the loooong lagging delays.  As you can imagine, this has bad effects for when running a business and of course for my social life (Fb, texting, Whatsapp etc).  Oh yeah, I cannot seem to view video clips that people send through Whatsapp either!  Grrrr!!

So I have my eyes set on another Android phone.  I have grown attached to having my Google accounts linked directly to this phone, having everything at my disposal.  So the Samsung Galaxy SII is something in my focus.  But I'm trying to figure out which is the best deal to get with Vodafone.  I will not look to end this contract, cancel, then restart a new contract.  Will not take any tricky routes or try any loopholes as such because I do not want to port my number across or anything that might disrupt my business calls.  So... I think I will be busy these next few days trying to figure this out and calculating.  Haha!

Missed the gym for the third day now.  Still managed to do some workout at home after my morning devos, but just not the same is it?  Well, can't be helped really.  My 'cold' or 'sickness' has not gotten any better.  My voice has gotten rougher in fact and was today teaching whilst clearing my throat very often to make sure I am heard and that I don't sound too 'froggy'.  Sake man, how frustrating.  I am meant to go to Henry's birthday dinner at Prezzo tomorrow evening as well.  I finish work at 2:30PM, so hopefully no more coughing fits either.  We'll see how I feel after work before I finally decide.  I need proper rest, but haven't taken a day off so far as any cancellations made less than 48hrs before will be charged, meaning I will the pupil a lesson.  So I called my Friday lessons off today and explained I was not well.  Thankfully the Friday lessons are for pupils who saw me in my sorry state on Monday when I was coughing like crazy then as well.  I'll see them next Friday instead.  That way I will not risk giving them any more of my germs =(

Ok, to bed I go!!  Goodnight!!

Christmas 2011: Five days to go!!

Five days till Christmas and there is no snow, there is a forecast of 11C for Glasgow on Thursday AND I've still got this cold!!  Argh!!  More coughing today during lessons; covered my mouth of course!  But later on I started sneezing as well.  NOT a good sign!  Here I was thinking I was getting a bit better. Sigh... Maybe this is 'bad' before the 'good'.  Currently struggling to breathe through my right nostril.  Gah!!

Anyhows, better get to sleep soon.  Only up this "late" cos I just finished watching an old Chinese movie with mum through Youtube.  Connected the laptop through to the TV and played all ten parts of The Romancing Star, a 1987 movie which we had not seen before and I only watched the first part two days ago when I was randomly searching for Eric Tsang funny stuff.  Haha!  It was a typical Chinese romantic comedy with lots of laughs mixed with mistaken identities, chasing of girls and typical tongue-in-cheek moments.  It was nice to watch this movie with mum as it meant she was in a relaxed state on the couch as opposed to being busy in the kitchen etc.  =)

Looks like I'll be missing the gym for yet another day tomorrow.  It's horrible.  But at least I still got to workout at home a little.  Managed to do workout yesterday (joined by Cat) and this morning myself.  Then morning shower and breakfast and I'm ready to start the day.  Home workouts are great.  Not necessary a lot of floor space required for an effective workout.  I am storing up / learning good new routines that will come in handy for those days when I'm snowed in and can't even drive to the gym.  Lol!  Yup, better plan ahead.  I'm currently also testing out a workout program for a brother in Christ and by keeping accountable we're doing the exercises at the same time each morning, after we do devotions.  It's a good way to maintain our spiritual and physical health.  Both are equally important.

I thought up a slogan for this: "Devotion to God.  Dedication to fitness."

If this idea is successful and we might even get more brothers (possibly sisters?) involved, we could start a good healthy club going.  Will definitely be using that slogan then.  You know where you've seen it first!!  ;)

Christmas 2011: Six days to go!!

Aiming for bed at 11PM, so it means I will be hopping back into my room after I type this up.  Just had my shower and now sitting here with some honey water.  Not honey lemon as it's too late for that, too late to make a fuss of cutting lemon slices etc so just honey water for now, to help soothe my throat.  Was coughing a lot this morning.  Coughed through the night.  It's weird how I could be sleeping one minute then the next moment my throat would itch so much I'd cough and wake myself up!  Argghh!  How annoying.  Phlegm has started coming up, which according to Cat is a good sign, because it's the bateria/ germs etc rising up with the mucus and it should be signs of recovery.  Should be.  Haha!  Hmm... I might say Haha! here, but having a coughing fit during this morning's driving lesson was NO laughing matter.  Was quite embarrassed at one point.  Have you ever had such bad cough where you felt your throat tickling a lot and every time you open you mouth you can't help but cough??  Well that was what happened this morning at one point during a lesson.  And I could not say anything whilst keeping my mouth closed and refraining from coughing and splurting.  My face turned rosy (not as bad as yesterday's chairing of EM service!) and could feel tears forming =S  Ah well, the pupil was understanding at least =)  I really hope I get better soon, better drink up my honey water and get to bed!!

Lacking

I know I lack two things: proper hydration and proper sleep.  I don't drink enough fluids through the day and this is mainly due to my work lifestyle.  If I drink too much water, I will constantly need to look for a toilet for comfort breaks, even during lessons.  This would cause too much disruption to the pupil's lesson and maybe even the lesson plan/ route itself.  If I were to hold it in and just carry on with the lesson until it finished, I would disrupt and possibly damage my own internal waterworks system.  Lol!  Believe me, holding in the urge for a "number one" is very uncomfortable and can get very risky!!  Haha!  I used to drink so much water when I worked in the office: constantly topping up my water tumbler from the kitchen and sitting down by the computer doing my tasks.  But now water intake is reduced to once every two hours on average and that's not much much either, something less than 200mls at a time (I know because my 750ml KOR water bottle) never comes back empty even after a full day of work =(  What can I do then...?  I guess I should try to drink more right after work, replen my fluid levels because I would lose fluids through sweat (hot days or scary situations), through my breath (my job involves talking a lot) and through natural excretion.  I hope my body has not "gotten used to" such low levels of water.  Must keep hydrating!!

I also lack sleep.  "We are a plane of sleep deprived people" - Scooby.  His definition of "sleep deprived" is when an alarm clock is needed to wake you from your sleep, then you are sleep deprived, because your body is not ready to awaken and has not finished it's essential 'housekeeping' to maintain itself and recharge for the next day.  It's quite an interesting way of looking at it.  Because I am one who often turns the alarm off in the morning and just roll back into bed, even though I know it would be time to get up for the gym, work or for other tasks.  I guess that's my body's natural response to telling me that it is not "fully recharged" for the day ahead.  A bit like my HTC Magic phone currently which takes like a looooong time to get "fully charged 100%" battery status despite being charged overnight.  Signs of age I think.  So yeah, I know not having enough sleep will affect a lot of things: black eye bags (panda eyes), dull skin, dry skin (also linked to hydration), lack of concentration and possible mood swings for some people.  In terms of health and fitness, lack of sleep is detrimental to muscle building.  You work hard at the gym where your muscle fibres break up and need to build and grow.  But it can only do this when you are sleeping.  It is during sleep that the muscle building work happens and your hormones are also regulated.  So... lesson to be learnt here... get to bed earlier Gordon!!  Gotta have more self control over Facebook.  Cannot be tempted to stay on longer to check out people's statuses, respond to comments, idolise over pictures etc haha!

Christmas 2011: One week to go!

One week till it's Christmas.  This time next week I'll be wishing y'all Merry Christmas!!  =D

Really, time does fly by huh?  Today at EM Service we spent some time reflecting on the goodness of God in our lives in the year of 2011.  A few people have shared how they felt God's blessings through new birth in their families, through God being in control in all aspects of their lives, how God bless them through encouragement and accountability from others.  Not everyone jumped at the chance to share, but I am pretty certain inside that God had touched each and every person in the room (and more!) at some point in the last 365 day.  I myself feel so blessed by His guidance in my life.  At the start of the year I was still recovering from an incident from end of 2010 which took time to get over and time for me to get my head around.  That settled after a while of prayers and forgiveness from God and ourselves.  Then the highlight of the year was when I left the AA Driving School franchise and became an independent driving instructor, truly working for myself and under my own "company".  This is always a "risky" move because once independent you do not have any back up of a driving school to give you support or advice etc.  You have to rely pretty much on yourself from sourcing pupils to maintaining pupils and recruiting more later.  I really thank God for blessing me with experienced driving instructors who would give me words of wisdom and who pointed me in the right direction.  I was and still am blessed with instructor friends whom I can liaise with whenever I need that listening ear and we help each other out too.  I feel this has been a big important yet successful move for me but made So Easy, but only because of God =)

Have just checked the Glasgow weather for this week.  So far no signs of snow.  Ok, that's a good thing, although it has turned really cold nowadays.  Last Friday (16th) we had overnight snow which stayed till the morning and I was off work again.  The snow this time was not as bad last the snowfall previous Monday, but due to health and safety it was better not to have lessons with those scheduled pupils.  As for that reason I am seeing them tomorrow.  Will be starting at 11:30AM and finishing at 4:30PM.  Not a busy week ahead, which is just as well, seeing as I am not very well either.  Have developed a cough in the past few days.  I think I got it from my mum who got it from her workplace.  Or did I get it from pupils who were not well during driving lessons.  My jobs means I get more exposure to more people.  Hmm...  either way, being unwell means unfit to train which is a biggest bummer.  I will still work, because the cough is not that bad, and I try to open the window to get more fresh air in and also not let any germs (if any) breed in a stuffy environment.  See how considerate I am?  =P  Let's just hope my voice is sustained and does not go all croaky again!  Will not be fun!

Snow 2011

Yesterday morning the snow started falling for about three minutes before it all melted again.  The small flurry brought quick reactions from Facebook users, and I imagine from this Tweeters too, all announcing the snowfall in Glasgow.  However, the snowfall was short lived and everyone was left bemused and life carried on as normal.  By mid afternoon there was sleet and that made carrying/ transporting the PA equipment between churches quite troublesome.  However, God blessed us with three cars taking stuff to church and two cars taking stuff back.  Many cars, and hands, make light work.  =)

The heavy snow started to fall from around 11PM last night and by this morning it covered pretty much everything.  Currently as I type this, 3:35PM, it is snowing again, after a short break between mid-morning and afternoon.  I remember this time last year we already had over a week of snowfall and that brought the nation to standstill. This year we should be thankful that it was delayed because if it had arrived on 27th November again it would have affected our EM Autumn Retreat, at least the last day.  Last year I was so peed off at one point when there were so many inaccurate forecasts of snow and that affected the scheduling of my driving lessons, and of course my income.  This year the city councils are all promising us they are "better prepared" for the bad weather and will hope to make sure life can carry on as normal even with the snow here.  I hope I will be "better prepared" also with regards to my lessons and not expect too much, so can save on the stress and anger.  Haha!

Being productive

Today so happened I had no driving lessons.  Was meant to have a new pupil starting today, but she lost her provisional licence counterpart and we have to wait for it's arrival before she can take lessons.  Also the afternoon lesson was rescheduled for tomorrow anyway (here's hoping it can take place!).  So I had a good lie-in, then after the snow stopped I went to the gym with Cat and had a good workout without the usual time restrictions I have other mornings before work.  Once I got home Cat made soup and risotto, which I had the pleasure of eating as my post-workout meal, with added chicken.

So tonight what am I going to do with my spare time?  Well mum just got in from work about twenty minutes ago.  I have a few things I need to sort out:

1) Ironing
2) Catch up with my emails - 17 unread emails in my gmail, mostly fitness stuff
3) Do something on Word
4) Something else... can't remember what, but I know I have stuff to do for sure.

Ok, so I better get cracking with my stuff then.  I'll get ironing done now.  Ciao!!

Compliments

Received a compliment from a personal trainer at the gym this morning.  He was impressed that I could do the Hanging Windshield Wiper exercise.  I can't do it full range yet but between the pillars of the Smith machine and even then it really works the core esp the obliques.  I told him I started doing windshield wiper exercises on the floor first before even attempting the hanging ones.  The PT said he might try it when are less people looking, said he thinks it will be hardest to get the legs up in the air to start with.  I told him I was surprised I could do them the first time (only found out I could do them about two weeks ago, so now is my new hobby which I try to fit in to each session I'm in =P).

The compliment was nice and although it wasn't a big comment that "brightened up my day", it did give me positive encouragement whether the guy meant to or not.

The recent verse of the day through my Bible app was from Proverbs 15:4:

"The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit."

What this reminded me of is that we humans like to give and receive compliments.  Well some receive more than give.  God has given us a tongue to help us speak and communicate.  Ideally to help build each other up by speaking the truth, spreading the Good News and encouraging each other.  The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life.  Speaking the right words to somebody can really encourage them and put some positivity into their day, or their life.  It can really make a big difference to someone who has been feeling very down that day.  To hear something nice about themselves.

Some people unfortunately "mis-use" their tongue through lying, slander, (non-constructive) criticism and general negative comments.  Things they say are sometimes with anger, hatred and malice.  Those hearing such remarks will be negatively affected, whether you like it or not.  Even at a party setting where everyone is having fun.  It can take as little as one negative comment from someone to "kill the mood" of the party.  So we must be careful how we speak to people.  And try to make sure what we say is more towards positive.  Of course, if you are feeling low yourself there is no need to pretend to be happy happy.  But we should watch how we present ourselves otherwise.  Do we gossip?  Do we back-stab?  Do we divulge secrets?  Do we "slag" people off sometimes?  I am guilty of the last one sometimes.  When everyone is having a laugh about something or someone, I do feel tempted to join in 'for a laugh'.  But at the end of the day, I am aware there is a limit.  That I should not be doing it because God wouldn't be too happy about it.

Just some sharing about what I got from my Verse of the Day.  =)

High Court of Glasgow

It is raining outside right now, and it reminds me of the time I went for jury duty at the High Court of Glasgow back in 2005 when I was still working at Ford CRC.  It brings feelings of nostalgia as I will be making that same journey to court again.  Yup, received a juror citation letter through the post about three weeks ago inviting me to attend court on Monday 31st Oct 2011.  So I called up yesterday evening and it said I didn't have to attend this morning but was told to call again after 5PM today.  I still managed to teach today and during a long break I went to buy church PA equipment with Jason.  It didn't take as long as I had estimated and I still had time to pop home to see mum and to eat some food as well before my last lesson.

So... back to court tomorrow after about 5-6 year without being selected again.  It's so unfair!!  Seems like they recycle used names in a 5-6 year cycle.  My sister has never done it and I doubt they'll be inviting her anymore.  Haha!  Apparently we can only do jury duty a maximum of two times in your lifetime or something?  But then someone told me their dad did jury service three times!  LOL!  Hmm... anyway, I hope I can get there tomorrow, show face, and when the time comes for names to be picked I hope my name is not picked and I can be excused.  Because I do not want to lose any income.  Back in 2005/2006 I gave the form to my admin dept and they filled in my earnings and the court paid me for the loss of work.  But now, well being self employed means I will have to prove my earnings through accountant records etc and it all seems so troublesome AND they daily rate of pay is well below what I would earn on an average day.  Sigh...!

What's the point?

Was in a "can't be bothered" mood today.  Finished work at 3PM since my last lesson cancelled yesterday cos she was sick (genuine in fact, cos she was already losing her voice on Monday night's lesson).  So I had all this free time to spare.  Went to my Men's Store appointment to get some waxing done.  That only took about 10-15 minutes then I was back out in town again.  It was raining so I had my big umbrella up.  People were busy rushing about.  Cars and buses were busy going to their destinations.  Everyone had a purpose.  Yet I felt purpose-less, I felt aimless.  Originally I thought I might go to Next or M&S and look for suit trousers to replace my current ones.  And maybe even look for light jumper/ sweaters for having long sleeves for work in the car.  The recent dramatic change in weather has caught me out a little, especially last Monday when it was absolutely baltic.  Anyway, after using the toilet at Buchanan Galleries I just sat at the internet kiosk area, played with my phone and just couldn't be assed doing anything.

There was a feeling of loneliness creeping up inside me.  It has always lurked in the backgroud, but I do my best to fight it, not succumb to it.  I try to ignore it.  When I mentioned it to someone close, he said that I have the gym and my business to keep me occupied.  That is true.  I suppose keeping myself busy may "drown out the noise" for a while.  But what about after that?  What about at the end of the night?  The gym closes.  I finish work.  Then...?  I mean, sometimes things can feel so meaningless.  Get what I'm saying?  It's like a rich man who has all money and fame and power.  But no friends or family, sleeps alone at night.  No one to share happiness and wealth with.  Whats the point?  Yes I have friends and I have family.  But no significant other.  That gaping "hole" is getting more and more obvious now, at least to myself.

I'm not ashamed to say that but that longing is increasing daily.  I know some people say that they don't like to put things online, that they want to keep things private, don't want to let people know so much etc.  Well, that's their choice.  Too long have I listened to people's "advice" or "comments" and try to work them into my own life.  But you know what?  I don't think it'll work for me.  This is me.  This is my blog.  And I trust that it is my friends who actually read my blog.  Anybody else who stumble across my blog through Fb or through keyword searches are very welcome to read all this too.  Cos at the end of the day, this is who I am.  Gordon So, an ageing British Born Chinese Christian guy.  Yes I am a Christian, yet that does not stop me from having feelings and emotions right?  That doesn't mean I am free from feeling sad etc right?  Cos after all, it is these feelings and emotions that I share with the Lord and now I am sharing with y'all.

Some people might say that I needn't put things online, instead find a few friends to talk to and pray with you etc.  Well finding a few friends would mean having to repeat everything a few times.  Do you think I'd want that?  I might end up missing things out or saying the wrong things.  And most likely, when meeting with guys you don't get that emotional anyway.  Guys "act tough" and might not express themselves that well.  So if you wanna read this, then you're welcome to.  What you do with this information is also up to you.  Pray for me?  Laugh at me?  Tease me?  Share with your friends?  Whatever!

My sister is getting married next summer and will later migrate to Singapore to be with her hubby Nick, who so happens to be one of my close friends.  I am very happy for them deep down, genuinely.  Once Cat leaves though, the flat will only be occupied by mum and me.  Though I cannot fully comprehend what it will be like say exactly a year from now (20th October 2012), I know the house will be a lot quieter.  I will be 29 then and mum will be... nah, I am not telling you THAT!  But anyway, there will be simple meals at dinner.  Mum will be older so will be more tired after work.  Will I still be moaning like this?  Will the quietness at home mean I have more time for my mind to wander?  What's quite sad is I might not even have a partner to go to my sister's wedding with.  Who knows what God has in store though.  But at present the prospects are not looking good.  Why can't I find someone who is willing to commit to a relationship?  Why do so many people I know have to be studying?  Have to be in different walks of life from me?  I know God didn't create man to be alone, therefore when he created Adam God also created Eve as a partner for him.  In search of my "Eve" I have to remind myself that God has a plan for me.  A plan to prosper me, not to harm me.

Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

"Train hard to gain hard"

Made a big investment in something last week.  It arrived by courier today but nobody was in to sign for it.  Therefore I have to pick it up myself from FedEX depot at Cumbernauld(!)  Nooo!!  I say this is an investment because it will be very useful for me and others AND comes with a 15 Year Guarantee.  Cool or what!  =)  Looking forward to picking them up tomorrow around 8AM.  Will give up sleep and miss my extra gym session for it.  Worth it?  Should be!  =)

I also bought skipping ropes off eBay and they should be arriving soon.  My flat is quite small in fact, might have to skip out at the landing outside my doorway.  Haha!  Skipping is good and I have developed a liking for it after doing the Four Minutes of Hell workout created by Jeff Cavaliere.  So I now have an exercise mat, exercise band, weight lifting straps and later skipping ropes =)  Fitness is such a healthy habit and can be so addictive.  It's all I can think of really.  I think I am more passionate about fitness than I am about driving.  LOL!  And this training I am doing now, The Wolverine Workout is soo cool!!  It's a nine-week programme which is made up for three phases, each phase taking three weeks.  I am on week two it emphasises lots on heavy weights, more rest times than before (double in fact) and increases strength and size.  Already my mum has commented how I look bigger than before (that's even without her glasses on) and I got another compliment from a guy two days ago who said my training seems to be working well cos I'm looking good.  To hear that from a guy is like so cool, haha!

"Train hard to gain hard" - I made that up myself at the gym this morning to remind myself that in order to gain muscle and size I have to lift heavy.  No point in doing the same weight and it gets easy and comfortable.  Give myself a challenge and increase the weight for the Barbell lunges as well as the Dumbell squat clean and press.  It felt amazing!!

Anyhows, better sleep as I have to get up around 7AM tomorrow.  Later then my usual 5:55AM, so I will feel like I've had a lie-in.  LOL!

Bus journeys

This All Day bus ticket (now costing £4) was my travel buddy today.  I took two buses to get to church and two buses back.  So each journey was a Pound.  Worth it?  Hmm... not really.  Didn't like how I hit my left elbow off the metal arm rest at the very back of the bus (there were no other seats left).  Didn't like how I got off a few stops too early in fear of the 41 bus going a different route and ended up walking from George Square up to Watt Brothers on Hope Street (about 4-5 blocks away) whilst looking over my shoulder every so often in case my next bus arrived.  Didn't want to run or rush cos didn't like to get all sweaty and stuff before arriving at church.  Managed to arrive at bus stop across from church at 1PM sharp so got to do my PC/ Projector duty much on time.

After church service and later the meeting at church centre I waited at the bus stop on Gt Western Road for about fifteen minutes before a bus came that took me to town before I got off and onto a different bus (41) which took me home.  The 41 bus from Odeon was the first stop, so the bus sat there for about six minutes before it started it's journey.  From previous experience of taking the bus I remember it being common courtesy to leave the front few rows vacant for the elderly and mothers with prams etc.  So I sat on the second row behind the open space.  However, I must have grown some more since the last time I was on the bus.  Because my knees seemed to have felt squashed behind the seat in front and I had to sit slightly turned to the side.  LOL!

I almost got off the bus about three stops early because I started smelling cigarette smoke coming from the back of the bus.  The smoke is is something I definitely do not miss about public transport.  Yucks!!

Warning light

Managed to cut down the number of Fb photos to 560 from 919.  Was not easy I must say, took two days.  Lol!  Did most of it today, because I had so much spare time at home.  Not by choice, but only managed to teach one lesson today and cancelled another after the Fuel in Oil warning lamp lit up on my instrument panel.  Argh!!  That's the second time this has happened.  First time was back in May and the Ford garage performed an oil service and the light went off.  Surely it can't be the same issue again, and please, do not tell me there is another oil service required.  =(

So for now the car is parked across from the house and I'm not driving it until Monday morning when I will take it to the service department.  It's gonna mean taking the bus to church tomorrow.  And this weather, it's gonna suck!!  =(

Tag removal

Feeling vain tonight, so have started removing/ deleting tags from Fb photos that are not very good looking.  LOL!  Currently I have 919 photos that I'm tagged in.  Will take waaaay too long to finish tonight.  Haha!

Think I'll make it a project to do in the next two weeks or something.  Haha!  =P

Back after a while...!

Haven't posted for ages, since middle June, wow!  So much has been happening in my life, both good and not so good, but mainly good.  The Lord has always been good to me even though sometimes I forget to put blessings to blog, but I do my best to note down these blessings on my 'Grace Book'.  I must remember to give thanks for all that He has given me.  Our gratitude not only pleases God but indeed will be an encouragement to those who hear it, believers or unbelievers.  =)

Throughout the past few months I've been busy with work.  Work has had it's ups and downs as well.  The requirement of patience towards pupils and the endurance of working in a metal box under the blistering sun has never been greater.  Last summer I innocently worked wearing polo shirts and tee shirts and ended up with a tanned left arm whilst the right arm was noticably lighter.  Lol!  What's worse was, there was also a tan line difference from the top of my shoulder as well!  No, cannot have that!!  So this summer I've been wearing thin long sleeve tops whilst working.  It certainly adds to the heat at times, but at the end of my long shifts I don't remove my shirt to find horrible shades around me.  Haha!  Doesn't look good at the gym either all these weird tan lines.  However, having said that, I did get sunburnt at a recent barbeque in the back garden of a church auntie's.  I had put on sun factor 30 but that was apparently not enough to withstand the sun's rays between 3:30PM-8:30PM.  By the time I was about to leave some areas of my skin were in red shade and again noticeable to others who commented.  =S  Once I got home, my my, how red was I??!  Tan lines created by the singlet I wore to the barbeque.  I avoided wearing an ordinary tee shirt knowing the sun would be mega strong that Monday, so wanted to catch more rays.  However, I think my skin requires much higher sun protection.  SPF50 perhaps?   I cannot remember how I managed to survive Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong during my visits there.  And I didn't even wear singlets then.  Lol!  =P  Ah well, at least I have two long tanned arms and they are even in tan!  LOL!  =P

I'm now on Week 11 of a twelve-week training program called ATHLEAN-X and it has helped me lose lots of bodyfat whilst building more lean muscle and I have been so glad of this program.  It's definitely the first of it's kind to have such positive results on my body.  I am so proud of this program, it's unique ideas and the results it gives me.  I am frequently talking about this program to everyone I come across and I have bought all three of the ATHLEAN-X tee shirts and post up videos on my Facebook as well as it's well worth looking into for those who are interested in looking athletic.  I will definitely be sticking with and recycling this program as part of my daily workouts.  Due to my work schedule, starting at 10AM every morning (barring Sundays), I can only free up time in the early mornings somewhere between 6:30AM to 8:30AM.  I don't train for much more than an hour anymore like I used to.  The old concept was train longer, train harder, gain harder.  Nope, now my understanding has improved and my knowledge broadened to realise it is much more effective to train with high intensity in low time.  How does that work?  Well perform the sets and reps with as short breaks between as possible.  This keeps the heart rate ticking over thus burning up more calories and more fat.  And boy has it made a different to me.  The training program works on the whole body a lot and has two days of conditioning (not just conventional cardio) per week, leaving three days of training with weights.  It has helped bring out my abs as well.  Ooh yeah!  Having received some positive comments from people who noticed my shape also adds to the fact this program is great!  If anybody is interested to know more about this training regime, just give me a shout.  It is totally drug free and is great fun.  Just takes on average 40 minutes of your day five days a week.  How cool is that!!  =D

So I thank God for giving me the willpower, endurance and perserverance to get this far with the program.  The early mornings, getting up at 5:55AM when the buzzer alarm goes off, have not been easy.  Sometimes I do feel like giving up and flopping back down into bed and snuggling up.  But I push on and once I'm out the house the crisp fresh air helps awaken me and shifts me back on focus.  I thank God for the many safe journies to the gym each morning through the extremely quiet trip to the gym and the rush hour drive back home for breakfast.  I thank God for my injury-free training as well and I hope I am able to keep it that way.  I hope I can keep going from strength to strength both physically and spiritually.

The past few weeks I've been coming back to God as prior to that I let the busy-ness of work and working out distract me from spending time with God.  Finishing work late, having some light dinner, washing up, doing admin, spending 'some' time on Fb and before I knew it, it was nearing midnight and I definitely needed to sleep in order to get up at 5:55AM the next morning.  But praise God for calling me back by His side again.  A story which I shared regarding Psalm 127.  I hope everyone is encouraged by this verse and remember, no matter what stage of life you're at right now: whether it's enjoying summer holidays, seeking direction in life, job hunting, partner hunting, going through sickness or tough times, remember that Jesus loves you very much and God is in control of everything.  We must cast all our anxieties unto Him.  God is our Maker and with Him, through Him, nothing is impossible.  Seek first His kingdom and all things will be added unto you.  I was seeking and I have found... =)  God is able.  God is good.

Elated

Have not updated in a long while.  But since I have an unplanned four hour break I thought I might as well put thoughts onto paper, or in this case, onto text.  Haha!

I felt very happy last night.  The feeling of elation, the moments where everything seemed so nice, so peaceful and 'as it should be'.  It is hard to describe, but I'll try and break it down.  Hmm... where do I start though?  Lol!  Ermm... ok, dunno how to say this without sounding like I'm bragging, so I shall stay as level-headed as possible.

I had a reaaaaally nice dinner last night.  It was not just a run of the mill eating out dinner, but a home cooked meal.  The menu had what I like in it too: chicken (protein), egg (protein), tom yum (spicy), pork ribs (protein + fat) and later some home baked chocolate dessert too.  I'm not one for dessert usually, but boy was I taken in by the food presented to me.  Seeing the production process I could appreciate the amount of effort put into the meal.  It was not easy.  I think I would have been all flustered or struggled a bit.  Haha!

Each spoonful I had I ate with a smile which resulted in a funny looking face each time I chewed.  Haha!  I truly appreciated everything.  Helping wash up was the very least I could do in response to such kindness.  Immediately after dinner there was some musical performances too.  I enjoyed the music very much and whilst listening I was very impressed inside.  Wow!!  I was invited up to play some piano as well.  Was made a piano partner in a very simple piece but very nice.  Ok, my part was very simple, though I struggled to get my head around how to do it for the first five minutes, but once I got the hang of it, everything seemed to flow.  I am a slow learner you see.  I may take several shots at something before fully getting the hang of it.  But once I do, I stick to it and become better at it.  I think my personality is like that of a train - slow start up but with a very powerful drive afterwards.  Boom!!!  =P

Anyhow, those moments playing the piano, absorbing the air, listening to the music, laughing, smiling, focussing, making mistakes, starting again, laughing, making another mistake, finally getting it right... all seemed very very nice.  Hard to describe in words, but I think the word to use would be elation.  Yes, I felt elated.  I could just stay in that moment forever I think.  Haha!

All good things come from God.  God blesses us in so many different ways.  I truly felt blessed and I made that known to God at the end of the night.  These opportunities do not come by often, but when they do, I have to show appreciation to God and I have to give thanks to Him.  If it is His will, He will give other blessings to me too :)

Little pond?

He must have been a Godsend.  I think DD was right.  Maybe I have been looking in the wrong pond.  Big fish in little pond perhaps?  Time to move on I think...

It's amazing how God works though.  Just out of the blue out pops the question.  And of course, I gave honest answers.  I spoke my heart.  It's amazing how God can provide a counseller, a listening ear.  Someone to show concern.  I live at home with two women.  I don't have any senior guys to talk to conveniently.  After all, being Chinese as well, we are more 'conservative' when it comes to these things, usually.  I'm not that shy about these things, but just find it hard to find 'suitable' people to chat to.  So many people around me, all at different stages of life.

The prayer meant a lot to me.  Oh Lord, lead the way :)

Athlean-X Training System

On a different note, I have decided to change my workout regime and try out a new 90 program which is to help me develop more lean muscle mass.  Although currently I feel I am quite big in size and live up to my nickname Big G, I know I have a lot of body fat as well.  Too much in fact.  So this program, which has been vouched by thousands to have made a difference in their lives, is set out to give me different workouts every day for twelve weeks, along with an eating plan.  Follow it as closely as you can to get as better results as possible.  This would involve weight training Monday, Wednesday and Friday with conditioning (cardio) on Tuesday and Thursday.  Guess I can rest on the weekends.  Instead of slaving away at the gym for hours on end, each workout is designed to last about 40 minutes tops, leaving you more time to yourself yet having your heart beat just as much if not more than a long workout session.  The results should be seen within 3-4 weeks.  I am looking forward to this change.  New exercises to challenge the body and keep it guessing.

I will need to change some habits like try to get at least seven hours of sleep each night.  I will try to constantly drink water.  I will try to eat small portions every 2-3 hours of the day and keep my metabolism running high.  What else... erm... oh yeah, will continue using my mobile stopwatch to time my breaks between workout sets, making sure I don't slack when resting and take too long to get back into it.  Might mean no eating out for a good number of weeks too!

I took my weight this morning, one day before I start this program.  Most updated figures are:

212.2lbs - 96.2kgs - 15st 2lbs 

I shall update after a week I think.  Here's hoping I can get through this one week of training!  Haha!  If anybody is interested in seeing what this program is about, check out the link below!  =D

ATHLEAN-X

Hello again

Hey all!

Just thought I'd update a little post here since I've not said anything since.... 27th April!!!  Lol!  Time flies man!  27th April was two days before my 28th birthday!  Yes, my birthday was on 29th of April.  Oh my goodness!  I am 28!  That makes me one of the oldest member of the English Ministry in our church.  How amazing is that!  LOL!  Praise God though, that I am still of use in the church and can serve Him through different areas and I feel so honoured to be listed as one of the leaders of EM.  Sometimes time I feel so unworthy to be a leader.  I feel I have yet so much to learn and I want to develop my faith in the Lord.  I guess serving, seeking and learning runs hand in hand.  I want to mature in God as I mature physically.

In recent months I've been reminded of God's Sovereignty through devotions, how God's authority rules over all the Earth, that nothing and no-one can be more powerful than God.  Everything is in His hands, all things big and small.  It brings great comfort to know that the God whom I worship, whom I praise is the same God whom I can fully rely on and fully put my trust in.  I know no matter however my life unfolds, it will be alright, everything will be fine as long as I live according to His will, as long as I seek to please Him with all my actions.  So I have been a lot more conscious of how my verbal and physical communications can portray or display Christ.  I try to find ways to bring glory to God through what I do, what I say etc.  I can't say that I succeed all the time, but certainly He is on my mind a lot more these days.  And when my eyes are on Him more, I can certainly see His greatness and His Sovereignty displayed more and more around me and it is so encouraging!  =)

What else is new with me...?  Hmm... well I've just been working.  Oh yeah... work-wise, well the month of April was quite busy as it was my first month as an independent driving instructor, which meant I am no longer tied to a franchise agreement with a national driving school.  Been saving lots more in the weekly francise fee which equated to around £210 per week!  Yup!  Per week!  Regardless if I was working or not.  Well my weekly output these days are fuel and car washes.  How good is that!  I had spent lots on getting the car, the insurance, roof sign, business cards etc.  Basically to get myself started up.  So I need to wait a while before breaking even in that sense.  Saw the accountant last week for tax and accounts for Year 2010/2011.  Made a better profit compared to 2009/2010 but not good enough on paper to show banks for a mortgage.  He forecasts I should have a much better amount of income for 2011/2012 and should be able to apply for mortgages etc within two years, which is more promising.  Yes, two years sounds a bit far away.  My initial life plans were to be married, settled with life partner and a house by 30 years old.  Seems like that is not going to happen that way.  But then again, I submit my life to God and know that His ways are different from my ways.  So, Lord, take me, use me and mould me.  =)

Back to healthy eating again and getting more focussed with my gym training.  Been going to the gym at opening time of 06:30am nowadays.  It's much better going early when it's quieter (compared to after work) and then getting home early enough to have a decent breakfast, make packed lunch and even do devotionals before leaving for work again.  How I'd love to be able to do a workout, eat at the gym (nothing healthy there! and if I bring packed breakfast it will never be enough!) and then start work.  But that's not an option.  Guess morning is the only time I have for the the gym.  The time I have for myself.  Everyone else is in bed so I won't be disturbed and it is more of 'me time' before I start the day.  Take tonight for example, I finished work 9pm and got in at 9:15pm.  That's considered early, as I can be home as late at 9:40pm depending where the last lesson ends and if it runs over at all.  Anyways, Greens shut 10pm so if I don't go early hours I won't get any gym time at all!  =D  It feels great though to have the workout done early on so I can focus on the rest of the day and all foods that I eat will be burnt away due to increase in metabolic rate.  Does mean I get hungry oh so easily now!!  Haha!

So that's it really.  My life is pretty much focussed on these three things at the moment: God, work and the gym.  During the week I don't get to go out much as these three things fill up my week.  The weekends I get some opportunities to play.  Watch a movie in the cinema if I'm fortunate enough, might even have dinner with brothers and sisters in church after service.  It's nice to hang out and fellowship, to bless and encourage one another.  Thank God the weather has improved overall in the past few weeks.  No more blistering sunshine (which I am SOOO thankful for!) but enough light to give us longer bright evenings.  Lol!  Praise God!

Total fail

We all have our good days and our bad days.  Our ups and our downs.  Guess today was my "down" day.  Not all was bad, work was quite good today, praise God.  Both lessons went really well.  It was what happened between those two lessons that I am very disappointed in.  Felt very let down by my phone today, how the battery died on me moments before a scheduled meet up time.  I waited at the scheduled place but there was no show.  There were no signs.  I prayed that God's will be done cos without a phone meant no call, texts or internet, there was no communication and all that was left was prayer and trust in God.  God gave me the patience to wait.  I waited eagerly.  Tried to start up the phone again, but the said smartphone boot up takes longer than sixty seconds, therefore eating up more of the reserved battery.  Disappointing indeed.  Half an hour later bumped into someone whom suggested the appointment may have been forgotten.  Reluctantly I went back home to charge up the phone and powered up to check if everything was ok.  Everything was fine.  Apparently a text message was sent to me very near the time of meeting, but I still received nothing, even though battery was getting charged up.  So, no reply from me (because of no batt!) resulted in no meeting up.  What an epic fail!  Sigh...!  Everything else didn't matter.  My sallow face reflected my mood.  Total disappointment.

Nobody has any idea what this meant to me.  Ok, maybe God does.  Maybe it's His way of saying, "Son, give it up.  Submit to me!"  Arghh!!!

In my peed off mood, I shall no longer tolerate my phone having no battery, so tonight I went ahead with buying an in-car charger for my HTC Magic.  Very cheap, only £1.87 total price inclusive of delivery.  I can't believe this whole thing was messed up due to a dead battery.  I maybe should not have unplugged the charger at 97% this morning.  That 3% more power could have made all the difference to my day.... or could it have...?

A man after God's heart

King David was described as a man after God's heart in Acts 13:22:

"After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’"

That is what I strive to be also. I want to walk close to God and I want to live a Spirit-filled, Spirit-lead life.  What I strive for is simple, but it is not easy to achieve.  Sometimes there are many things that distract me and takes my focus away from God.  Sometimes the closer I am to God the stronger the temptations or the "bad things" happen to me.  From what I understand, this is the devil's doing, trying to bring me down and away from God.  However, I know I should stand firm for God.  I know should flee from the temptations. I should lift my eyes up to Jesus and draw strength from Him.

I want to honour God in all areas of my life.  The things I do, I try to bring glory and honour to His name.  Just sometimes I am not sure if it is enough or if I'm doing things the right way.  The three areas of my life which matter to me the most are: career, health and heart.

Career

Entered into a career as a driving instructor where there is no stable income.  Income can go up and down according to popularity and ultimately it's all at the mercy of the weather.  Long summer evenings means more work.  Snow, frost and adverse weather means being housebound due to health and safety reasons.  However, I remember the verses in the Bible, Matthew 6:25-26:

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?"

Although my income and popularity can fluctuate, I have peace in my heart knowing that the Lord will provide somehow.  That He will not let me go hungry and that I can continue my 'working to live' and not 'live to work'.  Driving tests are not easy things, they get harder and harder each year.  Every driving test pass I thank God for. There are certain test passes which I have witnessed first hand God at work.  Being in this job with no steady income, no paid holidays etc, I can be rely on God day by day.  With no backing of a national driving school, I am left pretty much on my own.  However, I know God is with me every step of the way and I am at peace and willing to be a testimony of His great love for me.

Health

I am quite a health conscience person.  Since 2003 I have been very conscious about the effects food and exercise can have on the body.  After losing almost three stones in around six months in 2003 I did not want to go back to my old looks.  It was in 2004 when I had my first girlfriend.  Prior to that, nobody was ever interested in me.  Many had ran away from me after knowing I liked them.  So besides chemistry, I believe my looks definitely helped get me noticed and attention from the opposite sex.  So think, why would I ever want to return to having so much flab on me?  In the past two to three years I have been looking into ways of enhancing my looks through body sculpting.  I would not really call it body building because I associate that with really buff guys with huge muscles, more like Arnold Schwarzenegger or Dolph Lundgren.  Body sculpting would be more like Jason Stathan, possibly Jackie Chan: muscle definition without the big bulk.  Being called Big G, I feel I should live up to my name and be Big.  As I blogged before a long time ago, being health conscious and having a decent size has it's benefits.  First, eating healthily will help keep my heart healthy and keep it running for longer.  Also, my body is the temple for the Holy Spirit.*  I should try to live and eat 'cleanly'.  When I train at the gym, I know ultimately I am relying on God given strength to complete my sets, my reps and my laps.  With my bigger size I am able to serve Him through physical stuff like moving equipment, setting things up as well as blessing fellow brothers and sisters in Christ by helping them move house etc.

*1 Corinthians 6:19:
"Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own"

Heart

Ah this one is very important.  So much to say about this one, but don't know what to say at the same time.  Hmm...  Ultimately I want to settle with a woman of God.  Someone who shares the same passion for Christ.  A relationship where we encourage each other's walk with God.  Some say it is important to marry into the same class.  I've even seen couples who work in the same line of work.  But where can I find a Chinese Christian female driving instructor?  Haha!  What about age?  Does an age gap make a difference?  How big a gap is acceptable?  If two people love God deeply does age, class, occupation and money really matter?  I would surely hope not, but what about stage in life?  How does one know what he/she wants in life if he/she is still at crossroads of their life and don't know which direction they are heading in?  What does God say about all this?  If only we live in simple Biblical times where everyone was a bit poorer (or so I'm guessing) and where people are more appreciative of the small things.  Didn't have technology advancement, didn't have undue expectations and pressures (or so I guess!).  Things these days can be quite complicated.

Praying to God and confiding in Him about waiting for the one whom he brings along.  Yes I can pray, but can I seek?  If I seek, does that mean I do not trust Him to answer my prayers?  If I pray and then do nothing about seeking, will He just miraculously drop someone down onto my lap? (Figuratively speaking!)  Prayer without doing anything... does that work?  Of course, if I'm asking God for Chinese Christian girl as a life partner, there are plenty whom I know.  But which one is suited to me?  And I to her?  Which one will not look at my income, my status, my longing for a family, and not be scared away?  Which one will understand my need for attention and the need to feel special?  I can devote myself to this one who can give me the chance, but is there chemistry?  So many questions swirling around my head and heart.

Therefore I should remind myself that if I seek first the Kingdom of God, if I look to please Him above all else in life, He will bless me with things in the correct time and in the correct place.  I have faith in that.  I have hope in that.  I know He has plans to bless me, not harm me (Jeremiah 29:11) so I can rest assure He knows my heart's desire to be with a God-fearing life partner and I am pretty sure He will grant it to me.  Even if I do consider potentials, I should tread carefully and with discernment of the Holy Spirit.  I must keep a close walk with God and so to know what I can/should say/do in order to approach people safely and in a Godly way.  I should listen to the Holy Spirit and let the inner voice guide me.  Above all, take my time, don't rush in.  Think a lot, pray a lot.  And remember God is ultimately in control =)