Working Out - Top of my To-Do List!

"Motivation is what gets you started; Habit is what gets you going"
- Fitness First.

For a patient of Bronchiectasis, strengthening the lung's capacity is always number one on their to-do list. What better ways to do that, than to exercise? Swimming, jogging, cycling. Its all monotanous, well, at least it is for me! Once boredom starts setting in, I start developing the "Lazy Bum Syndrome" and inadvertently starts making a ridiculous amount of excuses to NOT exercise.

Just to name a few (no pun intended):-

• Too caught up with other stuffs
  No time
• Tomorrow I'll start, I promise! (A day later is better than never at all) - or so i think!
• No money for that luxury

After countless advice from doctors, families and friends, and being inspired by a childhood friend of mine - Marcus, I finally decided to join a gym. For a person with short attention span, Gym seems like the best bet for me to start and maintain exercising namely because there were varieties of exercises for me to dabble in, ie: Body Jam, Body Combat, Body Pump, Yoga, Kick boxing & etc just to name a few of my interests!


So, with RM185 in hand, I signed up for the "Passport" Package in Fitness First that allows me entry into all Fitness First gym centre - Worldwide. That's not all. I was also given a starter pack :-
The starter pack consists of a back pack, a water bottle, a ear phone, a face towel, a fitness journal and journals on proper work out and healthy diet. No, that wasn't all. I was also given 3 free session with a personal trainer as well as two free guest passes for me to take any one of my friends there with me. How cool is that?! ö


Needless to say, that got me excited enough to want to start shopping for my sports gear the very same day, which i did Ü . Check out my cool neon green running shoes:
The moment i saw this on the rack, I fell head over heels in love with it! Within minutes, I was already holding it in my hands and walking towards the cashier counter. What cracks me up was that my best friend, Feroza saw me taking that shoe, and she exclaimed loudly : "Cindy, That shoe? ITS SO YOU!". I knew, then and there, that I was meant to own that pair of awesome Frogalicious shoe! Ü

Equipped with my sports gear and awesome starter pack, I'm ready to rumble! Bring on the Mean Machine! ;)

Baby Steps to Happiness.

Ever looked back into your life and smile at all the memories you had?

I looked back into mine and realised:

"Golly! I'm Alive!"

Bahhhh... You may thought of this as another one of my random-momentary-loss-of-self-appreciation-mode. I know for a fact, its not.

I have been feeling a little bit nostalgic as of late. wondering What Could've Been [*Rolls eyes* i know, again!] . This time though, i pretty much snapped. I took a long walk in the rain, reminisce once again on the past. This time, its with the intention of letting go. It Is Time.

Until I go all emotional once again, I am Happy Ü

I learnt that when you learn not to care that much, you're a much happier person. Ehh... this is contradicting to my motto of being born to love. i'm still a very passionate and fierce lover of all kind . Just keeping the Good vibes in.

Quoting from an old acquiantance - Martin Bukunawa:- Good vibes. Good vibes.

I now have colours in what used to be my colourless world

I Found my glimmer of H.O.P.E , Finally :) and it is Green! ^^

♥

Change of Pace.

They Say life is like an emotional Roller Coaster Ride.

Fast Paced. Winding. Frightening. Full of turbulence.

Dramatic yet so addictive all at once. I used to find living so exciting. Always on the hunt for more excitement & fast paced activities. i LOVE the adrenalin rush. Living life to the fullest with every waking moment of my life. I used to love being a passenger while my brothers and uncle were testing the cars for drag races. I love the speed and the momentary feeling of freedom as the speed picked up while they engaged in gear 3. They provided me with an escape route. I travelled back in time to a dreamland. For that 11 seconds of my life - I was in a state of euphoric bliss. And then I woke up.

Since then, I have had a change of Pace. More mellow, more slow paced. I'm still a dare-devil though, always on the hunt for more adrenalin rush. Sky-Diving, Para Sailing, rides. Thats a part of me that will never change.

The life of a Ferris Wheel. That's what I am. Slow and steady and constant.

Ü

Super Wednesday.

I am in a super Mood today! Ü
Started off my day in a wreck, but gradually started settling in. It's 3.37PM, a cuppa tea in hand, here's my To-Do list for the rest of the day! ^^v


To-Do for Wednesday, 19th Aug, 09
_____________________________

1. Finish up my Documentations
2. Nibble on some Tuna Spread cookies Ü
3. Drop by Celebrity Fitness (Yes! I've finally decided to live a healthy lifestyle)
4. Dinner (Most probably with Lionel - My personal trainer)
5. 45 Mins drive back home
6. Shower
7. Get online
8. Read
9. Off to Dreamland

Gearing up for a Happy Thursday! ü

Literature, Yes? No?

Sonnet 18, The Road Less Taken, Life's Brief Candle, MacBeth, Romeo & Juliet. Yes, these are all Classics which we nowadays call - Literature. I reckon many teens would find these boring as they had to learn them all through high school. I know I definitely did! As soon as the bell rang and it's English lesson for Literature, you can practically hear the whole class moaning in discontent. Looking back, it made me laugh. The funny thing is, now, I learnt how to appreciate the beauty of Classics and Literatures!




I've read the whole Little Women series, MacBeth (it is AWESOME. The late W.Shakespeare is a total genius!) and of course Sonnet poems collection. My favourite one though, was one I learnt during my high school years. It's The Lotus Eater by William Somerset Maugham, who, like me, is an avid traveller and evangelizes.





The Lotus Eater is a tale of a man named Thomas Wilson who fell in love with the Bay of Naples in the Island of Capri, Italy while visiting a friend. He has enough money to live until sixty, and wishes to live amidst the beauty in the Island of Capri. As soon as he hit sixty, he plans to kill himself. However, his suicide attempt failed, and he becomes mentally ill. His life becomes meaningless, and he lives like a wild animal. One day, he died under the moonlight on the hill side, overlooking the Bay of Naples that he loved so much.





This story has touched me a great deal. Thomas Wilson was having a good life before he moved to the Island of Capri. He was a well established banker. Yet he chosed to live it all behind and embarked on a journey of passion and love. Love for the Island. People often missed the crux of this literature. Thomas Wilson followed his heart. He died a happy man, because he was in his "Magic" place - on the hill top overlooking the moonlight at Bay of Naples.

The view of Moonlight overlooking tha Bay of Naples, Island of Capri, Italy.

I shall leave you pondering - Are you following your heart? The mind may say something, but you know the heart won't follow. I hope you are. Cos I am, and that makes me a very happy person. Ü

♥

Soulmate.

Have you ever read any book that changed your life?

I did.

A couple of weeks ago, I was running low on reading materials. Being the geek I am, I immediately headed towards the book store to stock up on my almost depleted stack of books and novels (Yes, i stock up my books!)

Initially, I had planned on getting some chic lits, or some romance novels as I was in the mood for it. As I was browsing through the Fiction section, a familiar author caught my eye. Having read two of Paulo Coelho's books, namely, The Zahir and The Alchemist respectively, "Brida" caught my eye.

Brida is a tale of a beautiful young Irish girl and her conquest in seeking out her Soulmate. I was once told by my best friend Juan, that everyone in this world has a Soulmate. Every one of us have someone thats born and made for us, just like Eve was made for Adam. Being a sceptic, i never believed in it - until i read Brida.

Here are some quotable quotes I found ever so encouraging and inspiring from Brida.

"Pain, loss and separation were inevitable on the path to love, and the only way of avoiding them was by deciding not to take that path at all. In order not to suffer, you have to renounce love. There are people who followed certain paths, only to be proven that they weren't the right one, but that wasn't as bad as choosing a path and then spending the rest of your life wondering if you'd made the right choice."

"Nothing in the world is ever completely wrong - even a stopped clock is right twice a day."

"People have been searching for and finding each other for thousands of years."

"Emotions are like wild horses- they demand to be heard."

"I have spread my dreams under your feet; tread softly because you're treading on my dreams" - WB Yeats

and my ultimate fav:

"When you were in love, you were capable of leaarning everything and of knowing things you had never dared even to think, because Love was the key to the understanding of all the mysteries."

So, the question remains as to whether have you found your Soulmate, the person who was made for you. I have.

Ü

♥

My Version of Slumdog Millionaire

Ü

This guy here, is a true version of the hit movie "Slumdog Millionaire" for the very simple reason that he had risen from poverty to achieve what he have today. Born and grew up in India, from the slums, he never had it easy! Hard work and determination paid off when he finally built his bussiness team successfully through APPCO Cobra. Yet, he is ever so humble and never hesitated in sharing his life experiences with others. Truly, meeting him was an honour (and did I mention he is super cute too!) Ü

People, meet the very person who inspired me with his life story - Sai Prakash.

My Hero.

For the past hour, I've been sitting here, with the laptop on my lap trying to come up with a witty funny topic to blog about. As you can see, i found none. I could've gone into the whole routine of talking about how my day today went like I've always did, but i figured I'd tell you a story instead. ü

There was a man. He lost his father at the tender age of 13. Being the second eldest son among 8 siblings, he was a protector. He protects his mother, he protects his brothers, he protects his sisters. He grew up faster than anyone else his age did. He matured. He worked hard to provide for the family. At 29, he got married. Raising 4 beautiful kids, he is a happy man. 12 years later, at 41, he became a widower, having lost his wife to a long battle with cancer.

A lone ranger, a single parent, he tried his best to raise his 4 kids by himself. Refusing to ever give up, he try his best to instil the best values he can in his kids. God love him so much, He sent him another person to love 8 years later.

Now, all his kids are fully grown, some are married, others not. They all had their respective careers. This same man who raised them single handedly, never expects anything more from his kids, instead, he prayed every single night that his kids would pass on the exact same value that they had grown up to,to their next generation. He prayed every single night, for the safety and comfort and happiness of his kids. He was and still is, a protector.

At 61, this same man was diagnosed with Stomach cancer. The very same illness that robbed his wife away from him is now threatening him. He never gave up. His support system came from his four kids. The ones he raised with his bare hands, the ones he taught to protect one another as a family. The very ones he taught about love.

He's now a fighter. He fights. He's fighting against the illness. He refused to succumb. This fighter, is my dad.

♥

My life, as a Bronchiectasis Patient.

Wheezy breathing, Short of breath, mucus, tightened lungs.

Sounds Familiar?

Yes, these are symptoms of mild asthmatic. Without great care, it may developed into chronic asthma. Yet, unknown to many, Asthma is one of the symptoms for bronchiectasis (brong-ke-EK-ta-sis), a fatal illness, yet underestimated by many.

Bronchiectasis is a condition in which damage to the airways causes them to
widen and become flabby and scarred. The airways are tubes that carry air in and
out of your lungs.your airways slowly lose their ability to clear out mucus.
When mucus can't be cleared, it builds up and creates an environment in which
bacteria can grow. This leads to repeated, serious lung infections.Each
infection causes more damage to your airways. Over time, the airways lose their
ability to move air in and out. This can prevent enough oxygen from reaching
your vital organs.Bronchiectasis can lead to serious health problems, such
as respiratory failure, atelectasis (at-eh-LEK-tah-sis), and heart failure.

Initially, as a child, I've always had difficulties in breathing. I've always been told that they were due to my sinus problem as I was born with little weak lungs. Gradually, the persistent difficulties prompted my parents to take me for a more thorough check up. Lab tests shown that I do indeed have Chronic Asthmatic. But that was not it. Water was found in my lungs passage. This shows that I was prone and is easily affected with pneumonia. Great steps had to be taken, ie:

• Lots of Vitamin C's
• Multi Vitamins
• Cod Liver Oils
• No cold beverages - anytime
• Ventolin Inhaler to be puffed every 4 hour
• Steroid pills as a suppressant.
• Lots and lots of excercises.

Initially, I got better. Being a rebel, I stopped all precautions as I thought I was fine. BIG mistake. No sooner did I stop my medications, I lapsed into a state of shock and my chest started hurting due to the countless attempts I made trying to get a full breathe of oxygen.

Second lab tests was run. I was diagnosed with Bronchiectasis. However, there's a catch. I was also found to be severely allergic to NSAIDs, Paracetamols, and most of all, Aspirins. Simply put, Painkillers. In all likelihood, should I have reaction towards any of these mentioned medicines, it will prompt an asthma attack which needs an immediate attention of Nebulizer and Ventolin shots.

From that moment on, in my life, everything changed. I started paying attention to my food intake. I started cutting down massively on cold beverages, although at times I do sneak in some ice creams ;) . I started excercising more vigorously, especially swimming. There was one thing I hated though - the medical treatments. I felt as though I was treated like a lab rat as multiple tests was being ran on me to see the extent of my allergies. For one, they hurt big time! and secondly, I was always paralised for a few hours waist down. I hate the feeling of being immobile, even for a couple of hours.

Up until today, The same process was being repetitively ran on me. I have no complains. I have since then, found a reason to carry on living. Like I always say, Hope, Believe and Have Faith that someday, all of these would be over. Until then, I shall keep breathing and keep Living my life like there's tomorrow.

In the words of Rudyard Kipling - Life's a Brief Candle. I'm going to make the best out of it, while I can.

I Remains,

Your Little SunShine.

Making a difference.

I never knew that life itself can be so fragile. One day you’re alive, the next moment you may pass on. I once read this absolutely great book authored by Madame Leslie Pearse. One out of the many quotes caught my eyes, and since then, has sticked as one of my favourite quote – Never Look Back Into Your Life. I never really understood what it had meant the first time it caught my eye; but I did gradually.

Growing up in a loving family made my life a whole lot easier. Even though I’ve lost my dear mother at the tender age of one, I’ve grown up in an environment absolutely surrounded by love – my goofy mischievous yet disciplined father, 3 huge protective oafs as my brothers, an absolutely loving yet funny step-mommy, my step-sister who’s the only person who’s able to make me laugh despite all my sadness, my ‘young-at-heart’ sister-in-law, and believe it or not, my precious little nieces.

I was never contented though. There was so many things that I’ve wanted to achieve in my life. I wanted to be a successful lawyer in time to come – graduate with honour, and make my loved ones proud. I want to be able to travel to every part in the world and to my dream place – Capri Island; I want to someday be able to try out bungee jumping, eat different kinds of exotic food from various places of the world and make my own memories everywhere I go! Of course, being a typical little lady myself, I never had any qualms about getting married someday and set up my own happy family!

Then I realized, just how many stupid times a day have I used the word ‘I’. It was always ‘Me’, ‘I’, ‘We’ and ‘Us’. It was never ‘You’, ‘Them’, ‘He’, ‘She’, ‘Him’, or ‘They’. How many poor banished children suffer from cold and hunger? How many wives are widowed and childrens orphaned? How many little ‘uns been left maimed, crippled, begging on the streets to fight for their living? Everyday, we perceived of little children been massacred, exposed to perversion, abused and all we could do is say “Oh, poor thing. How can anyone do this to them? Why isn’t anyone helping these poor kids or poor women?”

It dawned on me that I can make a DIFFERENCE in the lives of these people! I can never possibly help all of them, but I can start with the minority. I don’t have to go all out against anyone to fight for the rights of these peoples. All I have to do is give up my seat in the bus to elderly or pregnated women, drop some coins in the hats of the street performers or little suffering kids, do not avert their eyes; instead, give them a warm smile. Every now and then, pay a visit to some homes for the vulnerable. It’s the very least I could do. I never want to someday look back into my life and regret while saying ‘I should have done that’.

So, instead of sitting around and feeling sorry for these people, you can lend a helping hand and make a difference in their lives. What are a few coins to the hundreds we carry in our pockets? What are a few minutes of standing up compared to the elderly standing on their fragile weakened bones and pregnated women carrying double the weight? What are spending a couple of hours in homes compared to the amount of hours we spent being a couch potato at home watching the plight of these people? If we can smile to the people we know, why can’t we smile to these poor kids on the sidewalk?

Let’s all work together and make a difference. May it be a minor difference, or a major difference, we DO make a difference. Have faith, and be a little kinder. After all, Every decision we do in life, we do it by faith. Faith, hope and love keeps the world a better place to live in.

And so, in the words of the late Mother Theresa:-

Happiness isn’t until you share it with those who really need it

Desire.

I Saw this on Karlie's notes on Facebook, felt it was lovely, so i'm posting it here for anyone who beeped by :)

A lover knows only humility, he has no choice.

He steals into your alley at night, he has no choice.

He longs to kiss every lock of your hair, don't fret,he has no choice.

In his frenzied love for you, he longs to break the chains of his imprisonment,he has no choice.

A lover asked his beloved:- Do you love yourself more than you love me?

Beloved replied: I have died to myself and I live for you.I

've disappeared from myself and my attributes,I am present only for you.

I've forgotten all my learnings but from knowing you I've become a scholar.

I've lost all my strength, but from your power I am able.

I love myself...I love you.

I love you...I love myself.

I am your lover, come to my side,I will open the gate to your love.

Come settle with me, let us be neighbours to the stars.Y

ou have been hiding so long, endlessly drifting in the sea of my love.

Even so, you have always been connected to me.

Concealed, revealed, in the unknown, in the un-manifest.

I am life itself.

I desire you more than food or drink

My body my senses my mind hunger for your taste

I can sense your presence in my heart

I wait with passion for you..