Raya '07 : The Rest of the Hari Raya Break Days

Day 2 was suppose to start with a visit to some more relatives of ours in Kelang but I had to opt out of the trip. Woke up the second day feeling terribly bloated from all the food that I had the day before. One unfortunate side effect that I’ve seemed to have developed from dieting in the past year is that I keep feeling nauseous if I had too much to eat. I usually would take a cup of tea to keep that feeling in check but it didn’t really work for me that day. Given my predilection of getting motion sickness especially when I feel nauseous, I decided to forgo the drive out to Kelang and decided to stay home to recover.

I stayed in continuing my game of “Neverwinter Nights 2” that I’ve already spent nearly a few month’s worth of weekends on. The game storyline was still quite addictive even after all the time I’ve already spent on it. I was also expecting to have to entertain the neighborhood children who would usually turn up at your front door mainly to ask for their share of duit raya. Strangely enough, I hardly saw any come by this year. In fact, I did not see any children going out to visit the houses unattended like they normally do in previous years. I’m guessing that the recent tragedy of Nurin Jazlin was still fresh in everybody’s mind and would not dare let their children go out unattended like they would normally do.

In a way I was relieved that they did not turn up as I’ve never one to be patient with the greedy money grabbing children whose only reason to come was to get a duit raya packet from you. It’s bad enough that some don’t even sit long enough to eat something but to blatantly ask that you just give them money at the door when you open it was downright rude. But then again, the lost of childhood innocence due to the tragedy would definitely be regrettable. It’s terrible that children cannot feel safe in their own neighborhood and have to relent being cooped up in their own houses. Things have really changed since I was a kid back when dinosaurs walked the earth.

Those who went to Kelang came back at around 4 pm. They had planned to go straight to my uncle’s place in Sunway but it turned out that his whole family would be celebrating Hari Raya at his in laws place in Cheras. Since we didn’t really have any place else to go and visit, we just decided to spend the rest of the evening at home to recover from the past 2 days.

Day 3 was basically the last day of Hari Raya celebrations for us as most of the other members of my family started work on the next day. We had some friends of the family visiting but the highlight of the day had to be when both of my two brothers current girlfriends and my sister’s current boyfriend came to visit the family. It’s almost a rule in the family that if you wanted to bring anyone to meet the parents, a Hari Raya visit would be the best time. Everybody have forgiven everybody else for their past year’s grievances and everyone was in a more receptive mood to be introduced to the person you currently dating. Of course with them visiting, all eyes would fall on to me being the only one this year who had not brought anyone to meet the parents. I don’t know why they put on this act to be surprise that I didn’t since I have never brought anyone home to meet my parents. At least none of my female acquaintance.

Once the visits were done and over with, a few of us decided to spend sometime doing some shopping for my mum’s overseas trip. She wanted to get a new bag to replace the one that had a broken zipper as well as some warm sweaters to being to the trip. Since I had to pick up my monthly stash of comic books at my usual comic book shop, we decide to go out to One Utama to shop after my stop at the nearby Centerpoint mall. One Utama was already packed with shoppers when we go there so I guess that the crowds were already starting to come back to KL after the long weekend. Mum found the sweaters that she liked and I lucked on some t-shirts on sale from the DC Comics merchandise store that I had my eye on before. The original price was way too much for me to consider to be reasonable for a t-short but at a 70% price slash, it was hard to resist. Even my youngest brother got a few for himself even if he was not a comic book fan. We ended the day with a trip to Giant to get some groceries to stock up before mum left on her trip.

Day 4 was a quite day since everyone who had to work was already going back to work. Since we didn’t plan to do any traveling this year, no one, with the exception of me, took an extended leave of absence from work. I actually had to since I would be just wasting my allotted annual leave again if I didn’t clear them by the end of the year. I spend most of the day hooked on the computer playing my computer games. I guess in hindsight I could have done something more active than that but I was just in the mood to do a bit of online dungeon crawling and simulated hack and slash against an army of monsters. I did helped out my sister make a fresh batch of our cookies but baking wasn’t really something that I could get excited with. In the end I decide to do my laundry as I would hate to cart back my dirty clothes back from my parents’ place instead of to like any other sane person.

That night we went to my aunt’s place nearby for dinner as well as my cousin’s birthday celebration. There were quite a few people there when we arrived. The thing with my aunt was that most of the guest who came sounded very familiar even when you have never seen them before. This is because my aunt and her family were involved in voice acting jobs for local TV stations. They have lent their voices to several translated dramas and animated series which was always a hoot for me since I used to watch some of their work when I was younger. As a child I also did some voice work for radio but that stopped after my voice broke and I sounded too old for the parts that I was given up to that point. It was too young to do older parts on the radio so I just stopped doing them which effectively ended my 15 minutes of fame. Seeing some of the faces that I knew from back then and finding out who was doing which character in which cartoon series made for quite an enjoyable time.

Day 5 of Hari Raya was the last day I spent at home in Selayang. It was mainly my packing day as I had a few items that I needed to take back with me to Sunway. Chief among them were the homemade cookies that my sister made and the last bit of the dodol that I made. I’ve always made it a rule to bring back some of my Hari Raya cookies to share with friends ever since I was at boarding school. Nowadays I bring them back for my coworkers and a special batch for my boss. I also brought back some of the homemade berasak (check out what it is in a future entry) and tempeyek kacang that my second sister brought back from her visit to our Johor relatives while she was there visiting her in-laws. My aunt in Pontian would make them only during Hari Raya and the berasak especially was well worth the 1 year wait to get them.

Once mum got home, we started to pack up our things to leave. Mum had to meet up with the other participants of the conference that she was going to at KL Sentral so we made our first stop there. After saying our goodbyes, we went straight to Sunway to drop me off at my apartment. While the time spent at Selayang during the Hari Raya break was an enjoyable one, I was happy to be back at my own place. Guess that while having your family around you can be fulfilling, sometimes you just need your space to sit down and reflect on what you have. Of course for me it also meant that I could start going to the gym again to work off all the food that I’ve eaten during my Hari Raya break.

Whatever the reason was, I was happy to be back on my own.

Raya '07 : 1st Day (Part 2) - Of Family Traditions

After the short visit with the neighbors, we waited for my aunt and her children to rendezvous at our house before we went out to visit my late maternal grandmother’s grave. Being the eldest in her family, my mum’s place has always been the meeting point for my two aunts (I have no uncles on my mother’s side) on Hari Raya morning. This year my Mak Ngah (middle aunt) could not make it as not all her children were around that morning so it was just us and Mak Su (youngest aunt) with her five children. We drove to my late grandmother’s gravesite in Hulu Kelang to pay our respects and to offer our prayers to her. I have already went there a day earlier to clear up the gravesite and surrounding area so this was an extra visit for me personally this year. We also made plans to replace her grave marker next year since it would be the 10th year anniversary of her passing.

After my grandmother’s grave, we had another stop to make at my step mum’s gravesite in Kepong. My father took a second wife when I was about 15 years old and she basically was added to the family as my second mum but not without some amount of drama beforehand. They were married for about 12 years before she died suddenly from heart related complications back in 2000. My dad did not have any children with my second mum so we’re basically were the children who would visit her gravesite on Hari Raya morning. As before, we stopped by to pay our respects and offer our prayers for her before returning home to prepare for lunch with my aunts.

Hari Raya lunch has always been a long-ish affair for the family. With 3 sisters in the family and 5 children of their own for each sister, lunch would almost be always exclusively for my mother’s side of the family. This year we only had Mak Su’s branch of the family for lunch. Mak Ngah did turn up later but with only her eldest daughter and her boyfriend since the rest of my cousins from that branch of the family had to drive down to Melaka to be with their father. We ended up having so call lunch from 2pm up to about 4pm since no one really had any place else to go before then. Some of my father’s friends from his drama productions stopped by as well during the period so in away it became sort of the unofficial open house for the family. I tried to mingle as much as I could be being the eldest among my cousins, I didn’t really had someone my age group to mix around with. I ended up going up to my room after 3pm to take a short nap since I was already tired by that time.

I woke up at about 5 pm to get ready to go to my father’s sister’s place in Sg Besar which is about 2 hours drive from Selayang. Since we did not made plans this year to go back to my father’s kampung in Pontian, we had 2 places that we had to visit from my father’s side of the family which was my uncle in Sunway and my aunt at Sg Besar. Since she was further, we decide to go to her house on the first day and my uncle’s house later in the week. The trip to Sg Besar started good enough for us before it started to rain when we reached Sg Buloh. The sky then proceeded to open up and dumped buckets on us as we traveled slowly to Sg Besar. By the time we reached Tg Karang, we could see some parts of the town was already flooding but we couldn’t really turn back since it was already quite far into the journey. Thankfully we reached my aunt’s house in Sg Besar without any problems even in the heavy downpour.

Most of the family from my father’s side of the family were less well off than we were but that didn’t stop them from piling on the food for us. I’ve always been a bit embarrassed by how much they would go out of their way to accommodate us when we came visiting as if our family have never gone through the same hardship in life that they were going through now. I really do appreciate what they have done for us but I’ve always wished that they didn’t really go thorough all the trouble. My family may have lucked out and came out better then they did but we never forgotten our shared humble beginnings.

Dinner that night was a simple spread of rice with rendang kerang, masak lemak pucuk ubi, ikan kering, ulam and sambal tempoyak. With the exception of the tempoyak, everything else was exactly what I was craving after the day of eating ketupat and rendang. I even had more helping than I should have since it was quite good kampung eating and that my aunt was piling my plate faster than I can decline the next helping. She kept on saying that I’m lost too much weight during the fasting month and would not take no for an answer when she offered me more food. I’m fairly certain that she was trying to make me gain all the weight back in that one sitting. Thankfully for me, everyone eventually stopped eating and cleared all the dishes before having our post meal coffee which was something that my father’s side of the family would never fail to do. My father’s side were all big coffee drinkers and they would always insist on getting home brewed coffee instead of the run of the mill instant coffee. I think they got the habit from my late fraternal grandfather who would always have coffee after his meals.

It was almost 11 pm when we finally said our goodbyes and started our journey back from Sg Besar. Unlike previous years, my youngest brother, who got his driver’s license earlier this year, was driving the car. Me being me, I could not help but be anxious at the way that he was driving especially when it was clear that he had a lead foot when it comes to following the speed limit. There were more than a few occasion that I had to remind him to watch the way he was driving much to his annoyance. I don’t really know why but having a lead foot on the accelerator when driving seems to be a trait that my brothers share with my father. Hopefully I would remember not to be the same when I start driving myself.

We arrived home safely at around 1 am. Fully satiated and tired after the long day, no once really wanted to do much of anything else other than get ready to go to bed. The first day of Hari Raya has been pretty much the same as our previous years namely it being the day that we spend with the family. Most of the time it would be with my mother’s side of the family since they were mostly in KL but sometimes it would be with my father’s side of the family if we traveled down to Johor for the holidays. It was the time for us to renew familial bonds and catch up on each other’s news up to that point. From the time we were kids it has been drummed into us that 1st day of Hari Raya was for family only. Even after we have all grown up, we would not normally have people outside of the family visiting until at least the 2nd day of Hari Raya.

Raya '07 : 1st Day (Part 1) - Of Family Traditions

(My cream colored Baju Melayu for Hari Raya - better known in the family as hopefully "baju nikah" )

My Raya break actually started the day before Hari Raya since I had a whole boatload of unused leave days to clear before the end of the year. Since I’ve already done my part of the Raya preparations by making the dodol the weekend before, I only had a few things left to do on my raya preparation checklist. Highest on that list was to cut up the huge bundle of the pandan leaves into fine slivers to be mixed with flowers and rose water. This is a very common item that Malays would bring when visiting the gravesites of loved one on Hari Raya morning. We would scatter them on top of the graves in somewhat of an offering which is not really one since there is no such requirement in the religion. I guess it is more of a traditional thing we do on top of the offering of prayers to the dead when we visit.

The whole thing nearly took me half a day to complete since my dad bought so much this year. It’s always been a big chore for me to do it since everyone would insist that the slivers of pandan leaves be as fine as possible. Given that I’m all thumbs when it comes to handling knives or any sharp kitchen implements, it took me longer than others to finish it all. While I was doing that, my youngest sister was busy baking the raya cookies in the kitchen. She has taken over the task of making our yearly batch of pineapple tarts and chocolate chip cookies from my mum since she perfected her recipe same years back. The two cookies would be the one visitors would find most every year at our house. Occasionally we would have a few others that would be either homemade or store bought but you could almost be certain that we would have pineapple tarts and chocolate chip cookies on offer.

My youngest brother would be the one tasked to clean up the house from top to bottom. Out of all the siblings, he is the best housekeeper of the bunch unlike me who would actually let dust bunnies breed before putting a broom to them. The funny thing is that he would always be grumbling when he does it so he sounds so much like an old matron when he has to do it even though he always told us that he prefers doing the house work compared of every thing else on the work list. It’s hard not to giggle around him when he starts complaining to himself about how dusty things can get even when they were all in glass cabinets. He usually would have my third brother to help him out but this year my third brother was still dealing with his divorce and was not much in the helping/celebrating mood. We had hoped that he would have snapped out of it by now but it seems that it would take him a while to get back on his feet again. Till then we all agreed to give me the space that he needed.

My second sister came later in the evening with her brood to help my mum with the cooking. This year we had chicken rendang, beef kurma curry, fish in tauchu sauce and the obligatory Javanese sambal goreng. Being a family with varied tastes, mum always made sure that we had something that we loved to eat for Hari Raya so the chicken was for my youngest brother, beef was for everyone else, fish was for my father who would eat nothing else and the sambal goreng was all mine. Another family raya tradition is that would always have both ketupat nasi (made with normal rice wrapped in coconut leaves) and ketupat palas (made with glutinous rice wrapped in palas leaves) . This tradition came about from us being split in the middle when it comes to our preference for the type of ketupat to eat. Of course me being me, I like them both equally and would indulge myself on them more then I should. Fortunately no one in the family particularly crave lemang for Hari Raya or else we would have to get that as well.

Hari Raya morning would be quite a hectic one since everyone would be waiting their turn to bathe before going to the mosque for Aidil Fitri prayers. It could easily be resolved by have everyone wake up earlier but somehow that never works in my family. The men of my family are well known to be heavy sleepers who always needed a bit help to wake up early in the morning. We did manage to get everyone bathed and dressed by 8 am since we had to be at the neighborhood mosque by 8:30 am for Aidil Fitri prayers. This year, I decided to go along with the whole group and wear both my songkok and samping with my baju melayu. I would normally in previous years be the odd one out who would just be wearing baju melayu to go for the Aidil Fitri prayers. I guess I did make the effort to buy a new samping when I was on my Perhentian trip so not wearing it on Hari Raya would just be wasteful.

After Aidil Fitri prayers, we all returned home to start the next must do thing on Aidil Fitri morning. I don’t know if it’s the same with other families but the act of asking forgiveness on the morning of Hari Raya is always been a hilarious one for me since we all grew up. When we were younger, there was always a somewhat formal occasion to it and we would know when to expect it. Nowadays, we would just end up waiting for it to start since it all depends on when my mum gets ready in the morning after Aidil Fitri prayers. The rule in the family was my mum would start the ball rolling by asking for forgiveness from my father then all the children would follow according to age. So after my mum, my turn came to ask forgiveness from my father then my mum then I would take my seat for my next sibling in line and so on till the youngest sibling. The funny thing is that we would all be waiting around for my mum to start the ball rolling which is becoming more later in the morning as the years pass. It something that we had to do before we could get to eat but no one wanted to jump the queue (so to speak) before my mum had her turn.

After all have been forgiven for the past year’s grievances and finally got to sit down for the first of many family meals, we had to prepare to receive our next door neighbors would come and visit us this year. Since all my grandparents have passed away, my parents’ Selayang house has become the de factor kampung for us. We still have relatives in Pontian but officially when we tell people that we were going to ‘balik kampung’, it would definitely be going back to Selayang. Both our neighbors were in the same situation so on alternate years, we would exchange visits to each other houses early on Hari Raya morning. Some years we three would be the only Malay households left in the area since everyone else had their kampungs to go back to. Over the years, the tradition would keep all three families close to each other so much so we consider each other as extended family. Add to the fact that we were the first 3 households to live in the area when it first opened and have shared many births, weddings and deaths, it would be hard to imagine not getting visits from them on Hari Raya morning.

(to be continued)

Call Off The Search Party ….

Still alive folks! Haven’t overdosed on ketupat and rendang or anything of the sort. Will be updating the blog with my raya entry in the next few days.

Till then some snapshots of the homemade kuih raya that I brought back from home. Not really enough to have an open house with but enough to share for those who want a taste *wink*

(Tempeyek Kacang - homemade from Pontian, Johor)

(Dodol - old family recipe)

(Rustically made from down to up - Tat Nenas, Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Rice Cripsies)

(Homemade offerings)

(Care package from home)

Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri

To all who will be celebrating it, I would like to wish you “Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri”. Stay safe during the holidays and be careful when driving on the road. Bad enough that every festival in Malaysia comes with a now prerequisite total of road accidents and fatalities. There is no need for any one I know to get added on to the daily Ops Sikap statistics.

For those not celebrating Hari Raya, I hope you’ll take time off to enjoy the long weekend. Of course being in Malaysia, it’s hard to think that you guys won’t get to join in the festivities as well. If you do get a chance, don’t look back and just go for it. Experiencing each other’s culture and festivities is part of what being a Malaysian should be.

I am already back at my parents house in Selayang where I would be celebrating Hari Raya at. Most probably spend a few days here but haven’t really decided since no one made any plans yet. I know that my mum would be traveling abroad for a conference on the 18th so if there will be any out of town traveling, it would be before then. If nothing else comes up, I might just came back to Sunway early and chill out though I would most probably be holed up at the gym trying to burn off all the Raya food that would definitely be tempting me.

Still have a few thing to do around the house before Hari Raya. Mostly cleaning up the house and any last minute items that need to be bought tomorrow. I also need to go and clean up my grandmother and stepmum’s gravesites so both would look presentable when we go to visit on Hari Raya day. Last but not least, I still have to dye my gray hairs back to black (well … actually I’ve been using dark brown). Yes … I admit that the color you see on top of my head comes out of a tube. I wouldn’t mind not dyeing it if my grey hairs came out evenly but unfortunate for me, it comes out in patches all around the head.

I’ll continue to blog this week if the mood strikes me but if I don’t, it’s not because I’ve overdosed on ketupat and rendang. It might be due to me enjoying my time with the family.

Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri & Maaf Zahir dan Batin !

InBody Check Progress - Sept '07

I finally got a copy of my last InBody check I did at the gym at the start of my sessions with PT. I am looking forward for it as it would basically tell how I did during the fasting month since the last one I took was just before the fasting month started. Looking at the results, there were a few things that popped up as something that I would need to watch out for.

Good news is that I manage to lose 2.5kgs during this fasting month which is a major accomplishment for me after years of gaining weight during the fasting month. It also brings me that much closer to my weight goal from where I was beginning of the year. No so good were the reduction in lean body and muscle mass as well as BMR levels. I’m not quite sure how much the reduction was due to the fasting month but I will need to raise them up again after I come back from my raya break. Most encouraging of all was the reduction in total fat mass as well as the body fat %. I still have a ways to go to reach my goals in these 2 measures but I’m motivated to continue on the current track.

To date, I have been through 4 sessions at the gym with my PT and he has put on his kid gloves with me when it comes to the amount of rest I’m allowed between reps and sets. I have a sneaking feeling that he’ll be less than forgiving when once the fasting month has passed. I don’t blame him for wanting to do that since I’m am myself unsatisfied with the amount of time I need to get through the reps. I often find myself in the position where the mind was willing but the body just didn’t want to cooperate to go through to that one last rep without having to take a break.

For the sessions itself, we been focusing on circuit training using floor exercises, cardio as well as stretching which I just had a session last night. Suffice to say that I was surprised that the stretching session with PT, which basically made me do impressions a how a human pretzel would look like, left me sweating as much as I would be doing the other trainings. In the end it was all good but there were moments during the session which I just couldn’t wait for it to end. Unfortunately it was not something that I could do by myself so would need to find a partner to do it once I’m done with the PT sessions.

Looking ahead, I’m taking a week off potentially from gym if I would be traveling during the raya holidays which I have not confirmed yet. If I don’t then I would probably come back to Sunway earlier and get more gym time earlier in the day than the time I would usually go to. Hopefully I don’t do too much damage during the Hari Raya festivities what with all that wonderful food within easy reach.

Dodol – A Pictorial Timeline

Spurred on my last year’s success at making the dodol, I’ve decide to make it a yearly affair for the family in preparation of the upcoming Hari Raya festivities. I had to make sure I planned it weeks in advance to make sure that I had my complement of helpers from my family members as it would be crazy to try to attempt to make it alone. After much cajoling and less than veiled threats on their physical wellbeing for some, I managed to get all to come back to my parents house last weekend to make our yearly dodol. There was some low grumbling but as the eldest brother I get to throw my weight around at least once a year on this.

This year, we decided to switch things around and make the dodol from black glutinous rice flour (pulut hitam) instead of the normal glutinous rice flour that people normally use. I was told that the taste of the dodol made from the pulut hitam is quite different from the normal dodol so I wanted to see if I would prefer it more than the normal type. Since you can’t really get black glutinous rice flour from your neighborhood shop, I had to ask my mum to get it from one of the Indian spice shops in Chow Kit market. The shop would grind up the pulut hitam into flour that they would sell in bags of 1 kg. I wished that I got a chance to go to the shop as it’s not very often you get to see people grind their own flour, even if they do use a machine to do it.

Once we got the flour, next major items to get would be the sugars and coconut. Since I will be using 2 kgs of flour, I had to get an equal amount in weight of palm sugar (gula melaka) and equal amount in weight of brown sugar (gula merah). For the coconuts, the ratio is coconut milk for 10 mid sized coconuts for every kg of flour used. Since we will be using 2 kgs, I had to get 20 coconut’s worth of finely shredded coconuts. Since the coconut milk to be used in making the dodol has to be freshly squeezed, I had to take it back to be squeezed by hand instead of getting the shop to squeeze which they could for a nominal fee if requested.

Once all ingredients were assembled, it was time to put everything together. I took pictures of the process this year to share on the blog for people who have never seen how it’s made. Had to be a wee bit creative in explaining why I’m taking pictures while making it since I didn’t tell them that I have a blog out here. While there will be pictures this time instead of just the recipe, they are no way as good or as artistic as on the other blogs (*waves hi*) so please don’t compare what you see here with them. I count myself lucky if I could keep the pics in focus even when using an auto-focusing camera.

First step is



Chopping up the gula melaka and mixing it with gula merah with just enough water to mix them together. Drop in a knotted bunch of pandan leaves for aroma and boil on a low flame until all the sugar has melted. Make sure that the mixture is stirred to avoid burning the sugar.



After all has melted and left to cool.



Result of the 1st squeezing of 20 coconut for thick coconut milk. It took me nearly 1 ½ hours to go through it for the first squeezing.

OK .. I cheated and used the blender to make it easier to extract the coconut milk from the shredded coconut. It was still murder on my hand since I’m not used to the type of work required. Good thing that I only have to do it twice a year.



The first thick coconut milk batch goes into the kawah with a knotted pandan leave bunch and a handful of salt to be heated under a medium flame.


After about 2 hours, the coconut milk would start releasing coconut oil which signaled the start of the next stage.


The cooled sugar syrup is then strained through a fine sieve to remove any particles before added to the bubbling coconut milk mix. The resulting mixture is stirred using wooden cooking paddles to reincorporate the coconut milk and old with the sugar syrup. The whole thing it left on the fire until it starts to boil.


In the meantime, the coconut is squeezed for the second time to get a thinner coconut milk to be mixed in with the flour. I prefer to do the mixing by hand as you get to feel if there’s any flour bits that were not mixed together properly. The flour mixed is then strained through a fine sieve to ensure that there were no lumps. I also added a bit of rice flour into the mix so the end result would be easier to cut into pieces and not be as chewy when people bit into it.

Once the mixture in the kawah has started to bubble again, the flour mix is added to the kawah. At this point the whole mixture starts to thicken and the heat begins to cook the flour. This is when the back breaking effort of making dodol starts. You can’t stop stirring the dodol from this point onwards or you’ll end up with a dodol that has burnt bits in it which would be hard to bite into.


1 hour into the process – the dodol was still easy to stir and did not look slick to the eyes.


2 hours into the process – it starts getting harder to stir the dodol. You really had to start putting your backs into the process.

3 hours into the process – the stirred mixture darkens considerably. It got easier to scrape off the side of the kawah to be folded into main mix.


4 hours into the process – the total volume of the dodol seems to have reduced to half of what it was but weighs about 5 times from where it started.



5 hours into the process – the dodol looks shinier as coconut oil is released from the heated mixture. The more oil is released in the cooking process, the longer the dodol will last in storage.


6 hours into the process – a reasonable pool of pure coconut oil coming out from the dodol mixture that signaled that the dodol was ready to be taken off the fire. It took 6 of us working in 20 – 30 minute turns stirring the dodol mixture non-stop for 6 hours to finally get the end result. Fortunately we didn’t use a traditional wooden fire to cook it on or else would need to add at least another 4 hours for the cooking time.



The amount of pure coconut oil collected after the process which would be used for cooking.



The dodol was then taken out of the kawah and put into a metal tray to cool down before it can be cut into bite sizes. It would continue to darken as it cooled down and more oil will be released during the process.


Completed dodol. Ready to be cut up into bite sizes and enjoyed as a traditional Hari Raya sweet treat.

Making the dodol was hard work but the end result is quite worth the effort. Not many people can say that they still make dodol the old fashion way. We also got to spend time together as a family to make it since it has to be a group affair instead of an individual effort. They may grumble at the beginning but every bite would be a reminder of how we came together as a family to make it. To say that I am proud of the end result it a bit of an understatement since to me the dodol itself was not just a sweet treat but also represented a link to our family past as well as a reaffirmation of our family bonds.

When I tell people that my dodol was made with love, I know I can really honestly tell them it was.

CD Review: "Anuar Zain" by Anuar Zain

Being someone who doesn’t really follow the local music scene that closely, I got to know about this latest CD released by Anuar Zain from a fellow blogger’s blog entry. Even at that time, the blogger was already raving about the first single from the CD which piqued my interest but being a non-fan of the artist, I forgot about it in the days that followed. It was only after listening to the said first single from another blog site that I caved in and bought the CD for myself to see what all the fuss was about. Having only listened to his debut album before and didn’t really much fancied his work, I wasn’t quite sure of what to expect from it. Having spent some time this past week listening to the CD constantly on my daily playlist, I now understand why this CD could be one of the best local releases of the year.

The CD opens beautifully with “I’m The Lucky One” which in a way spoke directly to his fans who have been patiently waiting for the release of his latest album. The song sets the stage for those that followed by showcasing the artist’s trademarked vocal stylings as well as the wonderful live strings backing the track. The live strings section in particular lifted the song as it progressed to a lovely crescendo of both vocals and orchestration. “Ketulusan Hati” picked up the baton next to continue the spellbinding experience of the CD. The song starts with quiet anticipation before the artist’s vocals started to unfurl a lyrical tale of true love. Haunting strains of piano and strings quickly gives weight to the whole presentation lifting it to a heady height that was simply enjoyable to listen to.

“Tinggalkan Aku” was co written by the artist himself and was lyrically darker in theme that the 2 previous tracks on the CD. It was hard not to empathize with the vocals while listening to the lyrics that tells of letting the past go and moving on with one’s life. This song is definitely an ode to those who had their hearts broken by a loved one who then wants to comeback to patch things up. Personally, the song was more poignant for me to listen to knowing things that have happened around me in recent months. Fortunately my thoughts were sufficiently distracted by the next track, “Kau Bunga Cinta Ku” which was slightly puzzling to me. Lyrically, the song had a darker theme but it was set in a faster paced retro vibe song which caused me to do a mental double take when I first listened to it. I guess I was expecting a less peppy song to accompany the less than cheerful subject matter in the lyrics. Nevertheless it was an enjoyable song and stood out from the tracks that this point as the rest of the track had only been of a slower pace.

The haunting melodies of the live strings at the beginning of “Tak Lelah” beautifully introduce the artist’s vocals in this song. This song, more than others, allowed Anuar Zain to showcase the range of his vocal skills as it stood out more with the subdued musical arrangement. Poetic lyrics about the ache that one feels waiting for a loved one to reciprocate would definitely hit home to his many loyal listeners. There was an ethereal quality to the whole arrangement which also differentiated this track from the others. The next track that followed was the main reason for me to purchase the CD. I fell in love with the song the moment I heard it and have never looked back. Many has said that this song is his best work ever. Having heard the combination of melodies, vocals and arrangement, I have to agree with them. All of the components came together so beautifully that it would be hard to find another song released this year that was as good as “Lelaki Ini”. If you can only listen to one track from this CD then this is the track to listen to.

“Hanya Milik Mu” opened with acoustic guitar that imparted a slightly Latin flavor not heard in the other tracks on the CD. The vibe lasted throughout the song which helped it to stand out of the pack which it had to especially when following the devastatingly wonderful previous track. I can’t really say that it was a successful attempt but the song was a good enough one to listen on it’s own strengths. My only problem is that it felt too bland and too familiar at this point of the CD. The song reminded me of too many similarly Latin flavored songs out there. In “Bidadari”, Anuar Zain attempted to start the track off with an ethereal quality that didn’t seem to really clicked together. Good thing that the rest of the song was delivered confidently with a quiet strength in his vocals which shined through as the track progressed. Guitars were also prominently heard in the track but unlike the previous track, the infused a more local flavor to the arrangement. It was enough to make the track stand out as well from the collection.

“Jangan Pernah Lagi” was the second fast paced track on the album and again it confounded me a bit with the duality between the peppy beat with the less than cheerful lyric subject. It’s hard to think of happily tapping your feet away while listening to the song that was actually about being betrayed by a loved one. It was this conflict that made me stop to think of how I was suppose to enjoy this song. It had both lyrical and aural components to be savored but together it was just too conflicting to enjoy as a unit. It was not the case for the last track of the CD, “Taman Terulung”. One could not ask for a better song to end the CD experience with than this track. It had poetic lyrics, simple but effective, presented with the lovely strings arrangement that lifted the song to be enhanced by the beautifully controlled vocals. It was hard for me to listen to this track without feeling a lump forming in my throat every time as it invoked memories of friends, old and new, lost and found, that have passed through in my life.

It was quite hard to choose my favorites among the tracks on the CD as all of them had something to offer to the whole listening experience. They were individually strong and varied to showcase both the masterful vocal skills as well as the high production values put into the presentation. The common theme of love in all it’s many flavors seem to be the unifying thread that linked all the songs together. Another common thread is the use of live strings in the arrangement if all the songs in the CD which gave the song an aural lift that we don’t get to hear that often in local releases. As a love letter to his fans, the CD would have definitely exceeded all fan’s expectations. Even if you were listening to it as someone who has never heard of the artist before, it would be hard not to be impressed by the end product. It would be easy to recommend this CD to others who don’t already have it spinning on their daily playlist.

Personal Training At The Gym

Last night was my first workout session with a personal trainer at the gym.

I wasn’t sure what to expect actually since I have never had one and know of anyone who had used a personal trainer before. They were giving a fairly reasonable rate for personal training when I signed up for the gym membership and I was (and still am) in the mind set that I want to do things properly this time. What better way than learning from people who know what they are doing and teaching others about it is part of their job. With that in mind, I signed up for 24 sessions of personal training which should be enough to give me a strong foundation to move ahead in my gym workouts.

Fast forward nearly 9 months later, I finally get a PT assigned to me after about a month of going to the gym and working out to my own devices. It was a good thing that the PT and me clicked almost immediately at our first meeting. We talked for a bit about what my workout goals were and how I wanted to achieve them. From our discussion, I learned that my PT was more into floor exercise to build up the core muscles first before going to the weight stacks or free weights which was exactly what I had in mind. I firmly believe that you won’t really gain much if your core muscles aren’t conditioned well enough before you start on the weights.

We started off with exercise ball squats which looked deceptively simple but really painful to execute if done correctly and if you have never done them before. My knees felt like jelly after 20 reps of doing it which was good since I know that need to work on that more in the future. It was then that I really appreciate how much I have yet to work on to get anywhere near close to his fitness levels. After squats, I had to do balanced pushups, lunges, abs crunches, shoulder raises, lower abs raises, lower back stretches, jumping jacks and shoulder presses. I was suppose to do 30 reps of each but since it was still a newbie, PT gave me allowance to do a minimum of 20 reps and as many I can manage after that. I don’t think that he would be as lenient as he was yesterday in future sessions though.

I’ve seen those exercises done before and other than abs, I never really thought much about them. I guess because they don’t seem as butch as say working with free weights at the gym. Having done them and having my form corrected by PT, I can safely say that it’s harder than it looks. Free weights and weight stacks only work on one group of muscles while these floor exercises work groups of muscles at the same time. I could feel my whole body aching by the time I got through the first set and I still had another set to go. By the time I completed the second set, I was more than ready to call it for the day. The session was harder that my previous gym workouts on the weight stack machine.

PT also made the session more enjoyable by keeping me focused on what I was doing and correcting my form when I start to slack off. It was not all work as he also helped me to understand the functions of the exercises that I was doing and where I was suppose to feel the burn when I do them. In between the circuit exercises, PT kept the mood light as well by cracking the occasional joke even when I felt like I would be in too much pain to even laugh. He was there to motivate me to reach for that last rep when I just wanted it to end and he does that it a way that in the end it’s your choice to complete it. There was no browbeating or just rep counting for PT.

It was really an enjoyable session even if I felt like a quivering mass of jelly after it. I ended up physically spent once I got back from the gym last night that I could hardly keep my eyes opened for my post workout meal. I still feel a little ache in my muscles as I type today’s entry but I can’t help looking forward to the next session when I get to do it all over again. It’s a whole new thing to learn for me and to challenge myself with on top of the still novelty factor of going to a gym. I’m really looking forward to see how I can progress under PT’s guidance now that I’m fairly sure that I’m getting my money’s worth in these guided workout sessions.

Blipvert Update

Blipvert #1

Had my annual buka puasa with my old secondary school gang this past weekend at Subang Parade. I have been organizing this for them without fail for the past 11 years ever since I came back and started working. It started off back then as just me treating them for buka puasa as I was the first one of the group to complete my studies and get a full-time job. Now, it’s has evolved into one of the few times we can get together to catch up on the news of what has been happening in the preceding year after the last buka puasa gathering. I would usually be the one who decides where we go to since I’m the organizer and the one who pays the bill for the meal. It’s a thing that I do every year during the fasting month as one of the virtuous things that one can do during the holy month is to provide food to others to break fast with.

The turnout this year was not that satisfactory as only 2 of my buddies came with their wives. I’m just happy that they were able to make it considering the number of people who didn’t really reconfirm their attendance the days before. Nothing worse than organizing a group meal and have no one turn out. We had a good time catching up with each other’s news and check on how everyone else was doing. Since I had the buka puasa at a buffet, there wasn’t any worry about running out of food to keep our conversations fully fueled to go the distance through the night. We must have just sat there and gabbed for almost 3 hrs since it was almost closing time when we got up to pay the bill. Good thing that the manager of the place already knows me by name so they just let us have the run of the place

Hopefully, I’ll get a better turn out next year. Still hoping that I would be able to one day have them at my own home with a proper home cooked meal.

Blipvert #2

Saw that they opened the access way to the new wing at Sunway Pyramid mall when I was there yesterday looking for a place to buka puasa alone. Most of the shops were not opened yet but the have a few interesting ones that were opened. Seemed like the main tenant for this wing will be the Jaya Jusco department store which was good since the Parkson Grand at the other end of the mall had decided to go more upscale with their offerings. At least at Jaya Jusco, I would still be able to get things that are more affordable for me than in Parkson. Of course that means I should sign up for the Jaya Jusco card again since I can’t find the one that I had before. I wonder if they could just reissue me with a new card.

The also have a new food court at the supermarket level which looks to be under the same management as the one in OneUtama. At least they share the same name so I think they are under the same management. I’m also happy that they brought in the Jusco supermarket section since they carry more products that I can’t get at Giant which is where I usually shop for groceries at Pyramid. I wished that they would get Cold Storage supermarket in but I guess what they had was good enough for now. I can always go to Subang Parade if I needed to get anything from Cold Storage supermarket.

I’ve also heard that the bagel shop at Avenue K will be opening a branch at the new wing so you know I’m just looking forward to that.

Blipvert #3

Bought the new Anuar Zain CD and it has been playing from my playlist non-stop since Saturday. It is definitely one of the more enjoyable listens that I’ve had for this year. I usually try to avoid his CDs as I always felt that he was too popular/mainstream (?) since everyone I know listens to his songs (kind of telling of the crowd I keep). This is the same reason why I don’t listen to Siti Norhaliza songs as well. Too commercial to be cool admitting that you listen to their songs. Not that I’m the picture of what is hip to listen to …

This latest Anuar Zain CD was an excellent buy as I liked almost all of the songs in it. There were a few that made me stop and think which I have not had to do with cds by Malay artists for quite some time. I guess that I’ll write more about it once I get some time to fully digest the album. What I’m sure at this moment is that it’s one of the must buy album for this year. Personally, it is fast becoming my life's soundtrack with the recent developments in my life.

And if you want to look more butch buying the CD at the shop, feel free to decline the free poster that comes with it … bwahaha!!!

Blipvert #4

I will start working with a Personal Trainer at the gym tonight. They finally called me last week to arrange it after exactly one month of me working out there even though I had paid for the sessions well in advance. I haven’t met the PT yet but I think I know which one he might be if I heard his name correctly. I don’t really know if I should be concerned when a PT insist on being referred to as “Boy” when you page him for the appointment. Makes you wonder how old that person really is. Yes .. I admit that I still get called that at home but that’s another thing altogether. I guess as long as he doesn’t start calling me “uncle” then I should be ok with it. There will be hell to pay if I get called that in the gym. Bad enough I get called "uncle" at the shops by the young cashiers.

One thing of note for those in the know, I finally heard “Mr. Hover” speak and I have to say that I had to literally stop myself from dropping on the floor laughing out loud. It was an illusion shattering event just like that other famous person that we will be hearing more of this month. Why can’t people with that type of look have voices that match? Is it asking too much that eye candy don’t have voices that would leave the listener trying their best not to break out into a giggling fit.

Guess there is a reason why people call them eye candy to begin with.

Workout Progress - Sept '07

September was a challenge as the fasting month started in the middle of it. Unlike most people, I tend to gain weight during the fasting month. I would like to think it was due to the lowered metabolism my body goes through during this period but to be truthful, it is possibly due to the amount of rich food that is more easily available during this period. This year, for a change, I’ve set a target to loose weight during the fasting month and much to my satisfaction I seemed to be on the right track of doing exactly that. I had to stick to a reduced calorie intake diet plan in order to achieve the continued weight loss even with the fasting that I had to do during the day.

I also have my workout sessions at the gym to thank for the weight loss during this fasting month. Once I got used to it, working out at the gym after breaking fast in the evenings were not that daunting. I did have to modify my workout routines to accommodate the reduced hours I was able to work out and had to cut out my Sunday workout sessions out altogether since the gym only opened till 10pm on Sundays. At first I had to take it slow and watch out for the moments when I felt a bit light headed but that passed quickly after the first few times working out after breaking fast.

I have just past my 1 month mark as an official gym card carrying member. I’m still in a gung-ho mode when it comes to going to the gym for my workout sessions and have not run into much problems with my current workout schedule. I guess the novelty might wear off later so I need to be mindful of that in the near future. Hopefully by then, the gym workouts sessions would already be entrenched into my daily activities that I don’t need things like the novelty factor to motivate me to go. I’m in for the long run and I have to keep myself motivated as well for the long run.

Diet plan in Sept (fasting month – non fasting days earlier in the month followed Aug plan) :

Break fast/Iftar (Sun down)
- 3 – 5 pieces of dried dates
- 3 – 6 pieces of kuih (usually more savory kuihs rather than sweet ones)
- 1 mug chilled Complan mix (about 250 calories per serving)

Post workout meal (12 am)
- 1 serving of plan fried noodles with a meat side dish
- 1 banana
- EAS Myoplex Deluxe Protein Shake

Sahur (4 am)
- 1 serving of chillled sweet black pulut rice or green bean porridge
- 1 banana
- 1 mug chilled Complan mix

Workout Days (M/W/Thurs/F: 8 – 10 pm)
Pre workout
- EAS Creatine Powder – 10mg
- 1 Banana

Post workout
- EAS Myoplex Deluxe Protein Shake
- something roughly less than 300kcal

Supplements :
EAS Creatine Powder – 10mg per day
EAS Myoplex Deluxe Protein Shake – ½ serving post workout
21st Century’s HerbalLipo Tea – 1 serving per week day
GNC MegaMen Dietary Supplement – 1 tablet per day

I’ve added carbo in the form of the fried noodles for the fasting month considering that I would be on an even reduced food intake than I was before the fasting month. I’m lucky to have found a place where I can buy the fried noodles cooked with less oil than most other places so I don’t have to worry so much about the it being fried. I’ve also dropped Balance Liquid L-Carnitine from my list of supplements as I’m already getting what I needed from the EAS Creatine Powder. The body would only process the excess creatine as waste if I continued to used both products. On the same note, I also dropped GNC L-Lysine from the list as I’m already getting it as part of the MegaMen supplement.

I’m looking forward to start working out with a personal trainer in October. They finally called me up this week to assign one to me after about a month of me starting at their gym. Good thing that they were willing to extend the personal training deadline to a later date so I don’t have to rush through the sessions. At the moment the plan is for me to train with a personal trainer 3 times a week. Hopefully I would be able to use this opportunity to learn how I can maximize my workouts to get even more gains than what I am already achieving. I might even try out the free weights area now that I know there is someone with me to guide me through the steps there.

This experiment is going well and what’s more, I’m having fun with it.

4 Years Free

This week marks the 4th year I have been nicotine free.

During those 4 years, I have only had 1 puff from a lighted cigarette which was enough to cause a coughing fit and brought me close enough to want to barf the meal I had earlier. This was a far cry from my 3 pack a day habit back in 2003 before I decided to quit. Nowadays, I try to place myself upwind from any smokers around me to avoid having to deal with the nausea due to second hand smoke. I try not to be too militant about it but I generally try to arrange it so that any smokers with me would have a less than ideal opportunity to light up as long as I can help it.

Trying to quit smoking was not easy for me. In fact it was a hellish time in my life that I would never want to ever have to go through again. Heck … it was an experience that I wouldn’t even want to wish on my enemies. It took all of my will power to get me through those dark days into a smoke free life. It was one of the earlier milestones in life that proved to me that regardless what I think, I do have the will power to go through something that I have set myself up to. It didn’t have to take an outside intervention or big push from someone that got me to quit. It just took my realization that if I don’t quit, I would just get worse faster than I would get better.

My life has changed since I decide to stop smoking. Other than the obvious health benefits, the way I live out my daily routine had to be adapted to a smoke-free existence. I didn’t lose any of my smoking buddies but I had to met up with them in different situations instead of the habitual gathering around the ashtray bin for a group smoke. I stopped going out to clubs as I became more sensitized to the amount of second hand smoke in them (on top of being over the age group that one became seen as a troll in those places). I started to become more health conscious especially while trying to lose all that weight I gained after quitting the cancer stick.

Do I feel tempted to smoke? I would be lying if I said I don’t. There have been times that the temptation was so strong that I found myself very close to succumbing to it. There were so many reasons that I could make up to justify why I would be OK with lighting up just that once but then I remind myself of the hell that I went through to stop. Granted that the temptations come less and less as the years go by but it’s still there in the back of my mind patiently waiting for a moment of weakness. It is up to me to remain vigilant against the slide back into nicotine dependency.

Do I regret my years as a smoker? A part of me does but then there is this other part of me that takes it as a life learning experience. Being a smoker back then opened doors and social opportunities that I would have not got had I not smoke a cigarette in my life. I’ve met fellow smoker friends who I would have not gotten a chance to talk to had I not had to bum a light. There was a point in my life back then when I would equate the level of trust with the willingness to let someone bum a smoke. If I had never started smoking, I would have never had to go through an ordeal that proved to me the extant of what I was able to accomplish if only I put my mind to it.

What I tell people now is that if you don’t smoke, don’t start. It’s a hard habit to break and something that won’t provide any beneficial returns in the long run. For those who are currently smoking, I would just ask them to look at the reasons why they are smoking. Those reason may have long been moot so consider whether they still need to fulfill that reason by smoking. I have no problems with people who continue to smoke. I just wished that I could stand closer to these people and not feel like I need to puke at the first whiff of their breath. Wouldn’t it make more sense to be able to talk face to face instead of having to stand a few feet upwind from the smokers?

Supper/Sahur for One

Went to gym tonight forgetting that they are only opened till 10pm on Sunday evenings. I had skipped last Sunday workout since I was in Selayang and worked out on Sunday mornings before fasting month started so I came to the gym tonight oblivious to the shorten hours. I was only able to so my stretching, cardio and abs before I had to rush through my shower and leave the gym with 10 minutes to spare. I guess since I could not come earlier to workout on Sundays, I just have to skip Sundays until the end of the fasting month. That would only leave me with a 4 times weekly gym schedule but it’s just for another few weeks. I’ll come back in full force soon enough especially when I know I’ll have more to burn off after the Raya break.

Supper/sahur tonight was a solitary affair after a weekend of having company to join me for my meals. Honestly, it felt a bit depressing not having company tonight to eat with after the truly enjoyable weekend but I soldier on as I have always done. Tonight’s supper/sahur was even more noteworthy tonight as I found all my favorite dishes at the Sunway mosque Ramadhan food bazaar earlier in the day. Of all the foods, the ones that I bought today (pictured above) would be the closest I would say to be my own version of what comfort food was suppose to be. Tonight’s supper/sahur menu was white rice with fried tempe, batter fried ikan bilis Mayang (anchovies) and lemak pucuk ubi (tapioca shoots in turmeric infused coconut milk).

I would be the first to admit that I have an obsession on all things tempe. I’m like that character in “Forrest Gump” who knows everything there is about shrimp but in my case it was about the humble tempe. I just can’t get enough of the stuff either fired, boiled, barbequed, sautéed or in anyway that it can be cooked. I have been know to just have pieces of fried tempe with crushed cili padi with soy sauce dip with white rice to eat contently for a whole week. Being a fairly good source of proteins, the tempe has always been my go to dish whenever I wanted to avoid any kind of meat. Some people tend to like them very thinly sliced but for my little morsels of heaven, it has to be sliced not too thinly that it would just be to crispy to the bite. Deep fried, properly drained of the frying oil before being stir fired with a little turmeric and chili – I’m just a happy camper when I can get them done that way.

Ikan bilis Mayang was basically soft boned anchovies fried in batter till they become crispy on the outside. Growing up, the only types of fish that I would eat was the tenggiri (mackerel) since it didn’t have a lot of fish bones and ikan bilis Mayang which I can eat whole with it’s bones. Since the tenggiri was more expansive (grandma use to call it “ikan orang kaya”) of the two, I would most often have batter fried ikan bilis Mayang as my fish dish. It was such a specific fish for me that my late grandma would make it a point to make it every time I visited her. It was also the last dish that she made for me before she was admitted to hospital and died a few weeks later. Since then, I would always be reminded of my grandma when I have the dish and to see it on sale today there was no way I would have skipped it. It’s not just having a dish to eat but have the comfort of me remembering my late grandmother who I miss dearly to keep me company tonight.

Last but not least on the menu tonight was masak lemak pucuk ubi which have always been a favorite of mine. I remember back when we would drive from KL to Johor in our old 1972 Honda Civic hatchback to visit relatives and come back with a trunk full of pisang tanduk, pucuk paku and pucuk ubi. The pisang would usually be from my maternal grandfather’s banana tree grove but both pucuk paku and pucuk ubi would be from the plants growing wild in the back of their old house. It was always an adventure as a child to go with the older people into the secondary forest looking for the wild ferns and tapioca trees. Having them cooked just right after an afternoon of looking for them was just icing on the cake for me. The only caveat for me was that no one put tempoyak (fermented durian) in my masak lemak pucuk ubi dish. I just can’t stand durian and tempoyak (yeah minus marks for my “Melayu”-ness).

I’m content just getting one of the dishes but getting all three from one place for supper/sahur tonight makes me a really happy camper. It was enough for me to throw the plan of not having carbohydrates tonight out the window. The food tonight was slice of home that reminds me of where I come from, what family means to me and gives me the assurance that wherever or whatever happens, I will always have these simple things to make me happy. Nostalgia aside, each morsel was for me to enjoy though it would be better to have someone to share it and the stories behind it with.

Guess there is always a next time to do that.

Confessions of a Gym Junkie

It has been a week since fasting month started and I have to say that I’m getting the hang of working out at the gym during the fasting month. It was not as daunting as I thought it would be even when I go through the same workout routine that I use before the fasting month. I did have to modify it a bit from the original routine but those modifications were more due to time constraints rather than me feeling more tired after the day of fasting. I have to be honest that it does get more challenging every time to get myself to go to the gym as the days go past this month. An acquaintance on mine commented that I’m going to find myself looking for excuses not to go as the weeks roll on this month but I’ve determined to prove him wrong. It’s not done out of spite but to take his comment as a personal motivation to challenge myself.

For the past 3 weeks, the gym has become somewhat of a therapeutic sanctuary for me to get away from the house. When I work out, I can focus myself on what I’m doing and how my body is reacting to the loads or routine I’m putting it through. I become more aware of my pain thresholds and when I can try to push beyond it. Not surprisingly, I find myself zoning out during the work and becoming oblivious to what’s happening around me. It’s strange but true that I find myself getting more mentally relaxed when I work out at the gym. There is no need to think about anything else other than meeting that goal of the distance that I have to cycle within the amount of time I’ve set or the numbers if sets or reps that I still have to do. Each time I finish a routine, I get that rush of personal accomplishment and the reaffirmation that I can do what I set my mind to.

I usually go for my gym workouts between 8:30 – 10:30 pm and the number of people at the gym during that time seems to be varied from day to day. There have been a few days that I get to work out at the gym with scarcely 20 other people around but other times the gym gets packed with people working out. The crowd at California Fitness Sunway generally seems to be both local and international students from the nearby colleges, some people my age who must live around the area and a few fitness fanatics with biceps the size of soccer balls. After going there for a few weeks, I’ve began to notice a few people who came to the gym as regularly as I do. I usually just give them a nod of acknowledgement if they happened to catch my eye but haven’t really talked to any of them yet other than the staff at the gym.

As for the G-factor, a blogger friend of mine called my gym “West Hollywood Fitness” but personally I have yet to really find how much of it warrants the moniker. There are quite a few regulars who are pleasing to the eyes to behold but I’m much too absorbed in my own workout to notice anything more than the cursory glance. And that was because on top of looking like they just stepped out of a fitness magazine photo shoot, some of the more eye pleasing regulars were really vocal with the grunts when they work out which makes them even harder not to notice. However, given my track record and the absolutely uselessness of my rainbow senses, I wouldn’t be surprised that I would not notice a thing until they come up and bite me in the behind. On second thought, even that may not do it since there is nothing back there to bite. It’s so flat that everything would just slide off like a Teflon pan.

After working out, I usually indulge myself in a 15 minutes sweat session in the dry sauna room. Having heard about the horror stories of what goes on in saunas in some other places, I was relieved that nothing of the sort goes on here (at least that I know of). It used to be that most often I would get the room just for myself but lately the sauna room does get a bit crowded when I go to use it. Not that I don’t mind other people using it but I could appreciate it more if some people would be considerate enough not to be too loud when they’re in it. Seriously, some people can just go on and on jabbering loudly to their friend in the heat without a care in the world for others who are trying to use the 15 minutes to relax and wind down.

Regardless, I’m still happy with the progress that I’ve made working out these past week especially those that are becoming more noticeable in the mirror. Call me narcissistic and shallow but part of the reason I signed up for gym membership to develop a better self image of myself. I’m tired of feeling inadequate and desponded about the way I look when I now have the means to change all that. A more positive self awareness seems to be a welcomed byproduct of the efforts that I’m putting in at my workout routine. I feel more relaxed and confident nowadays compared to before I started on this journey. I still have a ways to go to reach my goal but at this point I can safely say that I am happy with what I have achieved.

Knowing that I can achieve this will just spur me on to do more.

Monday Blues

Weekend at the parents was uneventful although I did get a bit of flack from my mum on the change in my eating habits. I had to assure her that I will not be doing it until I get sick but she knows how obsessive I can get about my weight that I don’t think that she was totally convinced. As long as I can prove to her that I’m trying to lose weight in a healthy way then she would be ok with it. She wasn’t too thrilled with the amount of time I spent at gym as well but I told her that it’s still new for me and there is the novelty factor to figure it. I guess mothers are just like that even when you’re already over 30 years old.

We have all our Raya kuih plans sorted out as well this weekend. As like previous years, I would be responsible for making the dodol and for buying the London Almond cookies. This year I’ve decided to try another source for the cookies as I’ve lost contact with the person who I used to buy them from. None of his numbers work anymore and usually he would have contacted me about my yearly order by now. I have to assume that he won’t be making them this year and I have to find someone else who makes them to buy from. As for the dodol, I’m thinking of making Dodol Pulut Hitam this year instead of the usual dodol partly to compare if there is any difference between the two types.

Got my alumni batik shirt back from the tailors with some minor items that I was not totally satisfied with. However, I could not blame the tailor totally for the oversight as the batik pattern the alumni uses was quite difficult to figure out what goes where without a diagram. Fortunately for me, the wrong pattern was only used on the sleeves which was still ok as long as the main body and back was according to spec. I also ended up buying 3 more long sleeve shirts for work even though I just bought 2 the week before puasa. It’s not that I have money to burn on clothes but I have not found a shirt that I can be comfortable in and long lasting at the same time. I think I finally found them this weekend and hopefully they would be the last that I buy for this year … at least until I find another reason to buy more.

Spent the whole day today installing anti-virus and software management applications on a server in China which crashed last weekend. Good thing that they didn’t bugged me about it when it happened or I would have been really ticked off for having to forego my weekend. The tasks were not that difficult to do but I do need to baby-sit the process all the way through. I still have to continue it tomorrow as I need to get some items completed by another group before I can proceed so I would have that to occupy my time at work this week.

Feeling a little bit under the weather today. I do hope I don’t get the flu especially during the fasting month. I am a really cranky person when I get the flu and not being able to self medicate during the day would make me even more crankier. I hope that I will feel better after sweating it out at the gym tonight.

Blipvert Update

Blipvert #1

Yesterday was my first time working out at the gym during the fasting month and it wasn’t as hard as I expected it. Either it is just because it is still early in the fasting month or if my current workout routine is just not as taxing as I would like to think it is, I was able to go through with the plan with some adjustment. One thing that I had to drop from my original plan was the 10 minute that I spend on the rowing machine for cardio exercise. I had to drop this as I was late going to gym yesterday after breaking fast. I only broke my fast with 3 pieces of kuih, half serving of bubur pulut hitam and a mug of Complan mix but I still had to wait for about 45 minutes before I felt comfortable enough to go.

Even without the 10 minute rowing workout, it was still a good one as I managed to get through all the goals that I set for myself. Guess that just means that I have more than enough fat supply to burn off on top of the fasting which exactly why I need the gym time. I fully intend to stay with the program for the duration of the fasting month so we’ll see how it goes in the days ahead.

Blipvert #2

The route that I take to walk to and from work used to be full of stalls selling food for buka puasa every fasting month. That changed a few years back when they started the food bazaar in the parking area of the Sunway mosque which gathered all those separate stalls into one location. I’ve always looked forward for the Ramadhan food bazaar there since it would be the time that I could get dishes that I normally can’t get for dinner during the rest of the year. This year is no different but I have to be mindful of not overindulging like I always do.

For the 1st day, the food bazaar was quite good. There were quite a wide spread of selection and of course the crowd was out in full force. There were a few sellers that I recognized from previous years returning so I already know the quality of their dishes which make the task of selecting what to buy that much easier. I’ve overheard some of the sellers talking that they expect more stalls to start operating at the end of the week so there would be more to check out later in the month. I would definitely make a return visit soon.

Blipvert #3

I will be going back to my parents house this weekend to break fast with them. I have this rule that I would make sure that I came back at least once during the fasting month for that. This year it looks like I will be coming back twice since this weekend is just so I could get everyone together to plan what our Hari Raya plans will be at the end of the fasting month. Since most in the family have families of their own, we have to make sure that we have plans drawn up in advance so there won’t be any grumbling about it later. It was different when we were all younger. Hari Raya meant that everyone us at home with the parents. Nowadays my siblings have in-laws and related parties on their spouse side to consider.

Obviously, I don’t have that to take into consideration but I still like to know who would be around to celebrate Hari Raya with my parents. If nothing else, I know how much “duit raya” to prepare for my nieces and nephews which as I rule I dole out only on the first 3 days of raya. The other agenda that I have for going back this weekend if to check how many of my siblings will be helping me to make the dodol this year. I’ve already scheduled that for the last weekend before Hari Raya so I need to get their commitment that they would be there to help out. I would definitely need their help as making dodol can be somewhat a back breaking job if one had to do it alone.

Ramadhan Mubarak

To all who will be fasting in this Ramadhan, I would like to wish all …

Now if I can only wake up at 5am today for my sahur ....

Gym Workout Routine

I’ve decided to document my current workout routine that I have been using for the past 2 weeks at the gym. This routine was one that I came up by myself since I had not had a chance to talk to my PT about it yet. I designed this routine based on the understanding that I should really focus on one muscle group at a time to effectively train them. Other than the stretching and cardio workouts that have time and distance targets, the numbers next to the routine in the list represent the number of target reps to be completed. I usually break then into sets of 10 reps with as little rest time in between sets that I can handle.

My current workout routine starts with stretching, cardio and abs before going to the focus muscle group of the day with the exception of Sunday when I go through a whole body workout. I would normally set the weight stack at a level that I could comfortably handle to complete the number of target reps with some effort. Too much weight and I might over strain something but too little weight would not make the workout worthwhile. The usual indicator that I use to gauge that I have the right weight setting is that I break into a sweat by the time I’ve gone through half of the number of my reps. After going through the focus muscle workouts, I usually go through another round of abs work before ending with stretching to work out all the kinks from the workout session.

All of my current workout routine are done on weight stack machines that they have at my gym. I feel more comfortable and safe using them rather than the free weights that they also have on the same floor. For one. I don’t need a spotter to help me on the weight stacks unlike working with free weights. I don’t really know anyone yet at the gym to ask to be my spotter if I wanted to work with free weights. Furthermore, looking at the crowd who uses the free weight area, I get a little be put off by them. To be frank, the people who use the free weight area at my gym can be put into either one of 2 groups. They are either poseurs who lift weights for 2 or 3 reps then spend more time posing at the weight machines or huge middle age men with muscles that looked like they would burst out of their skins if they sneezed too hard. I hope that I would never fall into either category.

Current workout routine

Stretching – 5 minutes
- focused on back, hamstrings, hips, inner groin and shoulders to increase flexibility.

Cardio – 30 minutes
- Stationary bikes – try to complete 8 km under 20 minutes
- Rowing machine – try to complete 2 km under 10 minutes

Abs (M/W/Th/F/Sun)
- Upper abs crunches – 50
- Right external oblique twist – 50
- Left external oblique twist – 50
- Lower abs crunches – 50

Monday (Focus: Arms and Shoulders)
- Seated dips (triceps) – 30
- Bicep curls – 30
- Shoulder press - 30

Wednesday (Focus: Chest and Back)
- Chest press – 30
- Seated rows – 30
- Lateral pull down – 30

Thursday (Focus: Lower Body)
- Leg extension – 30
- Leg press – 30
- Leg curl – 30

Friday (Focus: Upper Body)
- Chest press – 30
- Bicep curls – 30
- Seated dips (triceps) – 30
- Seated rows – 30

Sunday (Focus: Full Body)
- Seated dips (triceps) – 30
- Bicep curls – 30
- Shoulder press - 30
- Chest press – 30
- Seated rows – 30
- Lateral pull down – 30
- Leg extension – 30
- Leg press – 30
- Leg curl – 30

Abs (M/W/Th/F/Sun)
- Upper abs crunches – 50
- Right external oblique twist – 50
- Left external oblique twist – 50
- Lower abs crunches – 50

Stretching – 5 minutes
- focused on back, hamstrings, hips, inner groin and shoulders for cool down.

For the fasting month that starts for me tomorrow, I’m thinking of keeping to this workout routine initially to see if I can handle it. Obviously I might have to modify the routine that I use on Sundays since it’s planned for a 4 hours workout session rather than the 2 hours as with the other days. My first fasting month workout is currently scheduled for this coming Thursday so I will know by then if the number of reps will be manageable then.

This will be my personal challenge for the month.

30 Minutes to Midnight

I normally finish at the gym at about 11:30pm on my weekday schedule and would walk past the closed shops at Sunway Pyramid on my way back. The place is not actually deserted as there are many workers putting up things in preparation of the new wing opening later this year. They had put up new coats of paint everywhere and had new lighting systems installed overhead. For the past 2 weeks, I have been observing how busy it is at Sunway Pyramid after hours. It’s a pity that I can’t really hang around long to see more of what they are doing to the mall but I guess I would get my chance to see it when the new wing opens.

Being able to walk in the mall after closing gives me a different view of the place. There is definitely a different vibe to the surroundings since what was usually filled with shoppers had turned silent with only the occasional hum of machine running in the background as company. At times it felt like you had the mall all to yourself except that none of the shops were opened and none of the escalators worked. The feeling of solitude really helped to center myself after each gym session.

The solitary walk allows me a moment of reflection on what I had done in the day and what I need to do tomorrow. It also allows me to focus on my accomplishments at the gym that day and what I need to do to top that the next time I’m there. I am still getting a hang of things there but I’m fairly certain that I’m there for the long run. It’s going to be one of those things that I hope not to turn into just another chore to do but instead a part of my daily routine that would help me wind down after a day’s work.

God knows that there are days that I really need that ….

Blipvert Update

Blipvert #1

I finally decided to bite the bullet and went ahead with my decision to invest in Public Mutual’s unit trust with the money from my EPF savings. Filled up all the forms and signed them this week and the first withdrawals from EPF should be completed in about 1 week’s time. I’ve decided to spread out my investment risks by putting my money into 2 separate fund. My first would be a moderate risk Islamic fund which at the moment is a good buy as the units are due for an upward price correction. The next time when I am eligible to withdraw more money from my EPF account, which is after 3 months of the prior withdrawal date, I’m going to put that money into a conservative risk Islamic fund. Hopefully having both would allow me to balance my investment risk.

It took me 11 years of working for me to be able to even think about investing my money into funds like this. I guess I would have been able to do this sooner had I gotten a higher paid job but I am happy with what I have now. Years of hard earn money have given me an adequately diversified investment portfolio that I can be comfortable with. All that I’ve done in terms of investments is with the goal of being financially independent by the time I retire. I’m sure that I would never get to be one of those millionaires with these investments but I would be happy enough to be able to know that I will be able to pay off all debts and retire comfortably.

Blipvert #2

Luciano Pavarotti died this week at the age of 71.

I was first exposed to his music back when I was a college student in the US. Until then, I always thought that opera made no sense and was just a bunch of people singing at the top of their voices in an unintelligible language. It all changed when I first heard “Nessun Dorma” sung by Pavarotti and immediately I was hooked. I started to look for more of his arias just to hear more of that wonderful voice even when I hardly understood what the words meant in English. There were occasions back then that I would be moved to tears just from listening to a CD of him singing as one could not help by feel the heartbreak that reverberated from his voice.

He made opera less daunting to appreciate, at least for me. He’s was a voice that would never be forgotten and rightly so as a voice like his comes very rarely in a life time. I don’t think that I would be able to ever hear “Nessun Dorma” without a lump coming up in my throat.

Good bye, o’ great maestro.

Blipvert #3

This week is my second week of going to the gym and I must say that I’m starting to get into the hang of things there. Breaking up my work out routine into different days does actually help in allowing me to focus on my goals more efficiently. The only thing that worries me is that I’m spending more time at the gym than I originally planned. I’m currently averaging a 2 hour workout session 4 times a week with an extra session of 4 hours during the weekend. I could be more disciplined and stop my workout early but when I get into the zone when I work out, I tend to ignore both pain and the time. When it comes to working out, I take the old adage that “No pain, no gain” quite literally.

I have to watch out that I don’t over exert myself and hurt something major. I could easily do that being the obsessive compulsive person I am. This would be something that I would need to discuss with my PT when I have my sessions with him.

Blipvert #4

Fasting months starts next week and I’m really looking forward for it. Aside from the spiritual aspects of fasting, I am also anxious to see how I can keep up with my current diet plan for the duration of the fasting month. I have always dependent on small meals every 2 hours to keep my metabolism up but that would not be possible to do during the daylight hours starting next week. I have to find a way also to keep up with my workout sessions as I believe that the fasting month would also a good time to lose more weight and gain more lean mass since the fat reserves are not replenished as fast as they would during the non-fasting month.

I’m also looking forward to my annual buka puasa do that I organize yearly for my old secondary friends. It has been my tradition since I started work to get my friends together for breaking of fast on my treat at least once during the month. This year I’m also thinking about organizing another buka puasa dinner for my other set of friends whom I’ve know from my blogging activities but I have not decided on that yet. I know that I’m going to be having buka puasa with one blogger at least so I might as well get some of the others in as well.

I’m also looking forward to making dodol for Hari Raya again this year which I’m currently scheduling for the last weekend before the end of the fasting month. I have to put it in the calendar early lest my dodol – stirrers i.e. my bothers and brother in law tries to escape their duties.

I’m such a slave driver when it comes to making our traditional dodol .

The Merdeka Weekend That Never Was

My Merdeka weekend plans turned out to be a bust.

It was already a bit late when I went back to Selayang on the Merdeka eve for us to find a suitable place to park and join in the festivities. My sister had her own plans at UiTM that night and would not be joining us. Both my brothers had another birthday party to attend in Bangsar for one of their friends. I didn’t know that particular friend so the thought of being the only one at the party not knowing anyone else there was enough for me to not join them there. In the end it was just me, my mum and my nephew sitting in front of the TV to watch the countdown. Of course by the time the countdown started, 2 out of the 3 people watching it was already asleep.

The plan to watch the parades the following day also fizzled out. My dad got back from Terengganu at 3am which was about the same time as my brothers got back. By the time I woke up at 6 the following day, everyone was too exhausted to go which kind of meant that I had to go there myself if I really wanted too. In the end, I just decided that being in the middle of the gazillion people that would surely be at the parade route was too much for me to handle on my own. Went back to sleep and later watch the whole parade on TV in the comfort of my own house. When everybody woke up, we all went for a late breakfast at the nearby mamak shop.

It wasn’t all bad. I did get sometime to spend with the family and my nephew. I also got a chance to send the batik material I bought to the family tailor for my alumni batik shirt. Hope to get that back in about 3 weeks so I will have it ready by the time of my alumni dinner next month. Picked up my monthly shipment of comics from Mind Shop which thankfully was less this month that what I usually have to pay in the previous months. While the amount that I have to pay was less, I still have months of comics in my read pile to go through. I’m just adding to the read pile every month now since I don’t get to go through them as often as I would like to.

I also got a chance to put it some time to my Neverwinter Nights 2 PC game which I have to install on my brother’s PC since it can’t run on my laptop. Even then the graphic performance was too slow and had it not been for the engaging storyline, I would have given it a miss a long time ago. Given the quality of the graphics in this installment of the franchise, I wondered why it demands so much from the hardware. It’s times like thing when I get tempted to spurge on a PC gaming system with the latest AV hardware but then I realize that I have a whole boatload of PS2 games that I have not even touch yet!

September also means that the fasting month is just around the corner. I have to start planning my schedule as I’m hoping to get in some gym time as well the fasting month. Unlike most people, I usually gain weight during the fasting month instead of loosing it. Never could understand why especially I usually watch closely how I eat when I break fast. Hopefully I would be able to change that this year.

That reminds me that I will have to go to the gym tonight to burn off the amount of food that ate during the weekend. It’s so hard to say no to a home cooked meal especially when my mum cooks it.