Sumary – If done correctly, it can even shed a few kg of you.. Here’s how

Why is it that some people is more energetic during Ramadhan, while another is weaker? The answer to this very question will help us to not only become fitter but we may be able to lose weight in the process, insyaAllah.

The answer is “Sahur”. People from Kedah call it “Soq” :). There’s a reason why “sahur” is very recommended to people who fast. In fact, that’s the only difference from our fast and the non-muslim’s fast.

Let me try to explain it.. We all know breakfast is the most important meals of the day. Yes it provides us more energy to start our day, but there is another secret to it. Breakfast actually gives signal to our body that we are not in starvation.

You see, our body is very clever. When we are starving, the body does not react by burning more fat. It actually react by lowering down its metabolism and burn less fat to preserve them. That is why we are often weaker when we are hungry for a long time.

So Sahur, will indirectly signal the body that we are not starving ourself. And thus the body’s metabolism will switch to normal mode. Which means it burns more fat and giving us more energy to start the day. Thus we will be fitter and stronger the whole day. And since the metabolism rate is not slowed down, more fat will be burn and eventually the weight loss (Of course other factors must be taken into consideration, such as exercise, type of food etc)

So guys.. it’s already half a month, Any weight loss or gain? 

Note : The intention to fast is never supposed to be about weight loss. It is our very own bond with Allah, since no one will ever know we’re fasting or not except Him.

————–Personal Note————-
Waking up for sahur is very challenging indeed. During my childhood, I even have some stages that will occur before I completely aake for sahur. My grandmother will wake me up by calling my name. That almost certainly will not work. She then go very close to me (visible distance) and again call. This time, I will reply by giving some sort of protest that I don’t want to sahur. She know this too well and start nagging with high frequency voice 🙂 That should wake me up. And I protestly walk to the dinner table and eat my sahur.This happen almost every night, and almost everyday.. I will feel grateful to her for patiently wake me up. 🙂 if not… *sigh

Summary – Happy Sunday everyone! 🙂

A man walks into a bank in New York City and asks for the loan officer.

He tells the loan officer that he is going to China on business for two weeks and needs to borrow USD $5,000. The bank officer tells him that the bank will need some form of security for the loan, so the man hands over the keys to a new Ferrari parked on the street in front of the bank. He produces the title and everything checks out. The loan officer agrees to accept the car as collateral for the loan.

The bank’s president and its officers all enjoy a good laugh at the for using a USD $250,000 Ferrari as collateral against a USD $5,000 loan. An employee of the bank then drives the Ferrari into the bank’s underground
garage and parks it there. Two weeks later….

Two weeks later, the man returns, repays the USD $5,000 and the interest, which comes to $15.41. The loan officer says, “Sir, we are very happy to have had your business, and this transaction has worked out very nicely, but we are a little puzzled. While you were away, we checked you out and found that you are a multi-millionaire. What puzzles us is, why would you bother to borrow USD $5,000?”

The man replies: “Where else in New York City can I park my car for 2 weeks for only USD$15.41 and expect it to be there when I return?”

/end story

This story has had so many version, the first one I read it’s about Phua Chu Kang parking car in Singapore 🙂 Anyway I wonder if we can really do this? Kuala Lumpur is getting more expensive to park a car in.

————–Personal Note————-
Sometimes I always wish that the Doraemon technology exist, where we can shrink our car and put it in the pocket. Now it really is getting harder to find a parking spot in KL. Things is not getting any better I assure you.

How else do you think we can solve this problem?

Summary – Human is naturally lazy.. Authority needed

Yesterday is a “Pay-my-bills” day. So after the Jumaat Prayer, it will just be me and the bank.. Everything is fine, but I need to complain on one thing. The BSN (Bank Simpanan Nasional)

Just imagine, about 40 people queing and only two counters opened.It’s not that they are not enough staff to man the counters. There are guys behind the back door sitting and laughing. I know that it must be their lunch break, but I think the management can do more to settle this problem. For your information, this condition has been a practice since before I was transfered here.

What I did, I first go to the BSN to get the queing number, then I just take my time doing other chores. Believe me, I even had time for shopping my MONTHLY groceries. It’s that bad..

I don’t expect the staff to be self motivated. That is just near impossible when there is no reward in working harder. This is entirely up to the management to do something. Maybe reward the staff by asking them to collect the queue number. Then everyone will do their work faster to serve more people and get more incentive

Applying this to life, I guess.. when things go wrong. The person in charge must be the first to do something about it. Never expect people to be self driven to work harder. Human is just lazy by nature… it’s going to be very hard to change this.

Parent saw their children spending more time with television must do something to change tv into books and study. They should never assume their children will be self-motivated to study for their future.

Again human is naturally lazy. But there are some rare people who are hardworking, and will go the extra mile while completing his/her responsibilities. These are really rare breed. And usually these are the people who will be the successful ones.

Any ideas on how to keep us not only motivated but willing to do extras? 🙂 I have some ideas but let’s hear yours first…

————–Personal Note————-
About 1 year back, I’m not that comfortable using internet to do my banking. But I force myself and now I cut 50% of the time spent. The post office here is far worse compared to BSN. I guess that what push me to start internet banking 🙂

Are you currently using internet banking?

Summary – Lesson learnt from Pasar Malam

With the new template going on, it does feel a bit like preparing for raya at home.. changing new curtains or repainting the house. Very exciting.. Hopefully everything is ok with the new template. Do inform me if there is anything I can help you with.

Yesterday I actually went to the first bazar Ramadhan this year. Well, you have to understand that going out of an estate is hardwork, so I very seldom went out. The bazar here at my place is not that grand if compared to back home in Kedah, but there is still lots of yummy food around 🙂

I remembered an advice given by my brother, which I am going to share it with you.

Life is very much like a “pasar malam” (in this specific case, a bazar ramadhan), everyone go there. Some know exactly what to look for, Some still has no idea and want to look at the option of food available. Some just go there to flirt with girls. In the end, what you did in a “pasar malam”, or where you went are not important. What important is what do you bring home.

We are all given each 24 hours. Everyone will have to go through the same 24 hours – criminals, loitering youth, the dance teacher, the prime minister, and even Rasulullah. So what are we bringing home from the 24 hours? Do we even know our reason going to this “pasar malam”? or are we just walking around aimlessly.. and in the end we brought back those colorful tents home. which is clearly not what we’re supposed to buy.

So what do you do at 6am? 7am? how long do we really need to sleep? Where can we squeeze out more time for us? Seriously I read a lot of self-managing books, but in my opinion this “Pasar Malam” concept is a good approach simply because we can associate the feeling of wasting time when we go to a “pasar malam” and return home empty handed… Don’t you think so?

How do you remind yourself to be aware of time? any secrets or tips?

————–Personal Note————-
I heard a quote in the tv the other day – “Bukan masa yang terlalu cepat, kita sebenarnya yang terlalu lambat”. Really make sense…

By the way, Mertabak here is very expensive. Cost me RM1.80 each, but I have no choice but to buy because the mrs ask for them… It’s a good thing she crave for things buyable eheh 🙂 Foods are getting more expensive each day isn’t it? and getting smaller too