Post: #41

This week's performance is not so good. I just started my first zither coaching class, so I still need to adjust my life to accommodate with the coaching classes.

Achievements based on my goals

1. Started to read a new book - NLP Self Communication
2. I exercised 4 days in a week. Yesterday, I went for swimming with my friend. The swimming pool was still very dirty...
   For the rest of the days that I didn't exercise, I stood against the wall for 15 minutes, with my calves, buttocks, back and head were stuck against the wall. This is a type of stratching exercise too.
3. I practiced zither for about 4 hours in total.
4. I meditated for 4 nights, as the rest of the days, I was truely tired until I didn't even think about meditation, just jumped onto my bed and sleep straight away.
5. I lost weight of 1kg, finally! XD Now my weight is 75kg. I will continue for another 10kg (phew... a long long way...)
6. I updated my summary of book reading in Mandarin, posted in my Mandarin blog.
7. I learned another few simple Japanese words.
   • one - いち
   • two - に
   • three - さん
   • four - よん
   • five - ご
   • six - ろく
   • seven -　なな
   • eight - はち
   • nine - きゅう
   • ten - じゅう
   • hundred - ひゃく
   • thousand - せん
   • (feeling) cold - 寒い
   • hot - 熱い
   • (describe something) cold - 冷たい
   • still - まだ
   • You are welcome - どういたしました
   • I will go to bed soon - そろそろ寝るね。
     

Extra achievements

1. Again, I finished marking the students' tests in less than 2 hours by using Pomodoro Technique to help me in concentration.
2. I successfully conducted the zither class as a coach helper. I taught them how to play the whole one song.
3. I continued with my note taking habits. I almost stopped the life log note taking as my life were so busy in the past one week. So, I just jot down my life in the life log at night. I hope that I can quickly adjust my time for everything.
4. I will be joining the contest tonight, which is an area contest. Initially, the champion should be joining, but he cannot make it for tonight, so I represent my club to join the contest. I hope that I can do my best.
   

What I failed

1. In certain days, I failed to drink 2 liters of water, because of busy life. I should take note in drinking water...
2. Update a blog post for my community club.
3. Save RM200 for March. I'm almost broke for this month because of my over-spent last month.
4. Failed to set the Test 2 question...
   

What made me happy

1. Finally, I successfully lost 1kg! XD I tried so hard for that 1kg! I will go for another 10kg in order to achieve my goal for 2012 / 2013!
2. I bought another 2 books from the book fair! XD I'm going to finish it after finish reading "NLP Self Communication"!
   

Next week's plan

1. Set the Test 2 question - Must get it done by next Wednesday!
2. Update the blog post for my community club - Hopefully to get it done by next Monday if possible.
3. Update the summary of the book reading in English.
4. Must be able to adjust my life to accommodate the zither coaching style without impacting my performance.
5. Prepare my speech for the coming meeting.
   

It seems that I have a lot to carry on... :S I hope that I can make it next week.

=======================================================

I went to a book fair yesterday. These are the things that I bought from the book fair. I like the notebooks with 4 different colors so much!


For the 2 books, one of them talks about subconsciousness, and another one is about the the stories of detectives.

Post: #42

I have to admit I have never heard of the zither before reading your journal. I found this video on it and it sounds like a very beautiful instrument. Do you happen to have any video or audio of you playing that you would like to share.

Congrats on your weight loss. Getting into shape is definitely a worthwhile goal that can give anyone a huge boost in confidence.

How long have you been using the Promodoro technique? I just recently heard of it for the first time. Focusing on just one thing for an extended period before taking a break sounds like a great idea. I have heard that you are to take longer and longer breaks throughout the day though and that sounds like it could lead to wasted time. I haven't used the technique though so I really don't know.

Post: #43

(03-13-2012 11:54 AM)Matt Wrote:  I have to admit I have never heard of the zither before reading your journal. I found this video on it and it sounds like a very beautiful instrument. Do you happen to have any video or audio of you playing that you would like to share.

Congrats on your weight loss. Getting into shape is definitely a worthwhile goal that can give anyone a huge boost in confidence.

How long have you been using the Promodoro technique? I just recently heard of it for the first time. Focusing on just one thing for an extended period before taking a break sounds like a great idea. I have heard that you are to take longer and longer breaks throughout the day though and that sounds like it could lead to wasted time. I haven't used the technique though so I really don't know.

Hi Matt, thanks for your sharing on the zither video. If I'm not wrong, it is the German zither, which is a nice instrument too! ^^ For Chinese zither, I found a video below, which is played by China Music College teacher and students. This is one of the song that I'm currently practicing for the zither exam this year.





I didn't record video for my playing, but just recorded an audio of the practicing song played by myself. I'm not a good player, still in the middle of learning.

For the Pomodoro technique, I learned it from Sarah's thread. It takes a short break of 5 minutes after concentration for a Pomodoro (25 minutes). After 4 Pomodoro, we need to take a long break of 15 minutes. To me, I feel that it is a good practice as we are suppose to take a short break after every 30 minutes of work, especially when we are facing to computers. I mark students' assignments and tests using computer, so I need to force myself to take a break, or it is bad to my health for facing to computer in long hours.

Post: #44

It's been 2 weeks that I didn't update this thread. As the end of semester was approaching, I was kind of busy compiling all the coursework marks. Now the semester is over!!

In these 2 weeks, I have a few achievements, which really made me feel the satisfaction. ^^

1. I drank 2 liters of water every day as usual.
2. I exercised almost everyday, except last Tuesday. But I still stood against the wall as a stretching exercise.
3. I met up with an internet friend for the second time. ^^ We have known each other for more than 6 years!! I felt so excited about the meet up, even until now. I have admired him since long time ago. However, due to the psychological barriers within myself, I have never confessed to him. Still, we are good friends after the meet ups.
4. I won the second runner up in the table topic contest.
5. I managed to play the full practicing song for the zither exam. I uploaded the recordings. You may click here to listen to the recordings.
6. I had vegetarian lunch on every Thursday for the past 7 weeks, which was the whole semester period. ^^ The vegetarian lunch are delicious too~
7. I finished marking the students' assignments and tests in a very short period of time with full concentration! Even without using Pomodoro Technique, still I managed to concentrate in the marking. But I rested only after 2 hours, which was actually not a good idea.
8. I went swimming with a friend for 2 times. Yesterday, I learned floating in water. Although I still couldn't get to float in water, but I could capture the feeling of floating. I hope that I will succeed in the next swimming session!
9. I learned VBA code for Microsoft Excel to enhance my worksheets on mark calculation. It's been long time that I wished to learn VBA coding, but I was always busy with my work. Now, I have learned the simple coding about it~
10. I created an overtime (OT) claim form using Microsoft Excel so that it is easier for me to enter my OT claims. I shared the worksheet with my colleagues. ^^
11. I went to walk on the pebble path again. It was pain when I went there for the first time. For the second time, I felt less pain, and I could walk faster. I hope that I can go on every Wednesday. That is my plan on Wednesday.
12. I revealed my psychological barriers against the love relationship to my mom when we went for an evening walk. The barriers have been with me for more than 20 years. My mom enlightened me with advice given. I know, it depends on me, whether I want to release the barriers and face to it. I will go for a try with it.
13. A couple days ago, my friend taught me an exercise, which requires me to repeating 2 postures for 3 minutes, then rest for 30 seconds, and repeat again. Keep on repeating the sessions for 5 times, which requires 15 minutes in total. I tried it out today, it really made me sweat a lot and my heart beat was fast! XD
14. I drew a picture of eye using the Graffiti application in Facebook. When I met my internet friend on the last few days, I realized that he didn't really look into my eyes when he talked to me, although there were only both of us. I know that he is a shy guy. It made me recall that I was shy to look into people's eyes when I was young too. I trained myself very hard to look into people's eyes when I'm talking to the person. I think that it is a manner to show that I respect the person, and I'm listening to what the person is talking about.
    
15. I drew another picture of a cake for my friend, who taught me swimming, using the Graffiti application in Facebook too. I wish him Happy Birthday in advance.
    
    

For the coming week, I plan to start doing my art work. Also, I will still practicing zither for more improvement! ^^

Post: #45

Wow Jaleen!! You achieved so much in 2 weeks!! happy for you!
I listened to your recordings, they're so nice to listen to!! I'm so envious of you! You can play such a beautiful instrument so well!
I often listen to traditional Chinese instrumentals while i meditate. Would be great if you record more, so then i can listen to them while i meditate

Good to see you've been keeping up with all your healthy habits so well!
At point 13, the exercise you're talking about, is it Interval exercise? I do something similar too and its super effective and short!

Nice drawings! I have a similar problem of looking at peoples eyes when talking, but i'm overcoming it now.
I hope you overcome your barrier! If you really really REALLY want something, you will get it!
JIAYOU Jaleen!

The past few weeks have been so quiet with no updates, so i was out of inspiration. Now that you're back, I'm inspired too!

Post: #46

Good for you, Jaleen!
Keep it up It makes me so happy to hear you've been sticking to your plans/goals.
Congrats for winning the second place!

What a coincidence! I've recently discovered the zither and I absolutely love its music - it's so dreamy and fluid, it's perfect for clearing your mind&relaxing. I've really enjoyed your recordings

Wish you all the best!

"You were born an original, don't die a copy." ~ John Mason | You can check my blog here

Post: #47

Hi Jaleen , it's great to see your progress
Congratulations for the contest as well!! .

I did not know about zither until you mentioned it in your journal , but I love it - it's similar to the music I usually use for meditation. Thank you for sharing your recordings

Post: #48

(03-27-2012 06:41 PM)nimiprem Wrote:  Wow Jaleen!! You achieved so much in 2 weeks!! happy for you!
I listened to your recordings, they're so nice to listen to!! ...

Hi Nimi, you are really into China culture!! You learn Feng Shui, Yin Yang, and even listening to Chinese tradisional music!!

(03-28-2012 01:12 AM)Lina Wrote:  Good for you, Jaleen!
Keep it up It makes me so happy to hear you've been sticking to your plans/goals. ...

Hi Lina, thanks for your compliment! I'm still in the progress of practicing to make it a better feeling for the exam and competition purposes! ^^

(03-28-2012 04:24 AM)Ish Wrote:  Hi Jaleen , it's great to see your progress
Congratulations for the contest as well!! . ...

Hi Ish, thanks for following my thread closely! ^^
When I do meditation, usually I don't listen to music. It seems to be a good idea to listen to some relaxing music while meditating! I will take a try through out this semester break.

---

For April Challenge, since Celes has mentioned to be "Free For All", I plan to have a challenge of having vegetables in my meals for 21 days.

I always tell people that, I can never be a vegetarian, and I always need to have meat in my meals, either pork or chicken. I know that they are not good for my health, but I just can't release myself from them! >.< Sometimes, I even don't eat vegetables at all! My whole plate of meals are all meat!!

Now, I want to challenge myself, not to be a vegetarian, but to have more vegetables in my meals. Let's say, if I eat 1 gram of meat, then I need to have 2 grams of vegetables. I will make sure that my meals always have more vegetables than meat.

First of all, I will need to throw away the thought: Meals with meat are more worth comparable to meals with vegetables, in term of price per plate. That is because, over here, if I order a plate of rice with all vegetables, it is RM4.50; if I order a plate of rice with all meats and a little bit of vegetables, it is still RM4.50. In term of cost, of course, meats are more expensive than vegetables. Also, the vegetarian food over here is much more expensive as compared to the usual food with meat... To avoid this, I shouldn't take the price into consideration. Just order if I want to eat.

Secondly, I will need to throw away the thought: Meals with meat make me full and I can stand for longer time to have the next meal. Especially, when I plan to go for gym, I usually choose to eat more before gym, so I choose meat again. I feel that meat can make me feel the fullness and I will not get hungry when I'm at gym. To avoid this, I should prepare some biscuits or bread with me, so that before I go for gym, just have some biscuits and I will not feel the hunger.

I need to go through the challenge, starting from 1-April to 21-April. I hope that I can go for it. I wish to make this as my habit continuing even after this challenge towards myself! ^^

Everyone in PE, I welcome your suggestions on any additional criteria for this challenge! Thanks.

Post: #49

Hi Jaleen! I also have the plan of adding more veggies to my diet. I wish you the best of luck in achieving this.

Post: #50

(03-31-2012 01:54 AM)Apu Wrote:  Hi Jaleen! I also have the plan of adding more veggies to my diet. I wish you the best of luck in achieving this.

Thanks, Apu! Let us achieve it together!! ^^

---

Today is the first day of my personal challenge: To have more veggies in my diet.

This morning, I had nasi lemak as breakfast, which is a kind of Malay's traditional food in Malaysia. It consists of some small salty fishes, cucumbers and beans, together with some curry, without chicken.

During lunch, I ate a little bit of chicken, as my mum didn't cook for lunch, and we only had chicken curry and some turmeric rice which was given by my relatives because of the delivery of a baby boy for one month. I ate some pastries that came along with the turmeric rice and chicken too.

Since I failed in taking veggies in my lunch, I ate a lot of vegetables for my dinner, and I ate only 2 small meatballs. XD

First day of this challenge, I think it is a good starting point, and I hope to continue for the rest of the days. It is to cultivate this habit into my life, but not only for these 21 days.

Post: #51

Jaleen, thank you for your comment on my thread.
Best of luck to you in learning Japanese language!

Post: #52

An efficient way I've found of eating more vegetables is to continue eating them next to meat, but changing the veggies/meat ratio over time: at first I'll have just a few vegetables with the same amount of meat I would usually eat for a meal and then I bit by bit, day after day, I would increase the amount of vegetables and decrease the amount of meat - this way it won't seem as a forced change or something difficult to keep up with. The change will come naturally

"You were born an original, don't die a copy." ~ John Mason | You can check my blog here

Post: #53

I like Lina's idea. That's kind of how I got started with eating 50% produce (fruit / veggies excluding potatoes) during the course of a day.

It works pretty well for me because I'm not restricting my ability to eat what I want. I'm a carnivore like you, Jaleen, and I tend to rebel against restrictions--especially self-imposed ones. Plus, I also have issues with it when I eat out. It's hard to find meals that are 50% produce (around here potatoes--in the form of chips/french-fries is the restaurant veggie of choice) and I feel like since I'm eating out and paying good money, I feel I should be getting something I want to eat. Lol, sounds like I need to do some of the same attitude / thought rearranging you are doing!

Since it is 50% over the course of the day, I can use my other meals and snacks to adjust the ratio if I end up eating out or having a meal that is mostly grains / meat.

Post: #54

Hi, Jaleen. I was considering doing a challenge similar to this later in the year. Maybe you could set a standard for how many vegetable servings you want to eat. Setting a goal like 10 or 20 fruit and vegetable servings a day (sounds like more than it is) would give you a more concrete goal t shoot for each day. Celes wrote a good post on fruit and vegetable servings earlier this year.

Post: #55

WHOAAAA!!!
Nice, Jaleen!!! You're progressing in leaps!
I love how your enthusiasm shows in not only your words but also your actions.
Didn't realize how much I've really missed reading your posts....
JIA YOU!!!

---

And wow, thanks for that video Jaleen! To think I've been hearing this sort of music and all along not knowing you were taking about the same! Here is my fav....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhuYROg09MI

Post: #56

Greetings to all of you!
How have you all been doing?

It has been more than one year that I didn't get back to this thread because of busy life through out this one year.
And, my life kept changing from time to time, although I have a stable job as a college lecturer, still... Haha~

I saw my last post in this thread was 1-Apr-2012, April Fool day. If I recall correctly, I have passed the "having vegetables in my meals for 21 days" challenge, although I didn't make any record on that challenge. However, after that, I dropped the continuous challenge because of the change in life. =.="

Let's talk about what had been achieved through out that one year 2012 based on my first post in the thread.

Life Goal
Yeah! I have got a boyfriend now!
I sincerely thank for his time, cares and patience towards me.

Self Development

1. Enroll Master part time course in September 2012 - Because of some problems with the course requirements, I dropped the Master course and re-enrolled another Master course in February 2013
2. Learn Japanese language – I'm now able to recognize all the Hiragana, still in progress to learn vocabularies and speak
3. Read at least 3 books in one year - Completed
4. Write at least 5 blog posts about some simple researches of my interests - Failed, I wrote only 3
   

Health and Fitness

1. Weigh 65 kg - Failed, I'm now still 76kg >.<
2. Drink at least 2 liters of water daily - Up till now, I still managed to drink about 2 liters of water daily
3. Exercise at least 3 times a week - Still able to make it for most of the weeks, but not all the weeks...
4. Meditate at least 3 times a week - Still able to make it for most of the weeks, but not all the weeks...
5. Reduce cholesterol to the normal range - According to my previous medical checkup report, it was reduced, but still in the higher range
6. Reduce the urine acid to the normal range - According to my previous medical checkup report, it was reduced, but still in the higher range
   

Hobbies and Interests

Music

1. Practice at least 2 hours a week - Yes, I have done it
2. Take the zither examination - Failed, because of the practice in joing the competition >.<
3. Join the zither international competition in Dec 2012 - Yes, my team won the bronze prize in the competition!!
4. Buy a new zither - Done~
   

Photography - because of financial problem, I would postpone these goals

1. Buy an SLR camera as 2012 birthday present
2. Join the photography community after buying the SLR
   

Travel

1. Save at least RM200 monthly - Because of financial problem, I saved only RM800, and I continue this goal again from Jan 2013
2. Travel to Cambodia with friend - I would postpone this goal as my friend has been busying with his work
3. Travel to Yunnan - I would postpone this goal as I'm now taking Master course part time course, and the term break period is different with my college term break period
   

Crafts - Because of the Master course, I have even less time for crafting So they have been postponed

1. Complete the hand bag for a friend
2. Complete the wooden house model for a friend
3. Complete the Mandarin orange clay tree for a friend
4. Create a photograph section in my living room (added on 12-Feb-2012)
5. Make a doll house of Chinese Orchestra
6. Make 2 car seat cushions for myself
   

Drawing

1. Draw at least one picture about my life in that month - Did almost every month
2. Post drawings to Comic Fiesta - Yes!! I have made it!
3. Join Comic Fiesta 2012 - Yes!! Again!! I have made it!!
   

Overall, I satisfied with my achievements last year, 2012. And this year, I will continue to be better, of course. ^^

I'm lucky enough to have a boyfriend to encourage me in keeping fit. He is in the overweight body size too, and he manages to go for jogging with his dad every morning if it does not rain.
I wish that I could at least reduce 5kg in this year in the healthy ways.

Because of this relationship, I have a lot of things to be learned. I have to learn to be more girlish, learn to wear skirts, learn to dress up, learn to make up... Kind of headache sometimes, but still, I wish to make my boyfriend to be proud of himself when he is with me, so I will learn all these.

Yeah! I will continue with it!! ^^

---

By the way, why did I say my life kept changing?

Last year March, I started to conduct zither class, but because of the start of Master course classes, I quit the zither teaching class in September. And, I still continued to have class with a Japanese friend.

After that, because of the course requirement issue, I dropped the Master course. And, my life was back to normal again.

Then, the music center that I attended zither classes needed a tuition teacher, so I helped them in conducting tuition classes for primary and secondary school students. So, my life changed again in October last year.

At the same month, October last year, I started a new relationship. And of course, I needed to spend some time with my boyfriend, once a week. So, my weekend life changed.

Again, in December, I applied another Master course in other university, and I got the offer. The course started in February 2013, and I have to travel for more than 100 km to attend the classes every Sunday. Thus, I informed the music center that I cannot continue to conduct the tuition classes anymore. I would need time for my studies and assignments. I stopped the tuition classes in February 2013, and started the Master course again.

Up till now, April 2013. I'm still busy with my assignments, my work, relationship. Luckily, I have a good family and boyfriend. My parents gave me full support in my studies. My mum wake up in the early morning every weekend to prepare breakfast and lunchbox for me. My dad keeps giving me positive encouragement to pursue the study. My boyfriend keeps reminding me with the due dates of assignments and tests (I'm a very forgetful girl...), and gave me a big space for my personal time to busy with my work and studies.

I believe, I would be able to graduate in 2016.

Post: #57

Looks like you've had an interesting year! I admire how you have many good habits - meditating, exercise, drinking water, drawing, playing music

"The truth will set you free, but first it will make you miserable."

Post: #58

(04-17-2013 01:21 AM)JadePenguin Wrote:  Looks like you've had an interesting year! I admire how you have many good habits - meditating, exercise, drinking water, drawing, playing music

Thanks again for your courage!! ^^
I will take up some time to be back to catch up with your thread again.
I'm busy with my course assignments currently. >.<"

But I believe I can go through with it~

Post: #59

Finally, I have presented another assignment for my Master course yesterday!!
I'm not relaxing anyway, I still have 5 assignments to go before completing this semester. And, there are only 5 weeks more towards the end of the semester. It means, I have to complete at least one assignment each week moving forward. >.<"

I feel so stress with my work + study... I have to divide my time for my family, work, study, and now even my boyfriend. Sometimes, I feel sorry to my boyfriend, as I tend to allocate less time for him. Although we communicate everyday through LINE on phone, but still, it's hard for us to meet up often. My mum and sister-in-law asked me why both of us seldom meet up too. Hmm... Still, I thank to my boyfriend's tolerance and I feel really grateful to have him with me.

Post: #60

Quick update for this week.

I have learned Katakana this week, from the website that I recommended to Lina earlier.
I learned to recognize the words and writing. Besides, I have to re-learn on the writing of Hiragana. Last time, I learned to recognize the characters, but I didn't know how to write it out. Now I'm learning both.
Also, I revised on the vocabularies that I have learned before because I have left them behind for quite some time since I started my Master course.

Besides, I drew a picture.


Tomorrow will be the 200th day for our relationship!! The period is short, yet a long one to me. I started to understand that we have different cultures in our families. My family is a typical conservative Chinese culture family, and his family is a modern family.

In my family, women have no right to provide any opinion in any issue. Elders always have the higher rights, and the younger ones cannot contradict with the elders.
While in his family, men and women have the same rights. Thus, to me, it is a culture shock, when I see his younger sister keeps teasing and joking with him. If I were his younger sister, I would not be doing that.
However, it would be more relaxing if I follow the way he lives, but I will need some time to get myself adapting to his life style.

Also, I continue with my zither class as usual. We are now preparing for the next contest that will be held in November of this year. I hope that I can join the contest again, although it was a tiring contest last year. Haha~

That's all for now. ^^

Wish you all enjoying you Friday and weekend!!