It only takes a Spark

I like the morning devotions in my school a lot. Really gets me started for the day. Just want to share a song that we sang earlier this week.

On the side note, I received a couple of surprises as well. Yesterday I was informed by OCBC that I was one of the lucky winners for the overdraft account I opened last year. Well, I actually closed it a month ago but yet I got the SMS asking me to claim my Kenneth Cole watch. Oh well, that settles my 20th month-evasary with E :) Glad that she liked it! 

Hedonic Treadmill

Came across this term when I was reading an article today. What does it mean?

"The hedonic treadmill is a theory that people return to a relatively stationary level of happiness, sometimes considered a happiness “set point.” Although efforts or interventions to improve happiness have a transient effect, individuals inevitably return to their original happiness set point after a short period of time."

I do run quite a bit on the treadmill :/

A great example they quoted, went online to read up a little, was the lottery effect. The level of happiness of a lottery winner only lasts for a few days after which they return to their normal levels again.

On the lighter note, CNY is coming soon :) 

Bicycle Uncle

I got an answered prayer today! I've been wanting to get my bicycle fixed as it was punctured a few days ago. Also my other bicycle was starting to give me a bit of a problem, mainly the gears. My brother and I actually resorted to salvage the seat and throw the bike away and but a brand new one from Giant.

I bumped into the bike uncle at my place after having my dinner with E today. I quickly greeted him and asked if I was too late to get my bike fixed.

To cut the long story short (also I'm super sleepy now) I was amazed by his sheer determination and willingness to go the extra mile to fix my bicycle problem. He shared with me that he collects bicycle spare parts, basically salvages whatever parts from unwanted bicycles and somehow magically reassembles them into brand new bikes. 

He went to the extend of salvaging ball-bearings from the bicycle shaft from another bicycle, replacing them with mine @.@ It was fun watching him work and of course I took this opportunity to brush up my rusty Hokkien. 

Yipee, now I can roll around my place with my new bicycle :D vroom. You won't believe how much it costed me to repair and replace quite a number of parts for both my bicycle.

 

For those who don't know how does a ball-bearing look like. My first time dissecting the bicycle shaft :/

Now I want to repair all the bicycles in the world! :D

Expired Mars Bars

The saga of expired goods still continue to tag along with me even I have graduated from university. Let's recap on some things that were expired under my wonderful care.

This time my Mars bars were going to expire. E was generous enough to get me Mars bars from the convenience store near her place. It was on a discount, buy one free one for only a dollar. We knew there was a catch to the offer and true enough the Mars bars were going to expire in a week (As i'm writing this, i'm only left with 5 days)

How did my first Mars bar tasted? The milk chocolate part was rather hard despite not being refrigerated. It did still taste like chocolate but it was rather flaky and bubbly. Bubbly in a sense that it has expanded and had some 'cushion' or the bubbly chocolate from the Cadbury Bubbly.

 

Yea, it looked exactly like that. 

As for the caramel part, it wasn't chewy at all @.@ The strange part was, even though it did not taste like a normal Mars Bar, I had no idea why I still managed to finish it :D Must be my sweet tooth nature. hehe

The question is, should I eat my last bar now, or should I wait a few days and see how does expired Mars bars look like? Tell me what to do while I go munch on healthier options. 

New Year New Me? Skydiving Fox Glacier

Happy New Year to everyone! This time I was rather lazy to wish my friends, so I decided to only reply if only they did message me. I'm such a bad person :(

How did I spend my new years? I travelled all the way to the west to have Carls Jr with Ester just to satisfy our craving for chilli cheese fries. Yumm! Ironically last year, oh wait two years ago,2012 we travelled all the way to Joo Koon just to eat Sarpino's pizza.

Don't really like to share my resolutions but here is a few which I hope to maintain till forever

1) Stay healthy and fit.
Yes, I know a lot of people say I'm still young and I should be less conscious of my diet/food but the fact that I don't have the luxury of home coked food everyday means I will have to choose 'healthier' options. I'm going to cook more often, simple meals at home. Also with E uprooting herself to the east, makes me more motivated to run with her again. Just like old days, I can't believe she made me run with her almost everyday in hall O.O I'm also going to explore more cycling options on weekends. Ah that reminds me that I need to do up my bicycle. Anyone reading this has a second hand bicycle for sale?

2) Spend more time at home.
2013 was my year away from home. I think I was only back in KL 4-5 days the whole year, considering the fact that I spend 18 days in NZ and a little more days in JB and Melaka. Opps, sorry mum and dad! As a result of that, mum proposed that we do a Batam trip together during CNY. I probably can't ask for more time but will try my best to go home whenever possible.

3) Skydiving round 2? I did it at Fox Glazier, Franz Joseph. Click on photos for bigger image

 I had no idea there was a wing camera, else I'll probably act more manly

I'm still alive. Pheww!!

The experience was of skydiving at Fox Glacier was indescribable. All I knew was that I'm very thankful to be alive after a surge of adrenaline from the 45 second free-fall. 

But then again, you don't need to conquer all your fears head on. There is always a safer and longer route :P 

Happy New Year! :)