We dropped Laura off at Sunway Pyramid. She booked a Spin session at the gym. While we (Jeannie and I) wait for her, we thought we’d grab dinner.
Shaaz is a restaurant on its own, just next to Sunway Pyramid. This is Jeannie’s and my second visit here. The food experience that we had on our first visit was good. Hence, the second visit here.
Jeannie ordered “Mamak Mee Goreng” and I ordered two chapatis. According to Jeannie, the chapatis are usually made with no oil or very little oil, so it is supposed to be healthy or healthier.
For drinks, we both ordered lime juice. This time round, we did not ask to exclude the sugar.
Lime Juice. It was more like sugar juice. The sugar was not that over-powering. Still, I would have preferred more lime than sugar.
The drinks lightly tasted like lime juice. There was more sugar in it than there was lime. Still, it tasted quite good. And they sure were refreshing; especially on a day like this. Though the sun was not blazing hot, the day was still very humid.
Mamak Mee Goreng. It looked pretty oily to me.
Jeannie’s Mamak Mee Goreng arrived together with the drinks, which was quite fast. It looked good, though slightly on the oily side. It did taste good, spicy enough that Jeannie did not have to add chili to it. It had a generous serving of tofu and bits of vege (short for vegetables. The word “Vege” is quite commonly used here.) This meal proved to be quite filling.
My two piece chapati serving. No oil.
I had to wait about 10 minutes after Jeannie’s meal arrived, to get mine. The ten minute wait seemed worthwhile as the chapati looked really good. No oil, the chapatis came with parapu (dhal or “lentils” in English) and coconut chutney.
The parapu and coconut chutney was so good, that I had to ask for a refill. The two chapati were filling.
I was famished. I did not have lunch this afternoon. I was keeping tabs on my weight control. I am quite happy with my weight loss over the past week – good results. Have to keep going at it. Once I arrive at my target, then, the next step is to maintain.
Parapu refill or “tambah lagi”, which means to add more. No, I did not wave the waiters over and did not show the national hand signal in the air for tambah lagi. You have to be Malaysian to know this unique hand signal for “tambah lagi” or “add more”.
The meal was really good. it came up to RM17.40 including 6% SST tax or US$3.73. Simple. The restaurant was nice and comfortable and brightly lit.
After our meal, Jeannie and I went back into Sunway Pyramid, where Jeannie went to tapau (order takeaway) KFC Popcorn chicken for Laura. KFC’s Popcorn chicken is really tasty. It serves as a good light meal. This is one of Laura’s favorite “snacks” or light meals.
We did not have to wait too long for Laura. She finished her Spin exercise session, had a shower and met with us at our usual meeting point before walking to our car.
Sunway Pyramid was quite quiet today. It could have been because it was a week day. Plus, there wasn’t any promotions going on. However, it offered a pleasant experience to shop without having to jostle with the crowds and all their rushing about. I quite like it this way.
Now, to head home, have some rambutan fruit and make a nice mugga (referring to coffee) as in cuppa refers to tea.😁
I am finding it quite difficult to write at this very moment, not for the lack of an idea, or two, a story, or more; to have an article up for publication. It is not that I am physically unable….well, yes,…a bit.
Just stood on the weighing scales. It is not that I don’t do this ritual every day in the morning. Then again, after I come back from my 15,000 step (roughly just over 11.0 kilometers [km] or about 6.786 miles) daily walk. And then again, in the night. I take these statistics very seriously.
Coming back to having stood on that platform, that same device that people use in hopes of “telling” or “showing” them good news; however it doesn’t. Yet day in and day out, we still use it – the weighing scales. I am 6.0kg over weight. Now, how did this happen? How did this sneak past me? As a neighbor of mine, Mrs. Teoh exclaimed to me as I walked past her on my walk yesterday, “Wah! You very fat now.”
Could all the articles on my / our (including Jeannie & Laura) visits to the many restaurants and eateries have something to do with it? Well, maybe, just a little bit. However, we don’t really over eat, just have regular meals each day.
Yet, how did 6.0kg get past me? I am one who tracks my weight diligently. I go for my brisk walks. Brisk here means that the average person age 65, walks 1km in 11 minutes. I first hooked on to the speed about 4 years ago. I had to meet this time or inside this time of 11 minutes per kilometer for each of the 10km. Which means my 10km walk would take 110mins or less. In recent times, my overall total timing has slowed down by 3 – 5 minutes.
I believe that one of the biggest culprits to my weight gain is S-U-G-A-R! When I think back over the last few months, my sugar intake, be it in food or drinks has been on the rise. I love chocolate and have been eating more than my fair share per day or week.
I don’t have any sugar health issues. It is just that I want to keep my weight within the limits. For instance, when I eat something that contains a lot of sugar, I will cut back or refrain from taking in more sugary food and drinks for a couple of days at least.
Snacking is a bad habit that I used to pride myself in completely abstaining from. It is a habit not worth having and keeping.
So, while I have all the tools and knowhow to keep being overweight at bay, there is something else that I need to get back on track towards a healthy weight and get rid of my potbelly, too. That is DISCIPLINE.
I thought I was very disciplined with a regimented routine. However, the 100 grams that slip by here and the couple of hundred grams there that escape my notice, adds up. I noticed it, though, I often think I will make up for it the next day. That “next day” has not come in a long time.
Now, I have decided to “take the bulge by its flab” and address the issue. Over the last couple of days, I have cut off most of the sugar and reduced my food intake. I have also refrained from all snacking. Well, almost all. Since I love chocolate, I treat myself to a small piece a day.
I have also put more vigor in the “vigorous”, daily brisk walking. I have put in some stomach crunch exercises (10 x 3 rep) per day. The result after 3 days. Weight is down by 2.2kg. Once I regularize my healthy weight, I will work on keeping it steady.
What is better than self-control or discipline? Don’t be tempted.
1.19pm in the autumn afternoon. As I turn my head to my left and look outside past the semi-opaque curtains, through the glass sliding door, then, past the grill-gate, the autumn weather has thrown a gloomy shadow over the area.
I thought I’d go out for my 10 kilometer walk. The “gloomy shadow over the area” is a bit of a frown, bringing the rain with it. If I go for my walk now, people will mistake me with my umbrella for Gene Kelly. That guy can almost sing and dance like me. Ask my wife, Jeannie. She knows. “Jeannie? Jeannie? Where are you?” Ok ok. My head must be up in the clouds – indication of the rain clouds being quite low? Just foolin’ (speaking and spellin’ the “American” way, after watching a “Dry Bar Comedy clip) around.
On a quiet (very quiet) Sunday afternoon, I thought I’d give my computer keyboard and fingers a short rest, and go for that “thought-about”, talked-about walk. As I started my brisk walk, the raindrops had shrunk to tiny, fine drops. The rain stopped after half a kilometer into my walk.
By this time, the weather was beautiful. The sun was tucked away somewhere, it could not be see though the sky was clear from any clouds. The air was so clean and refreshing. There was a cool, gentle breeze blowing, throughout the walk, so much so, my walk was very pleasant.
As I walked around our neighbourhood, I could not help but notice that most of my neighbours were indoors, not outside; to enjoy the near perfect weather we were having.
While on my brisk walk to keep up with a certain basic health routine I set for myself; I thought about the current trending topic: as inflation has hit a high of 4.4% (the last time I checked) in Malaysia; Bank Negara, the Central Bank of Malaysia has raised the overnight policy rate (OPR) 3 times in quick succession. In layman’s terms, it just means your cost of borrowing loans has gone up three times.
This move is supposed to bring inflation down. Really? I mean really?
Sure it is supposed to make sense. Too much of cash chasing too few items. Then again, who is spending what money?
So, one would think we should be worried about this, right? Wrong. At least it sure seems the people aren’t worried. At the crowded shopping mall that I was at yesterday, I saw sales was brisk. People were buying like there was no tomorrow.
Recently, a news report stated that motor vehicles sales had surpassed the record of pre-pandemic times.
All this shopping economics seem good for the economy. 15 years ago, a very intelligent young 5-year old girl once told me, “Daddy, now that man is rich”, when I paid him cash for the new phone I bought from the store. I asked her what she meant. She said, “You gave him your money”. I said, “Yes, but I bought this new phone from him”. She replied, “Yes, but he’s got your money”.
As I seemed to be thinking deeper into this inflation, interest rates, spending money; suddenly dukong langsat crossed my mind.
It is past mid-September. I have yet to have had any langsat for this year. Known as langsat, duku langsat, dukong or dokong langsat; this local fruit is a “must-have”.
This fruit is soft, looks like jelly, but firmer; slightly juicy, sweet and slightly sour, but mostly sweet. Put one in your mouth, and you will be reaching out for the next one and the next and the next. To get the best out of it, it has to be put in the fridge for a couple of hours before eating it. Cold is nice. At least that is the way I like it.
Sinaharian.
Sells at an average price of US$2.20 (RM10) for 3kg; it is usually available in plentiful at the fruit-shops or sold by road-side vendors, langsat won’t disappoint. I am sure like everything else, the price would have surely gone up.
Oh yeah…For those people who are easily prone to flu; I don’t recommend walking in the rain, let alone singing and dancing in it.
NOTES: Lansium parasiticum, commonly known as langsat, lanzones or longkong in English; duku in Indonesian or dokong in Terengganu Malay, is a species of tree in the Mahogany family with commercially cultivated edible fruits. The species is native to Southeast Asia. Wikipedia
As I start penning, more like tapping on my Logitec K- 380 keyboard; I look out the glass door of our living room. The time is 2.35 in the afternoon.
I love to daydream. I still remember my place in class in La Salle Primary School, Petaling Jaya; when I was in Standard 3 (1). Facing the blackboard, my desk was right up front, next to the window on the left. I used to spend whatever time I had when teachers were not looking or paying attention to me; looking out this window; dreaming of what I wanted to be when I grow up. I was only nine years old at that time.
In those days, it was blackboard; white(most popularly used), yellow, blue, green, purple, red chalk and a blackboard duster. Standard 3B’s classroom was just above the tuck shop (2). Standard 3 classes were in the afternoon session.
Coming back to looking outside the glass door of our living room…not able to see the sky from where I am but it looks like a shadowy overcast, the blocking of direct sunlight by what may seem to be rain clouds forming. I think I will go for my 15,000 step walk now.
15,000 steps is about 11.9 kilometers, a cutback from my usual 15 kilometer walk which is my daily routine without fail. I find that it does not make that much of a difference in calorie burn and health improvement if I shorten my daily walks. I make up for this loss by alternating daily, a short plank session or 20 sit-ups.
I acquired Samsung’s latest smartwatch – the 46mm Galaxy Watch 4 classic. This is to replace the Watch 3 that I have. I recently wrote an article on the Watch 4. I will leave a link down below if you like to read up on it (3).
Let me give you an idea as to how I have used all these smartwatches over the last few years. The only time they come of my wrist is when I have to recharge the battery in these watches and when I shower. That’s it. From the first time I started wearing these smartwatches, I have stopped wearing all the other types of watches, including those that were intended to display the time only.
One of the main reasons I picked up the Watch 4 Classic is because it comes with the Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) that measures body composition. I am one of those people that like to know how I am doing physically. So, this is an added function besides the already available heart rate, stress, Oxygen level, number of steps done, distance, etc; which the watch 3 already had.
The Watch 4 runs on Google’s Wear OS3, where else the Watch 3 runs on Samsung’s Tizen OS. Samsung has decided to discontinue the Tizen OS.. According to Youtuber AllStarSpace in one of his most recent videos; Samsung struck a deal with Google that it (Samsung) will be the first smartwatch maker on the Android OS to use the WearOS3 version. All other smartwatch makers on Android OS2 will not get the OS3 upgrade till next year. I personally think, it is no big deal.
AllStarSpace is passionate with all things Samsung. He produces great, fun videos. He is usually the first with the latest and greatest about Samsung. You should check out his YouTube channel. (4)
I decided to find out whether these watches, running on different Operating Systems (OS) provided the same information and results. I wore both these watches, one on each hand and would put them through their paces over a 10km walk. I wore the Watch 4 on my left hand and the Watch 3 on my right hand.
My focus of this shoot out was not on the battery performance, steps count or heart rate, etc. I was just keeping track on distance, time taken and at the 15,000 step mark; how many steps did both these watches record.
The 1km distance comparison
I walked my usual route – around the USJ 4/4 Subang Jaya route. It has a slight gradient climb and on the reverse, an equally angled down-the-slope descent. I like it for this reason, instead of a level route all the way.
The 1km distance comparison.
My 1st stop was at the 1km mark. I hit the pause buttons for both these watches. Both clocked 10min 45 sec. The watch 4 was 40 meters or 0.04km slower than the watch 3. I removed both the wrists, placed them on the ground by the roadside and used an Apple iPhone 11 Pro to take the shots. Then, I put the watches back on, and continued with my walk. When I continued on my walk, I pressed the button on the Watch 4 first to continue recording, then the Watch 3.
The 3km mark
At the 3.0km distance mark reached by the watch 3, I stopped to take readings. Time wise, the watch3 showed 41 seconds faster and it was ahead by 0.08km.
5km and still going. Phew! It is hot… The day, I mean.
The watch3 continued to race ahead and lead in time and distance at the 5km mark. It was already 54 seconds in time and 0.14km ahead in distance.
At the 8km mark
At the 8km mark, the time and distance widened between the two smartwatches. the Watch 3 was now ahead by 1min 2sec in time and 0.18km in distance. Note, the time itself, remained consistent on both watches.
Across the finish line. 10km.
At the 10km finish line, the watch 3 recorded 10.01km, yet it recorded 8 steps less than the watch 4. It was 1min 23sec faster in timing. Both recorded same time of day. This means the watch 3 does not have a faster time mechanism.
Day’s walk exercise completed – 15,000 steps
What was interesting to note was the step count was slightly higher on the watch 4. It recorded a shorted distance of 0.25km and the duration time recorded was 1min 25sec slower.
In conclusion, both watches, even though with different operating systems (OS) provided the same information, give and take a slight variation in recorded information.
I did not benchmark these watches against any professional measuring systems for accuracy in their recordings. So, I can’t tell for sure which watch is accurately displaying km distance and pace time.
If you have a Watch 3 or ActiveSports 2, should you “upgrade” to the Watch 4 or Classic? I think you should save your money and just stick with what you have right now.
Design-wise, they are about the same.
If you are worried about not getting OS support for the Tizen models; I think they are still good to go for at least another couple of years or so.
Unless, you must have the ultimate latest, then go ahead with either the Watch 4 or Classic, with prices ranging from RM899 to RM1,399. These prices are for the non-LTE model version. The LTE models are not available in Malaysia. I don’t think they will make their way here as the take up rate will be low.
NOTE:
What is known as Year 3 in today’s terms.
Tuck shop – a shop, typically one on school premises, that sells confectionery, snacks and soft drinks. “The tasty crisps have proved popular with school tuck shops”. Definition from Oxford languages. The term “tuck shop” was more popular in the ’60s to the ’90s. The phrase ‘tuck in” is an invitation to start eating and enjoy the meal.
A mention to Ms Thanalaxmi of USJ 4/4. Earlier last morning on my daily walk, I passed by her house and she asked what I was writing on. I said, “The Walk”. My apologies. “The Walk” is coming up after this. I have some ideas on my sketchpad of what I am going to write about. I am thinking, “Tudor”. What say you?
Background of pictures in the 10km walk: USJ 4/4 road and pavement 😁
