my pilates class

every week, i will attend BodyVive workout at my gym, led by Zul, a friendly and accomodating instructor (though i think that he needs to cut down on his workout because his legs are so skinny, they are as big as my arms!). i enjoy the class very much, because it involves music, and despite the sedate appearance my students know me to have (or not, i don't know), i was once a girl who loves music (still do) and sang in class. and so, when Zul plays The Kool & the Gang's Celebration or some other great songs, i just cant resist and my body starts to sway. if anyone should come to the gym to visit me at that time, they will see this stupid grin on my face, because i'm enjoying myself.

enough said.

a few of those in the group mentioned that they have tried the pilates class before. intrigued, i made a poin to join one later. however, i was in a dilemma, because on that same day, and before the pilates session, there is abs blitz, which i really really need. in the end, i decided to join the pilates class.

let me start by saying that i've been forewarned by my fellow bodyvive member who said the instructor likes to scold people.

but i didnt let that comment deter me.

while waiting for tha absblitz group to finish, i chatted with a petronas staff who joined the pilates for a few months. she called it "tough" especially for a beginner. i was alarmed.

again, i didnt let that alarm deter me.

we went inside the private studio, and i saw the instructor. not bubbly like zul. and not accomodating either. he has a serious, monotonous voice, which can definitely lull my hooligans to sleep in 1 minute. worse, he started talking in gibberish language. i call it gibberish because even though it's english (and i'm an english teacher!), i didnt understand what was required of us - he used a lot of pilates jargons like so-and-so positions. can you imagine lifting your head and both legs almost all the time in that 1 hour frame? i can tell you, i had leg cramps after a few minutes. but i was determined, and thought how hard could this be? and so i held on, and then i felt nauseous. seriously. i wondered then how they would react if i vommitted on the carpeted floor? but i held on, more of stubborness of not giving up. you had no idea how many times i kept looking at my pink watch.

at the end of the hour, i vowed that i would never again go back to pilates class.

at the changing room, i went straight to the washroom. no, i didnt throw up. but i nearly. after that i rewarded myself with kari hantu set at Little Penang Cafe.

The Beauty of Friendship

i had the most fantastic weekend.

simply because i met my old friends, and we had fun catching up.

to my ex students who think that a reunion after a year or 5 is superb, well wait until you hit 19 years. but by then you'll be slightly (it's all in the state of mind) older and matured, and the topics are wide-ranging.

that happens every time i meet up with my 5 ilmu seri puteri classmates and we just go crazy (not wackos, just girls who laugh out loud). the gatherings are done several times a year, but now it's more of a regular meeting as our friend Ina is back from Sudan.

so there we were - me, june, shidah, anne and ina - sitting and munching at our favourite spot Chilis, talking and all the while laughing so loudly that some people from the other tables looked. i'm not kidding. seriously. we just forgot where we were and we were again those giggly teenaged girls studying in girls boarding school, reminiscing the days when Miss Hamid punished the Set B girls for not completing their summaries (they had to run around the entire netball court for how many times) or when our favourite Cikgu Poyah shushed us up when we were in Form 2 until her saliva went flying everywhere or those Friday nights when we ran up to the field to book places for "wayang".

on Saturday night, i went to my friend As' house and met up with another classmate, Zana. although this was more a sedate and quiet meeting as compared to the boisterous one on the previous night, i enjoyed seeing my friends - seeing Zana as a mother catering to her "askar" and also As - our all-rounder, intelligent, opinionated classmate - a hepatologist who has reached another level that i don't know if i can reach.

on Sunday, i met up with my M.A. Literature classmates Elison and Iris. Elison is an outgoing lawyer with the gift of the gab (of course, or else she wouldn't be a lawyer, would she?) and i remember those classes when she would cheer up the otherwise serious class with cheeky comments. and then there's Iris, who's motherly and speaks and writes beautifully, who gave me a pep-talk on the morning of our final paper presentation because i hadn't done anything as i just broke up with a boyfriend. she saved me, actually and i did well in the Stylistics class presentation.

and you know you're having fun, because when someone had to make a move, you felt sorry that the meeting had to end, and you just wish that you could just sit there and talk and talk.

that's the beauty of friendship.

Hopes Dashed and A Quiet Birthday

let me start by saying that just a week ago, i experienced euphoria. i got to know a man, who is a year older than me and single! *bell ringing*

so you can just imagine my euphoria. he would sms me in the morning, so i assumed that he keeps his daily prayers well. a very important criteria in a muslim man. he's also affectionate, and stretches my euphoria by smsing me the whole day and night.

well, the euphoria didn't last long. i guess i had it coming when he had the nerve to ask me to top his credit up - only after 2 days of knowing him! i was angry (or to borrow salman rushdie's term, angrified) and told him it's a matter of principles. 1 down.

we had our first date on the eve of my birthday. imagine my horror when he told me to drive my car instead of me hopping into his borrowed car. not gentleman at all. 2 down. over dinner, and after dinner, we told each other stories of our lives, and then he told me he used to drink. 3 down. at least he paid for dinner.

then on the way back he told me that he initially wanted to bring me to his favourite place, but he thought that i wouldnt like it. his place? a nightclub. 4 down.

i went back, feeling disappointed. at least i know the truth now, instead of being misled by just mere voice and smses.

my birthday was a quiet one. i didnt mind at all, because what is most important thing is i have my health, and i'm grateful for what i have even though everything isnt that rosy and peachy. that night my friend Dr As cooked pasta for me at her house. a quiet celebration, but hey, it's okay.