Show Worth Waking Up For & Psychopath

Today, I managed to watch TBS (The Breakfast Show) on NTV7 as I have to go to my doctor after that. So, instead of sleeping in a bit, I woke up early just to watch this show as today's show is the last show for this year. I'm going to miss the show though and will surely wait for the 1st Jan 2009 big bang comeback show. If for any reason I can't watch it instantly, then my good ol' VCR will do the job of recording it for me hehehe... For now, we will all miss the team of Dynamic Daphne Iking, Nutty Naz Rahman, Appealing Alia, Elegant Elaine Daly, High-Reaching Hansen Lee, and Jovial Jonathan Putra. For the final episode, I like the idea that the whole team members were there, the flashbacks as well as the interviews of other NTV7 behind-the-scene staffs. They did a bit of Q&A, and here are my thoughts:

1. Best Hosts
Of course, Daphne and Naz as they are the pioneers. They have better experience and more comfortable on cameras. I think Daphne loves the limelight so she is a natural!!!

2. How do you describe the show in 5 words
Informative, Entertaining, Happening, Refreshing, Wacky

3. Improvement suggestions for next year
Actually, nothing much to improve, the show is already great as it is. But, since I love to read, maybe a segment to introduce a good book (not necessarily a new book). I know that the hosts will hate me for this but I wonder whether each of them can take turn to showcase a book that they have read and why do they think that the book is worth reading...

Psychopath??? No, I don't mean TBS hosts or crew ya.

Well, I was waiting for the pharmacist to dispense my medication so I saw the November edition of Malaysian Expatriate Lifestyle Magazine. One article caught my attention and it was simply titled, "Are You A Psychopath" and no, it is not a questionaire to see how psycho can you be. Basically, the author narrated a short story (I think that it is based on a true story). Two daughters were mourning at their mother's funeral with other family members and friends. In the midst of being consoled by others, the older one noticed a very handsome stranger. To her disbelief, she started dreaming about this stranger. She started asking around about him, going through the guests list who attended the funeral. Everybody said that they noticed him but no one remembered his name. After a few months of fruitless search, she killed her sister. Now, who can guess her motive? The clue is psychopath...

I actually didn't guess the real reason until I read it... Apparently, she killed her own sister so that she can have another funeral and meet the handsome stranger! Like I've said before, I didn't think of this reason at all and I think that it is good as I deduce that whoever may have thought of that as a reason may have the tendency to be a psychopath... hehehe. I'll leave you guys with this point to ponder, hmmm...

Till next posting, I am going to pack for my SG road trip tomorrow and oh yes, some cupcakes to prepare too. Yes, I will be joining hubby there (been missing him for a week now... huhu). Once I am in SG, I am not sure whether I can go online or not. Not that SG is so backward in technology but free time may be limited for me to blog **sigh**

Chaos and Yoga

Here's the headlines of one of our local newspaper today (local section):
1. PM clarifies — yoga okay without chanting (yoga related)
2. Malaysians stuck in Thailand
3. MAS and AirAsia cancel flights to and from Bangkok
4. Travellers urged to monitor situation
5. Tunku Naquiyuddin: Restore royal privilege to safeguard constitution
6. Negri Regent: Fatwa council must consult us (yoga related)
7. No yoga ban for now, says Selangor MB (yoga related)
8. Perlis Mufti shrugs off ‘smear campaign’ against him (yoga related)
9. Sultans flex their muscle (yoga related)
10. Deadline for honouring word
11. 2.1 million foreign workers here
12. Nik Aziz: Pakatan young and immature

** note that near 50% is yoga related **

Now, here's from World News section:
1. Bush, Obama condemn Mumbai attacks, U.S. offers help
2. Mumbai attacks kill 86, police shoot four gunmen
3. Iran signals nuclear work expansion, rules out halt
4. Weak enforcement hurting child sex abuse fight
5. Thai PM refuses to quit, mulls protest "measures"
6. Castro tells U.S. actor he open to Obama talks
7. Rice says Venezuelan opposition is alive and well
8. Plumes from Saturn moon may come from liquid water
9. Laos still paying the price of Vietnam war
10. Somali gunmen kidnap Western journalists
11. Thai court orders protesters to end airport siege
12. No deal yet in Iraq parliament on U.S. troop pact

I was shocked to hear abt the Mumbai attacks, mainly because when we were in Hyderabad recently, we stayed in Taj Deccan Hotel and found the Taj and Oberoi hotel chain is excellent and will support them the next time we go to India. Now, with this, it is scary to stay in American hotel chains as well as Taj and Oberoi's too??? I read that they have British Indian in the hotel when the attackers came into the hotel asking for people with American or British passports... Scary...

With all the worldwide chaos going on, where does yoga fit into the picture???
Now we have some fellow Malaysians are stranded in Bangkok due to the airport closure and the attacks in Mumbai, so compared to those news, our local section, hmmm, seems too trivial to even call the section news, right? (of course, this is my personal opinion). Our PM is busy clarifying the ban against yoga, for goodness sake... That's the 1st headline for today!

I don't do yoga, simply because I think that my body does not have the kind of agility that it needs. But I see a lot of people who benefited from this form of exercise. All fitness clubs offer at least the basic yoga as one of the classes offered, other than, salsa mix, hip hop and other routines. As if there is nothing else better to do to improve our country, these people are making issues out of yoga? I am sure that there are more illiterate and poor children in this country than the number of muslims exercising yoga right? I am not going to be preaching about religion here as I feel that faith is something personal, something between you and God. At the end of the day, we are the only one who will be accountable to all our actions and only us, right? Oh well, I just wish that people, in general, will concentrate their effort on something that will benefit the country... eg: improving the rural areas & educating the poor children???

The Americans chose Obama as a sign of moving forward (although expected, but I was not sure whether the Americans were ready to have a non-white president), and here we are, moving backward by listening to our authority figures arguing the notion of banning yoga for Muslims... Come on la **sigh**

I really couldn't help but wonder if we (the tax-payers) are the ones who are paying for the salary of this person or group who first came out with this idea of banning yoga... There goes my mortal money, and all the yoga models' out there too, right?

Why "Models & Mortals"...?

I am sure that many must be wondering why my blog is titled "Models & Mortals", some may be able to relate to the reasons why though...

Some may know that I was a long term sufferer of Hyperthyroidism and have just recently gone through the Radioactive Iodine treatment (RAI). Well, yesterday, I went to see my doctor for follow up and she told me that I may no longer be in the Hyper category but because I gained a bit of the weight that I lost, I may be in the Hypo category... Gosh!!! Gain weight??? Yes, that bothers me more than being re-categorised as Hypo-thyroid sufferer... Now, call me crazy but when my thyroid was very high, I was losing weight effortlessly - I think of it as a blessing in disguise **smile shamefully**

Now, my whole day was sort of ruined by the thought of gaining weight and how can I avoid that. And my mind 'travelled' to the thought of whether overweight females can actually look attractive or not. This led to an episode of one of my favourite shows, "Sex & The City", where the girls were talking about Modelizer (ie: Men who date only models). Even someone as sexy as Samantha was not considered as a model?!!! Anyway, I am sure that each of us have our own preferences abt the people we date / engaged to / married to, and I couldn't help but wonder if physical body is one of the many criteria / preferences. There are times when we would go through pain and suffering in order to maintain our beauty, or the lack of it, and when will we be satisfied.

What I love most abt the whole episode was when Mr. Big talked to Carrie abt the Modelizer topic and he said, "A man just wants to be with the one that makes him laugh". Hmmm, like Carrie, I was also thinking whether beauty is fleeting and whether something genuine is forever. Now, the title of this episode was "Models & Mortals".

So to those out there who can relate to me and my thoughts of MODELS or MORTALS, we just hope that our friends and our better halfs are looking at us for something more genuine than just pure beauty... But, deep down in our hearts, we may not always be satisfied of ourselves, regardless of what our better halfs say (well, at least, that's what I feel). Now, time to hit the gym!!! I'm a mortal afterall **wink**

First blogspot entry

Well, I guess that I am on blogspot now... Why? Well, my previous blog (http://sandralouis.blog.friendster.com/) was dated way back in June 2005 and it was under friendster (obviously, with the URL like that...). I am afraid that friendster may limit what others can view or do if they do not have a friendster account - maybe soon, they may want people to have friendster account to view it (who knows ya?). I am one of those people who do not like to have another blog knowing all my other entries are somewhere else and dont want to end up having to post all over the place. Enough effort needed to maintain both friendster and facebook accounts updated, I do not want to do the same for my blog too - so, I am officially closing my friendster blog and opening this one instead.

I am still thinking of the right title for this blog because I do not have any ONE specific thing to write about - this blog will basically contain anything that I am doing at any given point of time - be it my baking/sugar artistry obsession to my travelling and of course, during PMS (if I ever get one), a place to let go of my steam - hehehe, I guess I am normal afterall... So, for now, I would call it "Models & Mortals..." - will elaborate more in my next post - so, stay tune peeps!!!

So to all the readers, friends, family members, I do have to pre-warn you that this blog may contain some not-so-ladylike words (although I will try my best not to use them often) ya?

To my dearest loving hubby, I love you and thanks for being my rock and for being there whenever I am sick or down. Love you so much!!! I know that I dont normally openly declare my feelings hehehe... it's just me, I guess... Not so romantic and sentimental Sandra... I am learning though...

If you see many fonts are used in the next few early posts, it would be because I am trying to decide which one is the best - ok, I am fickle-minded too hahaha...

Right, let me put this first blogspot entry to rest...

I couldn't help but wonder, is the title "Models & Mortals" suitable for this blog, or should I come out with something better and more original... hmmmmm