RIP (pun intended)

poor banana did not quite make it in the supermarket.

Old School

i remember my dad bought this cd when i was...ten? and i loved it so much. some songs just never get old.

Happy Stretching

i love doing this pose. i try to do it every night before i sleep. its basically my lazy version of a stomach/waist workout. the thing is i used find this pose extremely painful and unable to bend. but with everyday practice, i can now achieve this pose and use only my stomach muscles to bring my body gradually upright again (you have to keep your feet remained where it is without any bending). you will wake up some muscles that you never thought existed.

Power of Connections

i used to hate the word "networking". i guess i still do. it carries the connotation that i need to be somewhat fake and look all interested in getting to know that person when really im just hoping that they'll offer me a job. i always thought, how am i any different from a gold digger?

my recent "project" has been to take over the first round interview process from my boss to hire a new candidate to join our team. sure i felt honored that my boss would even consider me to do such thing. little did i know that interviewing people is one of the most complex, time consuming, bureaucratic process ever. it's not just asking a set of pre-determined set of questions and chatting with the candidate. it's like going through your first date in a professional setting. you have to ask questions that pull out the true characteristic of each candidate and subtly sell the position so they want to be in your team. you have to be a quick thinker so you can carry on a conversation and be an active listener so you can bounce off questions from what they say. not to mention, you have to know your company inside and out because they have the right to ask anything and you dont want to look clueless.

but the point i actually want to make is not the perspective of what its like to be on the other side of interviewing. it's about the power of connections. after interviewing couple candidates, i decided i wanted to refer my long time friend with a finance degree to my team. she didn't need a spectacular resume. i knew she would fit right in the team. some people are just not given the opportunity to shine because of the tough criteria society puts on them and my friend was a sure victim of it. i talked to my boss, highly recommended her and despite the obvious bias, my boss decided to move her on, and on, and on.. and on.. until she ended up being hired among the many other qualified candidates.

if i were to be pessimistic, i could say that my two months of countless resume analysis, time spent during lunch/after work hours interviewing candidates, post interview feedback reports, one on one meetings with my boss were... a waste of time? but of course i dont. i am nothing but happy for her and i am super excited to have her on my team. she is someone ive known since five and how often can i work with someone like that? i later asked my boss what made her pick my friend and she simply replied, i very well know how you work and if you think she's a good fit to our team then i want to give her a try. power of connections.

You've Got Hair

these days i start to wish my mutant power was to never get dirty. no im not suffering from some unhygienic syndrome. i just find taking showers such a waste of time. and i honestly dont enjoy the process. by the time i soak my thick hair, im already dreading the drying hair part. by the time i shampoo my hair once, im already thinking what's the point since i have to shampoo my hair twice anyways. by the time i apply conditioner, im already impatient about having to wait "a minute" for the treatment to soak into my thick hair. oh and by the time i reach my body, im already feeling bad for my mom to have another set of towel to wash. all in all, if i had the choice and if i didnt have an ounce of respect for society, i would not take a shower.

this is kind of what went through my mind last night twenty minutes into blowing my hair. my short hair that is. so much maintenance sigh. 

You Go Girl

its been about four months three weeks and five days since i last went jogging. my excercise regime has so far been: morning walks to the bus stop, few flight of stairs up and down the subway, lunch break strolling around the office area, another few flight of stairs up and down the subway, walking to my front door. my lifestyle has become so sedentary, i almost included my "walks" to and from my desk to the printer at work as part of my excercise regime.

so yes i needed a change. and hence went jogging today. ive always known from experience that staying in shape is much easier than getting in shape. so i knew i was in for a tough run today considering my long hiatus. of course i never forget my usual stretching before my run :) i started off feeling surprisingly good, my legs bounced off the pavement with ease and my breathing was under control. but as soon as i passed the ten minutes mark, i could hear my heavy breathing despite the ipod in my ears and a slight muscle strain along my calves and thighs. i thought to myself, gazing ahead to the corner hundred meters away, i'll take a break there and stop. 

then suddenly, a rather overweight person appeared in front of me from another pathway. she was definitely not the typical "fit" looking person but i could tell that she had been running quite awhile depsite the slower pace. suddenly, the competitiveness that rarely shows itself came eating at me and before i knew it, i had hit the corner that i was supposed to take a break and found myself...still running. i thought, if she can keep running, i can as well. as a result, my ten minutes run became a thirty minutes run. not bad considering i had absolutely no heart pumping excercise in the past few months. 

im telling you, nothing is more motivating and inspiring than having someone rather obese in front of you running their hardest. i am in no way implying anything, i just want to sincerely thank that person today for allowing me to push myself even with my face looking like a bright red tomato about to pass out.

well guess what, now i can literally pass out with a good nights rest.