BodyAttack is addictive!!

Lately our usual Zumba classes aren't as much fun as it used to be - mostly because our instructor Jewel is so awesome that over 40 people try to squeeze into the tiny studio and end up hitting/stepping on each other.  I've been stepped on several times and it's such a turn off when people are so inconsiderate to barge into my space.  Half the time I manage to stay for the whole class, but even so I never feel like I get a good enough work out.  Especially after I've started doing the BodyAttack/Yoga combo.  I get a natural high out of it, whether it be the adrenaline from the intense workout or the triumphant feeling that I'd survived.  And yesterday I was actually craving it, so I scrambled over to the Millcreek gym after work and made it into the Body Attack class that was just starting.  What a workout!  I actually felt less tired last night and slept more soundly than usual.  This group exercise class is totally addictive!!

how to stop a coworker on speaker phone from grating on last nerve

I can usually tolerate background noises and I handle multiple tasks no problem, but this particular coworker of mine is really starting to get on my nerves!  She seems to have a need to talk incessantly and she is always striking up conversations or when that fails, goes on the phone.  Not only does she dials on the speaker phone - when she does get through she talks as if there is no one else is in the office.


I didn't want to say anything because nobody else in the office seem to be bothered by the constant dial tone and yapping in another language, and I felt bad about my growing resentment towards her voice.  A confrontation is that last thing I want, and I really don't want to hurt anyone's feelings.  I tried to rationalize for her: maybe she doesn't have anyone to talk to at home and maybe she just doesn't realize how loud she gets, and maybe talking is her way of dealing with stress.  It's not working.

I've resorted to my iPod Shuffle to keep my sanity in the office these days, but then it blocks out not just the noises - I missed out on other conversations as well, including remarks and instructions from my boss. I wonder if there are more technologically-advanced headphones that allows for selective filtering.  And even when I have my headphones on, she would come to stand close enough that I feel her presence and am forced to take off my headphones for her conversations - most of the time about her children. Meanwhile, I tried to look up "how to stop a coworker from constantly dialing on the speaker phone" on google to no avail, but I did find many people suffering from the same obstructive harassment in their workplace.  Knowing that I am not alone makes my feel slightly better - but the noise is still there and I can't have my headphones on all the time!  What to do??

My scarf done, his scarf unbound

I had almost finished my scarf last week and managed to get some help from my coworker who's an expert knitter - to get a nice edge at the end, binding off must be done in pattern - which means my knitting all the way through when I bound off B's scarf was what caused it to go all ruffled and fluttery. So I bound off in pattern for my scarf by knitting where there is a knit and purling where there is a purl, which wasn't all that tricky and difficult to do. And despite the lack of even tension, it turned out much nicer than B's scarf, which I have to undo anyway because it's not quite long enough.



Well, as I was knitting B's scarf Mom had insisted that it was getting way too long and kept nagging me to bind off already. I gave in after the scarf grew as tall as me and bound off - and the first thing Mom blurted out after seeing it on B was "why is it so short?"!! I didn't really know what to do but I seeked advice from my coworker who suggested that I can undo the binding to add more length - so that's what I did. Revealing the end that I've weaved in was not the hard part - but taking it out was another story. I was iffy about it because I've never done it before and I don't consider myself skillful enough to not mess it up, and it did prove difficult for the first few stitches when I didn't know which loop to put back on to my knitting needle and which loop I let go. But after awhile I realized that all I had to do was to insert the needle where the yarn has gone through and before long I had gotten into a rhythm of reverse-knitting. Thank goodness I had all 54 stitches picked up as I wasn't that fond of the idea of ripping out and redoing the whole scarf.

...

I probably shouldn't be ranting about this but I'm quite annoyed by the fact that my parents still fuss over my brother (who is only 2 years junior) like a baby while treating me so indifferently.  Case in point - we realized that my car has been overdue for an oil change during our Tremblant trip.  I'm worried - I am usually OK with things like this but last time we got the oil change done at Costco they didn't put a sticker to state when the next one should be - so I only realized when the "maintenance required" light came on (and after panicking and perpetually sensing a weird smell that no one else notices).  So I mentioned that I need an oil change for my car.  If it had been my brother - Mom would have offered to take care of the whole thing for him, right away, no questions asked.  With mine - that's a different story.  Not that I mind taking care of my own vehicle, as I should be doing, but it's just small things like that that show what a huge difference it is to be a son rather than a daughter.

Anyway, to take out some stress I thought I would need some sweet.  Our dessert du jour was sago pudding with coconut Cream and sweet ripe mango:

I had ripe mangoes that needed to be consumed because I'd rather pay 8 bucks for 18 than 6 bucks for 5, and I had some coconut cream that would be divine with the mangoes. But I didn't find black sticky rice at home, so we couldn't make that famous mango coconut rice pudding found in all decent thai restaurants. We did have some sago, which is finicky to get just right, but I thought it was worth a shot. And after the sago is done, all I've done is to layer - sago first, then coconut cream, then chopped mangoes - YUM!

Mont Tremblant

I just LOVE skiing at Mont Tremblant - whether it's about the sheer size of the mountain or the amazing scenery or the great restaurants - it's just so much better than the local ski resorts in Ontario so much so that it's totally worth the 6 - 7 hours drive.

Can't really remember how many times we've gone skiing at Mont Tremblant, but we try to do it once a year - and this year we only managed to go at the end of my brother's March Break - which is fine, except that it's been exceptionally warm this year and the conditions weren't the best we've seen on this mountain.  Either way, we can't complain - we still got 2 full days of snowboarding and didn't miss all the trails that were closed.

And because of the warm weather we weren't expecting much in terms of snow - in fact we even considered cancelling the whole trip - so we weren't really disappointed or anything with the slush and ice.  Friday was so warm that my brother was snowboarding in just his T-shirt and jacket - without any fleece or scarf.  Even in the evening we were able to walk around without our outer shell.