Anna Says...: April 2005

...victory will be MINE!

Family Guy is uncancelled at last!
New season begins on Sunday May 1st at 9:00pm on Fox!

Photo from Fox Television's Family Guy Blog

I find Family Guy to be hugely entertaining and was always amazed that it was cancelled, not once but TWICE! I'd rather see King of the Hill and Futurama forever banished from the television! Never mind. It's all good! Family Guy is back!

...I'm suffering from Post-Treadmillic Syndrome (PTS)

This posting was originally created April 25th, but I have since updated it because I wanted to log the rest of my April progress. Unfortunately, as I was updating my original post, I somehow messed up the HTML and didn't know how to recover it. Echhh! Amateur!

Even more unfortunate is that by having to rewrite this, I also managed to lose Tim's comments attached to the original posting. Just so you know Tim, I really appreciated your encouragement because I consider you as my running guru! If I recall correctly from last summer, it was quite a challenge just to keep pace with your running while the rest of us were rollerblading. So unless you are interested in jogging at 6 mph (9.66km/h), a mere walk in the park for you, I look forward to the day that I will be able to run with you and actually keep up!

I don't think I will be running tomorrow so today (April 29th) will be the last time for this month. What a way to end the month. I pushed a wee bit harder today and broke my previous record!

Count my fingers: I ran over 4 miles and burned over 400 calories!
(Photo taken: April 29, 2005)

Now begins my original post with the addition of the remainder of my April running progress.

Although I've been exercising with elliptical machines and snowboarding throughout the year, after the weekend of the Kelso Hike when I was certain the snowboarding season was finally at an end, I began running on a treadmill April 5, 2005. I am hoping to make jogging a regular workout for me atleast 3 times a week. Here is my progress to date:

05 Apr 2005 - 33 min., 2.63 miles, 228.6 calories
07 Apr 2005 - 33 min., 2.61 miles, 227.0 calories
11 Apr 2005 - 33 min., 2.53 miles, 217.8 calories
13 Apr 2005 - 33 min., 2.71 miles, 239.8 calories
14 Apr 2005 - 45 min., 3.87 miles, 356.6 calories
15 Apr 2005 - 45 min., 3.94 miles, 370.5 calories
18 Apr 2005 - 45 min., 3.94 miles, 370.5 calories
22 Apr 2005 - 35 min., 2.80 miles, 285.0 calories *
25 Apr 2005 - 45 min., 3.95 miles, 386.0 calories
27 Apr 2005 - 45 min., 3.90 miles, 379.5 calories **
29 Apr 2005 - 45 min., 4.12 miles, 407.0 calories **

* ERROR message popped up after 35 minutes and the treadmill came to a complete halt. I'm not sure what happened but it ruined my pace so I didn't bother to finish my workout and called it a day.
** Logged these entries after the original posting date of April 25, 2005.

Left: Face is puffy and flushed from Post-Treadmillic Syndrome.
Right: No REALLY! I'm all right!
(Photos taken: April 25, 2005)

...Elim's rendezvous with Diana & Tony

Date: 25 April 2005
Time: 20:00 h
Location: Communal BBQ area at the Lam Condo.
Mission: To observe, zoom in, and hold camera steady enough to capture the suspicious activities of Samson and Chico from undisclosed apartment.

Surveillance cameras capture Chico and Samson hogging TWO barbeques.

Surveillance cameras capture Chico and Samson in...domestic activities.

Elim meets Diana and Tony.

Enjoying BBQ together after all the elicit activities.
(All photos taken: April 25, 2005)

It turns out there were no criminal activities taking place. Only an innocent BBQ!

...What happened to the Cock-a-Doodle Noodle Surprise?

It was really nice to get together with Adah and to meet Michael Aiden for the first time. Also, just when we thought he wasn't able to join us, we got a Kelvin Surprise!

Left: Group photo with Michael screaming, "Cheese"???.
Right: Post-potuck jam session.
(Photos taken: April 23, 2005)

Auntie Anna with Michael (4 months).

Arriving fashionably late, amongst very hungry guests, the Cock-a-Doodle Noodle Surprise joined the other consumables of the evening: chili, lasagna, barbequed chicken wings, meatballs, chicken stew, rice, veggie plate, cake, cookies, and various drinks. Yum!

After the carnage, it appears that only VEGGIES remain. How typical!

Watch your language, Cathy!

Thanks to Simon and Naomi for opening their home and hosting this fun potluck!

...Cock-a-Doodle Noodle Surprise (sneak peak)

Noodles, sliced chicken breast, bean sprouts, edamame, and "surprise" sauce.

Optional peanuts and spicy anchovies for condiments.

A yummy culinary concoction!

Samson and I are off to Simon & Naomi's for a potluck dinner. Our guests of honour are Adah & baby Michael Chung! More to follow after the party.

...Tae Bo kicks butt!

What is Tae Bo?

When I used to work in the Yonge & Eglinton area, my boss introduced me to a local fitness studio which was then called the Toronto Tae Bo Centre. The classes were led by a certified Tae Bo trainer, Chantal Craig-Bisson. She is the wife of Yannick Bisson, an actor who currently stars on the TV crime drama series Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye as Jack Hudson.

I'd seen the corny Tae Bo infomercials and thought it was yet another hokey Hollywood fitness craze like that of Yoga, Pilates, and Cardio Striptease. Anyhow, I started taking the classes in June 2001 and was surprised to find myself hooked! Since the Fall of 2002, the gym became Studio 4 Fitness and no longer offers Tae Bo classes, although they do have something similar. I stopped attending by December 2002 because when it comes to Tae Bo, I'm a purist. I want the REAL thing!

My pursuit of the REAL thing reached it's pinnacle during my June 2002 California vacation. My cousin, Selena, lives in Pasadena with her husband Rob and I wanted to visit them. She asked me what I felt like doing while I was there. Having never visited L.A., there were plenty of novel ideas floating in my head...go to a taping of The Price is Right and meet Bob Barker; go to Disneyland and meet Mickey Mouse;...go to the Billy Blanks World Training Centre and meet Billy Blanks!!!

Shamelessly starstruck by fitness guru Billy Blanks at
The Billy Blanks World Training Centre in Sherman Oaks, California.
(Photos taken by Selena: June 22, 2002)

HURRAY, I MET BILLY BLANKS!

There's an embarassing story behind the above photos. Selena and I had just finished a one hour class that began at 7:30am. The class was so tightly packed that if you missed a step, punch, or kick you were liable to get stepped, punched and kicked! So when the class finished at 8:30am, it was a zoo - crowded and noisy. When I asked Billy if I could have a photo taken with him, he was kind enough to accept. He even helped suggest different ways we could pose together while Selena took the photos.

For the photo on the left, Billy held out his arms and shouted his suggestion, "*#&@!".

So jump on him I did! But he didn't catch me...

"Kick! I said kick!", he exclaimed.

Yikes! That's not what I thought I heard! Too bad Selena didn't catch a photo of me JUMPING on Billy Blanks! This was DEFINITELY one of my most embarassing moments! Needless to say, I think I frightened Billy because for our second photo he decided he would just stand beside me.

***sigh*** Atleast he had his thumb UP and not DOWN!

By the way, my super-cousin Selena, took me to Disneyland AND got tickets to the Price is Right as well! Unfortunately, the CBS studio was full by the time we arrived in the morning (5am? 6am?). Can you believe that? So with great disappointment...we went SHOPPING on Melrose!!!

See the rest of the photos from my 2002 California vacation.

...you can have your cake and eat it too!

Last night, after weeks of planning, Samson and I finally got together with Ben, Mei-Mei and her fiancé Vincent. I last saw Ben at his birthday dinner in September last year and I last saw Mei-Mei and Vincent at my wedding in June last year!

We started out with dinner at Hanwoori for all-u-can-eat Korean BBQ. Ben brought a party with his entourage of 6 friends. So we had a feast with a total of 11 people. The more the merrier!

After dinner, Ben shed his entourage for a more intimate gathering at his apartment with us. Upon arrival, he had dessert waiting. What a great host!

Dr. Ben's anatomy lesson, complete with pressure points.

Samson is sharing his cake with everyone...except for me!!!

(Photos taken: April 19, 2005)

...so what's in my current playlist?

What have I been listening to these days? Here's what I've currently got on rotation in my playlist:

The Killers - Hot Fuss
Keane - Hopes and Fears
Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand
Coldplay - Parachutes
U2 - The Joshua Tree

It seems there are a lot of bands out these days that have me reminiscing over simpler times - especially the '80s. I am certain that the retro quality sound is why bands like The Killers and Franz Ferdinand have appealed so much to me. Bands like Keane and Coldplay put me in a trance-like, melodramatic mood. A likely result of their piano-driven rock and their heartbreaking lyrics, so full of angst. As for U2, they're classic and The Joshua Tree has always been one of my favourite albums.

...taking liberties with the Chinglish language

Get a load of this picture! Click on it for a close up and read it out loud. Maybe you want to read it two or three times. Jenet and I discovered it while shopping last Spring in a Chinese gift shop at Metro Square.

I can't even remember our original purpose for going in there. The Chinglish was...just...so...very...distracting!!! Ah yes, Jenet bought me a very special gift knowing that I had my eye on it!

My special gift from Jenet.

To commemorate the day, Julius the Paul Frank monkey has been renamed Booby. And yes, he does have a warm mind and perky ears!

...there's been a scientific breakthrough in Chinglish!

Previously, Anna said, "You are what you eat". But what if the food was scientifically altered?

Frozen Labster Meat - Genetically altered lobster meat, cryogenically stored.

Assorted Snakes - Extensive snake breeding results in an enormous variety of snacks.

...you are what you eat

Playtime at the Chiu Condo begins first thing in the morning! You know what they say, "You are what you eat"! What does that make us then?

Samson's cheese bagel and omelette face with salad coif. (Photo taken: Feb 2005?)

What is a coif? I assure you it IS a word...in the Urban Dictionary!

Anna's sausage fingers, hard boiled thumbs, and toasty palms. (Photo taken: April 15, 2005)

...before and after

While at a church retreat in January 2004, Samson and I were shown the cover of a Chinese DVD called So Close. Being illiterate, I couldn't read the Chinese description on the back which offered a summation of the movie. However, my impression based on the cover, was that the movie was a "Charlie's Angel" type flick. I was not particularly interested in watching the movie and never did end up watching it. I was too distracted by how the cover characters looked so much like a few of my friends at the retreat.

We began posing in front of the digital camera. I was determined to cut and paste our images in order to recreate my own version of this cover.

Left: Original So Close cover (before).
Right: Our version of the So Close cover (after).

Drum rolll please....

So Close
Featuring, from top to bottom and left to right:
Samson
Kristine
Anna
Flora

Ta-dah!

...it's been too long Winn!

Samson and I haven't seen Winnie for 4 months. We were definitely long overdue to get together.

Left: Winnie & Anna enjoying Starbucks.
Right: Anna, Samson, Winnie. (Samson's just "one of the girls" too)
(Photos taken: April 11, 2005)

...could there be an Ebi cookie?

Interesting how this President's Choice Zookie animal cracker so closely resembles my dog Ebi.

...The Simple Life "Chiu": Road Trip to Indiana

Samson has family in Indiana and we often pay them a visit. The main reason for our latest trip (April 8-10) was to pickup our new snowdecks and snowshoes. I know winter is over but it doesn't mean we can't think ahead to next year's activities!