i-City - Lights Up!

25 April 2010 @ i-City, Shah Alam

I have heard of this place from several people, seen some beautiful photos, and wished that I can go take a look myself.

Decided to pay this place a visit on a boring saturday evening.

Bright White Christmas Tree!

Snowman

Snow~

Red Chinese Lanterns

Stalls were set up to sell drinks, food and toys

Under the maple tree

Peacock

We walked further up and saw a colourfully lit up forest.

Colourful Forest

Bamboo Tree

Someone's trying to steal the tree



Sakura

Animal Abuse.. hahaha...

Befriending the panda after sitting on it. =P

The place blew me away with all the LED lights everywhere. Lovely designs and colours. Really worth a visit for photography. Don't forget to bring along a tripod!

I-City is easily visible from the Federal Highway at night. Check out Google Maps for directions. Billy, out.

Conference at Pullman Putrajaya

21 April 2010 @ Pullman Putrajaya Lakeside

I was invited to join the TM Wiki Conference organized at Pullman Putrajaya, which I heard was one of the most luxurious hotels in Malaysia. It's so famous that I gotta witness it myself right?


My friend WoonLee was there too. So we both went exploring around the hotel during break time from the conference.

Interior (outside conference room)

The Clock Tower right in the middle

A bridge linking 2 buildings



Swimming Pool!

Can see PICC from the pool

Lakeside

Surroundings

The hotel has various themes as you walk from one building to another. The architecture was terrific and the staffs were really helpful to guide you to your destination.

Well, Pullman was not the only reason I attended this conference. It was because I won a prize in a contest held before this. I was hoping to win the Ipod Shuffle... but WoonLee won it! Gah! I got a useless RM50 iTalk card only, that's still lying on my desk.

At least I didn't go home empty-handed. Hmph! Billy, out.

Team Building at Langkawi

2 April 2010 @ Kuala Lumpur

Right after my first trip to Langkawi, I got news that I'll be going there again for my department's team building. Geesh...

Most of us gathered at our office on Friday night and take the 8-hour bus to Kuala Perlis.

Me, Cheryl, Yuzi & Niza

3 April 2010 @ Kuala Perlis & Langkawi

It was looooong and tiring journey to the north. 8 hours of bus, waited 3 hours for ferry, 1 hour ferry ride, another 20 minutes bus ride to the resort. At last, we checked in about 12 hours after we departed from KL.

can you see the foot?
Yes, I'm sharing a bed with another mah lat lou...

First thing we did was to cure our tummy and take a nap. Ice breaking was the first activity and we had to wear the blue shirt provided to take a group photo.

First Session of Teaming with Excellence

We were split into groups and played some outdoor games in the evening. Not very enjoyable as it was drizzling. Then we had indoor games at night.


4 April 2010 @ Langkawi

Second day was more fun. Everyone woke up early for aerobic dance. Then we had breakfast and head for abseiling at the waterfall, or should I say waterlessfall.

Gears up for abseiling

It was really fun doing abseiling for the first time. There was a mixture of fear and excitement when I was going down just by hanging on to a rope. I'd love to try again if I have the chance.

Resting with Pn. Roszimah and Kak Baya after abseiling

Then the bomba lorry ferried us to Pasir Tengkorak Beach (literally means Skull Sand Beach) for lunch and get ready for our next activity - Water Rafting!!!


The beach was quite nice, not many people were there too.

We were then given 4 tyres, 2 plastic pipes and lots of raffia string to build our own raft. When all rafts are ready, we race across the sea and return.

That's my team!

We got first place in round one but dropped to 3rd place in second round. Anyway, bravo to my team!

Before we go back to the resort, we dropped by a small stall at the roadside for some local delicacies. The GMs paid for the bill. Yay!

[clockwise from top left]
cendol pulut, laksa, rojak, coconut water

Don't really like the cendol, got a bit of sourish taste. Laksa's quite nice though.

Yuzi and her laksa

We had barbeque dinner that night. Right after that was group performances and closing ceremony of this team building event.

My team got last place in overall standing~ lalala~

The night continued with karaoke but I didn't join. Was really tired already.


5 April 2010 @ Langkawi heading back to KL

The last day was basically a shopping day. We checked out of our resort in the morning and tour around the Gamat (sea cucumber) factory, Batik shop and Kuah town for duty free shops. Everyone especially the aunties bought stuff as if they print money at home. Hahaha...

I just bought some chocolates and a bottle of wine back. Nothing much.

The journey back home was another long one. Thank god I didn't fell asleep trying to drive home from my office. I reached home at past midnight.

Seldom I summarize everything up in one post but when I was looking through the pictures, there were not much stories to tell. So, that's about it. My not so interesting journey to Langkawi. Billy, out.

For more photos can check out Tini's Facebook. Credits to Tini for the rafting photo.

Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil

People are being more and more health conscious now. One of the keys to keep yourself fit and healthy is to eat right.

Now, how many of you read the nutrients and ingredients label before putting the jar of peanut butter or the box of milk into your shopping cart? Do you really know what you are consuming?

Some time back, I was told that there's a very unhealthy substance contained inside one of my favourite food - PEANUT BUTTER. Oh I used to scoop 'em from the jar and eat 'em just like that. What I do not know was that most peanut butter contains Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil.

[image from globalfjord]

I read up a bit on hydrogenated vegetable oil and did a summary of my own.
Vegetable Oil: Liquid form
Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil: Solid form
Hydrogenation: High tech chemical process [read more here]
Purpose of Hydrogenation: Prolong shelf life
Downside of Consumption: Increase risk of coronary heart disease and etc

[image from BusinessWeek]

Foods Almost Always Made With Partially Hydrogenated Oils

• Cake mixes, biscuit, pancake and cornbread mixes, frostings
• Cakes, cookies, muffins, pies, donuts
• Crackers
• Peanut butter (except fresh-ground)
• Frozen entrees and meals
• Frozen bakery products, toaster pastries, waffles, pancakes
• Most prepared frozen meats and fish (such as fish sticks)
• French fries
• Whipped toppings
• Margarines, shortening
• Instant mashed potatoes
• Taco shells
• Cocoa mix
• Microwave popcorn

Many Brands of these Foods are Made with Partially Hydrogenated Oils

• Breakfast cereals
• Corn chips, potato chips
• Frozen pizza, frozen burritos, most frozen snack foods
• Low-fat ice creams
• Noodle soup cups
• Bread
• Pasta mixes
• Sauce mixes

It's quite impossible for hectic people like us to stay away from processed food. Try minimizing the consumption of these food and go for food made from scratch if you want to keep your heart healthy. Billy, out.

Reference:
1. Healthy Lifestyle | Hydrogenated Oils
2. What is Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil