Bike Race at Gym!

I went to the gym today... Was happily running then suddenly one guy decided to run on the treadmill beside me. No problem with that... WRONG! He was stinky... The manly sweat smell which was not at all alluring. =(

So I decided to use other equipments... I tried cycling. The thing is, I never cycled in the gym. I think it is kinda dumb when all you do is just move your legs and watch people as they walk pass you. But today, I had no choice. I sat at the machine and looked up to the screen, wondering why would I need a screen on a bike machine. Guess what? There were races from which I could choose! The uncle beside me was cycling in some kinda desert. Haha...

I chose a race course which looks like a F1 course. Not Sepang Race Course, but something similar. =p And the race began... Guess who won! ME! YES YES YES! It was really entertaining... It was very real; even the bike handle could move and I needed that to steer my bike so that I would not go off course or hit some other bikers.

Would I do it again? NO! Haha... So the race ends and now what? Start the race again? On a different race course? Not a chance. One race is enough. It was really tiring... But hey... I did something fun at the gym today!

Happy April Fool's Day!

This is what I have been up to lately... I borrowed Friends Season 1 from the library! I only have 3 days to finish all the episodes in Season 1. Not possible. So, I am gonna renew it tomorrow! Yay! Really... I have too much free time...

My Kon Low Mee

I have too much time these days... This is what I cooked for lunch. Kon Low Mee. Don't ask me about the green beans. I know they are not suppose to be there. But I just felt like eating green beans. =p


My huge pork chop instead of char siew. Haha...

Spring Rolls

Remember I watched the Fine Living Network late at night one day and the chef was teaching how to make nice spring rolls?

I had too much time yesterday and decided to make spring rolls. Gave some away to friends. My first time at spring rolls, made from scratch. Successful! Happy! =)

Day 7: Flying back

SATURDAY MARCH 28 2009

Today is bad.... Spent 15 hours in total either in the airport or flying. But I reached home to rainy Chicago safe and sound. =)

Day 6: Amsterdam, Holland

FRIDAY MARCH 27, 2009

The weather is better today. Time for tulips! I followed a four hour tour to Keukenhof. It is the largest flower garden in the world! This is a spring garden and it only opens three months every year. So good timing again! It is quite early in spring, and not all the flowers are blooming.


The garden was absolutely amazing. It was very peaceful and serene. I could not ask for more. =)


More pictures of the garden.




The garden gave me the opportunity to showcase my photography skills (if I have any) =p
There were so many beautiful flowers, for those who know me really well, they should know that tulip is my favorite flower. There were so many tulips there, I was in heaven! I took many pictures, but I am not posting all of them here, or else it would be endless... =p



OK, you get the idea of how my favorite flower looks like. More of other flowers.








Besides flowers, there are some weird looking trees as well. Hehe...



OK... Enough about flowers and trees. Time to show food! I had croquette. It was wonderful. After eating one croquette, I was not satisfied and got another croquette! Haha... It is made of mashed potatoes, some peas and shredded chicken. Rolled and fried into this magical, yummy croquette bar. =)


The Keukenhof trip ended and I joined another four hour trip, this time to the Windmill village, Zaanse Schans, then to the fishing village, Volendam and Marken.

Zaanse Schans

Volendam. Fishing village.

My work of art. I call it the solitude chair. =p

At Volendam, I had the most amazing pancake! It was gooey in the inside, but I asure you that the pancake is thoroughly cooked! I had strawberry syrup and powder sugar on top of my pancake. =) Yummy... I really missed the pancake!

Yummy mini pancake.

We also stopped by a cheese farm. We were showed how cheese was made and also we had a tasting session. =) More food! The cheese was good. I bought some home too! =)

Cheeeessseeeee...

Came back to Amsterdam city center and I saw the Scottish Invasion!

The National Monument with Scottish flag around it. Haha...

Holland will be playing Scotland in a football match on Saturday. That is why there were so many Scottish men in skirts around town. Very good eye candy for me. Can see men in skrits with their belly and mou mou leg. Haha... What a sight!
I had a wonderful day today... It was amazing! =)

Day 5: Amsterdam, Holland

THURSDAY MARCH 26, 2009

It was raining today. Not very convenient. Not very fun either. Today I walked around the city. I walked to the flower market. Here they sold tulip bulbs. So many stalls. All the stalls sold only flowers, nothing but flowers. Haha...

Flower market.

Then went to 2 art museums. Van Gogh Museum and Rijksmuseum. Saw many paintings, learned about the various painters and their life. Did not take many pictures because I was too absorbed by the paintings.

I also went to the Anne Frank house. It was really a sad story. She did not survive to see the liberation that she was hoping for. But I think this house really does send a message to us all. To enjoy the freedom that we have.

After the rain subsided, I took the canal cruise. It was fun. They showed us various bridges that connects the streets and also some popular buildings in Amsterdam. Among the bridges was this bridge. The Skinny Bridge. Really that is the name of this bridge.

Skinny Bridge.

For dinner, I ate at Boom Chicago, a stand up comedy place. I have been to Second City here in Chicago, and Boom Chicago in Amsterdam is their sister production. I had a great time there. The jokes were funny and I was part of their skit too! OMG! It was really embarrassing, but I got a free drink on the house. Is it worth it? I guess the experience is good enough. Haha... I had my five minutes of fame. =)

Night ended great and I headed back to Hotel Mozart for a good night rest.