my dress code of late has been my black danskin capri tights with anything comfortable and roomy on top.

what started out as comfy and practical-for-the-fall workout gear soon planted its roots in my wardrobe as my homewear, going-out-to-brunch wear, walking-around-soho wear. basically my so-i-never-have-to-think/never-have-to-get-up-and-change wear. so entrenched in my life are these tights that i decided i had to have 4 identical pairs- and i think i will be adding more to my spring/summer/fall/winter collection very soon.

so now, when i am out and about and have to meet fede at the gym, all i need is for him to bring my shoes and a t-shirt (instructions simple enough that guys won't fuck up hopefully) and i'm all ready to walk at high speed and high incline on those treadles!

on the topic of fashion, i have always been sort of a late follower of trends. like i never really got into the skinny jeans or denim mini minis, and i only got my hair rebonded after everyone was already on the curling bandwagon. so on fede's prompting this week i bought my very first pair of converse sneakers- many years behind everyone else i believe. i had always refused to get a pair because i was convinced they made my already big feet look more ronald mcdonald-ish than they needed to look, and also because i'm not a casual shoes person- if i'm going to wear anything comfortable on my feet, they will be slippers (and of course, consistent with my habits, i have more than 5 pairs of black flipflops). but yes, i have succumbed, even if a bit late, to converse sneakers which i will have to try and carve a new style out of. my only consolation is that they were a product(RED) product so i felt like i HAD to do it for the greater good anyway.

my crunch gym membership is possibly the best investment i've made this year. i go 2.5 times a week on average because some weeks i feel hard core i go 3 times, then the following week i feel like because i was so damn good the week before, i can take it easier.

the thing i love most about the new crunch gym is that each machine has its own tv so i get my random cable fix each time i work out. depending on the machine (i don't think the machines all have identical channels), day of week and time, i usually either watch rachel ray's 30 minute meals (as motivation to get done with my workout) or some wildlife documentary on natgeo or discovery channel.

this week i watched true life on mtv which featured kids with tourettes syndrome. it was so interesting that i ended up walking about 10 more minutes on the treadles (a groovy machine which is combination of treadmill and elliptical) and made me think for another 10 minutes after that sometimes mtv can be educational-AND actually help me burn an additional 100 calories.

today for some reason the machine i was on did not have the food channel or HGTV and national geographic was featuring crab catchers which just wasn't pushing my buttons. so i flipped between the world figure skating championships in tokyo and the hills on mtv. the moments i was watching these beautiful skaters, each stride i took on a treadle was like a glide on the ice- i was ready to lift my arms and extend my limbs into an arabesque. when i was younger i always dreamt of becoming a world-class figure skater- who would've thought that my dreams would be realized on a fancy gym machine?
then when the ads played on espn , i flipped to the hills on mtv- where i joined the likes of lauren, whitney, heidi and audrina in their glam-slam drama-mama LA lives. not only did those moments remind me of my sisters (they are mtv maniacs and whenever we are on a family vaca, mtv is ALL we watch), but they served as a great motivation that kept me going: come on jia en, don't give up coz we need to get skinny like these hollywood girls!!

i guess that's also why all the girls at gyms bring along an US Weekly or People Magazine- i mean, who isn't motivated by celebs who've dropped 20 pounds and share their secrets to weight-loss with us commonfolk? and who doesn't love to know that stars are JUST LIKE US- they get coffee! they walk their dogs! they wear sweats out and yes- they have cellulite!!













these are?? ourselves with celebrities'

potty-mouthed me. i'm one of those who only really started saying fuck after i could watch r-rated movies in singapore. now i say fuck for everything and i love the sound of it because it's so succinct and gets the point across.
i even say fuck in front of my parents now because they've used it in front of me.

so my habit of not really watching my mouth wouldn't be so bad if i didn't spout off everything that went through my mind. like the one time i was out at a meeting with my big boss. we were making small talk about stuff and started talking about yoga.
me: i just do yoga for the exercise. i think it's a great workout, but i don't get the bullshit that these yogis talk about like getting to another level and that they feel liberated of their hurt and anger and all this other huff. i think it's just taking it a little too far.
boss: well, actually i've started reading a few books about organic living and spirituality etc.
me: oh really? why?
boss: my wife is really into this alternative lifestyle- she teaches yoga.

FUCK

was at my client's desk and he was telling me about a trip he was planning to china. we chatted about great hotels and places to see etc.
me: i've been very lucky because my parents love to travel and are pretty adventurous in their choice of destinations
client: that's great that you travel with your family so often
me: yes- my mother plans everything all the time- she creates the itinerary and tracks everything on a spreadsheet because she is a NUTCASE and loves being in control.
client: oh- i create spreadsheets too. i just don't trust anyone else. (he then proceeded to open it up and show it to me)

FUCK

at some group dinner one night a not very good looking guy brings his even less good looking gf. the gf was not very stylish either- the type that wears sneakers/tennis shoes with jeans.

someone: our prom queen was quite pretty
me: ok lah. not bad. but tak style leh.
someone: what do you mean?
me: i mean, eeyer, who wears jeans with snea... (catching myself just in time)-- aiyah, she's just ok lah.

FUCK

my latest addiction is enviga- flavoured, carbonated green tea drink made by COKE! but it is only 5 calories and so yummy i usually have a couple every night. andres is in on it with me and kibum has jumped on the bandwagon too. but these tasty mofos cost 1.99 a can- coke daringly raised the price from 1.79...perhaps because we buy by such a boatload they saw it going somewhere- a real strain on the pauper's pockets.
so andres steals mine and i steal his from the fridge. and we order each other by sms to replenish when we have run out. once kibum moves into the apt the new tripartite will be much more effective at managing inventory i am sure.

up since 730 on a saturday morning. only because we fell asleep at 1030 last night. we did not even finish what we were doing- it was to be a short break, which turned out to be a whole night's rest.