500 KM Goal.

I really have been on a jogging strike lately. I don't know why or how, but I have been super duper motivated to jog everyday. Jogging has always been an exercise I enjoyed doing. Personally, I like doing it because a) it's like me time for my self (even though I have been having a lot of me time since I moved to the states) b) the sceneries I see whenever I jog c) I could enjoy listening to music while doing it d) it makes me happy for some reasons e)lastly, I just feel damn good after a good jog.

Just last week itself, I jogged up to 32.95KM, which is making me feel pretty darn proud about myself. One of my life goal this year was to actually join a full marathon, but then I checked around and could not found any that I could go for. So, yesterday while I was jogging I was asking myself how I could continue this strike through a whole year and I thought, instead of having a goal of a marathon, how about setting an accumulated distance I should run for the year. 

Then I thought that 100KM is a good distance to start with. I got back home and started calculating the total distance that I have ran this year so far and found out that, I actually have ran this much so far: 

January 2016: 30.5 KM

February 2016: 15.8KM

March 2016: 30.8KM

April 2016: 16.2KM

TOTAL: 94.3 KM

The total really took me by surprise. I know I have been jogging more this year compared to last year, but I just didn't know it was that much more. There and then I decided that if I can almost reach, into the fourth month of the year, I can reach much more throughout the year and that was when I decided to make the 500KM goal. At first, 500KM seems pretty unrealistic, then I started doing the math again:

Goal of this year: 500KM

Distance I have achieved so far: 94.3KM

Distance left for the remaining 9 months: 405.7 KM

Distance to achieve each month: 45.08KM

Distance to achieve each week: 11.27 KM

and I realize I can actually do this!

Yeoh Eening

Weekly Updates (First Week of April 2016).

I have decided to regularly take photos so, instead of updating my life regularly in words, I think pictures will say more. This week's theme: black & white :)

Yeoh Eening 

#nowplaying

History by One Direction

Yeoh Eening

Thankful.

I grew up learning that it was extremely important to have a direction in life. I was taught that, in order to be successful in life, we should always know what we want to achieve in life and set goals to achieve them and I have always believed in this philosophy. I believe by knowing what you want in life, you will always have something to look forward to and more importantly, you will always have a reason to wake up everyday and to go on with life, despite what life throws at you.

Being born fortunate, I grew up in a really good environment. My parents has always believed in the importance in good education and because of this I was sent to a private school for my primary and secondary education. The friends that I made at that had similar family background like me and because of this most of the people I mixed knew clearly what they wanted to achieve in their lives and for those who don't which were just a few, were fortunate enough to be sent to good colleges as they figure out what they really wanted to do with their lives.

Growing up in this environment, I have always thought that it was common for people to know what they want in life and even if they do not know what they wanted in life, their parents will somehow support and mould them to know. I was really oblivious with the real world, up until I came out from high school.

After I graduated from high school, unlike most of my classmates who continued their studies aboard, I stayed back in Malaysia to continue my tertiary education. It wasn't because my parents couldn't afford or didn't allow me to, I personally felt like I wasn't ready to leave home just yet. I have to admit, choosing to continue studying in Malaysia may not be one of the best decision for my education but it was one of best decision I made for my life.

By staying back in Malaysia, I had the opportunity to meet people with all sorts of family background and this really helped me to open my eyes about life. I got to know people whose parents were not able to support them to continue their studies after high school. I got to know people who had to not only support themselves through college but also their family. I also got to know people who really didn't know what they wanted to do with their life. Not because they don't want to know. But because they couldn't afford to dream big and unlike me, they weren't lucky enough to be taught or exposed to stuff that teaches them to strive. The sad thing was they grew up being taught to live just to get through the day. Because of people like them, I always feel blessed and grateful of my life and to have my parents, my family and friends. Also because of people like them, I always tell myself to not strive and not give up in life.

However, it is always easier said than done. Unlike some people who was lucky enough to always know what they wanted to do in their lives, I only figured what I wanted to be just last year after I graduated from my bachelors. At that time, I was so damn sure that was what I wanted and finally decided to move to the other side of the planet to achieve it. However, along the way, I have to admit that I started to slowly lose motivation and direction to achieve this goal. Despite being so clear before, as life started to throw me all sorts of shit and I started to doubt myself whether it was even possible to do this.

It has been seven months since I moved here to the United States and this month has by far been the worst month. Despite already starting to lose hope and motivation to achieve my goal, life decided to throw me more shit in my face this month. It really has been a shitty month with one problem and another and honestly, giving up was all I thought all month. Regardless of how optimistic I try to be, I just ended up pulling myself down again because that was just easier than pulling myself up.

But then, everything changed after having a conversation with my elder cousin last night. He reminded me that despite all the shit life throws at you and all the negative feeling that you are feeling right at this moment, was all temporary. He told me that your life will become how you want it to be. Most importantly, he reminded me to remember my dream and remember why I was striving for. Despite being miles away from home, he reminded me I was loved and missed and because of that one simple conversation, I felt lighter, happier and motivated.

The whole point of this long post, is to remind you guys out there who are feeling demotivated and the future demotivated me that we have dreams! It's normal to feel like the whole world is falling apart while trying to achieve what your dreams. You will most probably will feel like it is shittiest time of your life but no matter how much you want to take the easier route and just give up, DON'T! It is okay to cry your eye balls out and feel like that's nothing more to look forward in life but never never give up and remember that this is all TEMPORARY.

Just make sure not to stay in the negative phase for too long. Like my cousin said, it's exactly like running, if you stop running, it's difficult to regain back the momentum to start back, like how it is difficult to be positive back again, if you drown yourself too long in negativity. Take your time and I know when you are feeling so much negativity, mixing with positive people is the last thing on your mind. When you are ready, talk to your friends and family, people who are close to you. They will remind you why you have decided to do this, in the first place. Really, all it takes is just one person to remind you why you are living.

Yeoh Eening

Meat-less Dinner Week 1.

Today marks the 8th day on my meat-less dinner journey. I know it has only been a week, but I am pretty proud of myself that I managed to sustain this long. Before I started this whole thing, let's just say, that I am very anti-vegetarian. Don't get me wrong, I support people and also really look up to people who are vegetarian, vegan and such. But, it really wasn't my thing. 

I never thought of even trying to become go all vege because I love, love, love meat, so much. Every meal I had last time MUST contain some kind of meat and it was preferably chicken, pork, lamb or beef because I never really consider fish or seafood as meat. 

How did it all start? I literally woke up one day and decided I should start eating less meat. I think it's mainly because this year, I really want to better myself, overall. I thought why not start making small changes, like stop eating meat per meal, everyday. 

I didn't want to become fully vegetarian nor vegan, so I decided to go meat-less. I thought it was just something I made up, but then I google-ed and realize, meatless does exist and it exists as a campaign called 'Meatless Monday'. It's an international campaign that encourages people to not eat meat on Mondays, to improve their health and the health of the planet. Paul, Marry and Stella McCartney even launched a whole campaign called "Meatfree Monday", to support this. 

But, I dont think I can go a whole day without meat. So, I decided to go meatless everyday but just one meal. I am not vegetarian or vegan because I still eat meat, but just for breakfast or lunch. For dinner, its purely no meat, not even fish balls or fish cakes. My dinner meal usually consist of vegetables, beans, mushroom and egg.

For vegetables, I don't eat raw green salad everyday. I sometimes steam or stir fry it, depending on the vegetables. If I do eat them raw, I like to pair it with ranch. I know ranch isn't the healthiest salad dressing in the world, but it's my favourite. I believe, its important not to deprive yourself from things you like, even if you are taking care of your health because it's not what you eat, it's how much you eat.

If you asked me last year whether will I ever consider going meat-less for my diet, my answer will probably be no. But, now I am doing it and I am feeling really damn good about myself. Not just physically but mentally. I really recommend for everyone to go meat-less. You don't have to do it every day, or every meal. Cutting down meat for at least one meal in a week is good enough, not just for you but also for the environment!

Yeoh Eening

Taman Connaught Pasar Malam, Cheras.

Pasar Malam is what we Malaysians use to call night markets in our place. Night market is something very commonly found in Malaysia. There is bound to be at least one night market that takes place some where, every day in the week. Taman Connaught Pasar Malam is located at Cheras and it is used to be famous for being the longest night market in Kuala Lumpur. But now, I heard Setia Alam Pasar Malam has took over that title. 

Taman Connaught Pasar Malam 

Prawn Fritters, Deep Fried Radish Cake, Savoury Onion Fritters and Steam Chinese Dumplings with either Radish or Chives (left to right)

Hakka Mee (Hakka Noodles)

Apong and Apong Balik (Assorted Malaysian Pancakes)

Deep Fried Squid

Chow Tofu (Smelly Tofu)

Assorted Siu Mais (Shrimp & Pork Dumplings)

Ice Blended Papaya Milk Shake

Lemon QQ Jelly Drink 

Nevertheless, Taman Connaught Pasar Malam is still really long. But I feel that it's only long because the shops are pretty repetitive. It only takes place once a week, every Wednesday. Went there the last time with my boyfriend because he wanted to try chao tao fu (smelly tofu), which he didnt' like very much :P The market starts as early as 5pm, so I strongly suggest to go around that time because it gets really pack when the sun sets and it's also more difficult to find parking.

For those who are looking for street food, I would recommend Taman Connaught because the choices of street food is so wide. If you intend to buy groceries, I advice you to opt to go to a different market, because when I went there, I felt the stalls selling groceries was so few compared to the others. So, choices might be limited :/

Among all the things we ate on that day, the only that I strongly recommend to try will be the Ice Blended Papaya Milk Shake. It's abit costly, as it is priced higher than regular drinks in the market for about RM8. But, they provide a generous amount and the drink is really good. It's something new and different. Never thought papaya + milk + ice, would be such a good combo (;

Yeoh Eening

Kimchi Jjigae Recipe.

Out of all the things I can cook, I felt like the first recipe that I have to share in my blog was my Kimchi Jjigae recipe. Because, a) I have been told that I make good Kimchi Jjigae and b) I personally love my own Kimchi Jjigae and trust me, I have tried a lot of Kimchi Jjigae. 

Actually, Kimchi Jjigae was the first Korean dish I have ever tried which was recommended by one of my high school friend. After having it, it was like I was introduced to a whole new world. Then I got into the whole Korean culture thanks to KPop, and my love for Korean food just developed further and further. However, no matter what, I always fall back to Kimchi Jjigae whenever I crave for Korean food because it is really easy to make. This, I really kid you not. 

Honestly, when I cook, I always 'agak-agak' with the amount of ingredients I put in. Basically it means, I just estimate based on how much I cook and experiences so the ingredients that I will be sharing will not be precise. I also believe the key to cooking is not really about being accurate with the amount of ingredients but to always make a habit to try from time to time the thing you are cooking, so you'll know what it is lacking.

Ingredients:

• Kimchi (Preferable the chopped ones, so you can save the hassle of chopping one)
• Gochujang (Red Pepper paste)
• Garlic 
• White onion 
• Pork (Belly part) 
• Soy sauce
• Sesame oil 
• Water 
• Pepper for seasoning 

My first step is always to marinate the meat. If you don not consume pork, you can always replace it with other meats like chicken or beef, but I personally feel that Kimchi Jjigae tastes so so much better with pork. Usually, people would recommend to use the belly part of the pork because of the fats, but I always use other parts like the ribs because I prefer less fatter meat. The first step is always to marinade your meat with some sesame oil, soy sauce and pepper for at least one hour. As always, the longer the marination, the better. 

Once you think that the meat is marinated enough, then it's time to cut the garlic and onions. To prepare a pot full of Kimchi Jjigae, I used 9 cloves of garlic and 1/2 a white onion. The best Kimchi Jjigae that I have tasted was this shop at Namdaemun and I realize, it tasted so good because it had a lot of garlic in it. If you dislike garlic, you can reduce the amount, but you might regret :P 

After done cutting them, throw them some oil into the pot and slowly stir fry the garlic and white onion until its light golden in colour.

Next is to put in the meat into the stir fried garlic and onions and continue to stir fry all of the ingredients for about 3-4 minutes. After that, pour water into the pot and wait for it to boil. 

Once it's boil, it should look something like the picture on the far left. The next step is to add the chopped kimchi, kimchi juice (from the kimchi packet) and the Gochujang. I usually also put lot of kimchi, because I like my soup to taste strong. As for the Gochujang, for that pot I put 2 tablespoon full. If you can't take spicy, I suggest to reduce the amount of Gochujang. 

After that, it should look something like that and all you have to do after that is turn the fire down and let it boil. The longer you boil it, the better taste and there you have it. It is as easy as that and also the ingredients are so easy to find. 

Hope this recipe helps :)

Yeoh Eening