It was the heat of the day. Hungry and pressed for time, I went to a restaurant for a quick lunch. I found a spot in the restaurant, settled down comfortably, ordered my lunch. While waiting for my order to arrive, the lunch crowd started to trickle into the restaurant. Each individual and group of individuals that walked in were searching for the ideal spot to sit in.
Some say how a person eats, speaks volume about him/her. Jenny likes spicy food but Sofia doesn’t; Ben saves the best bite till last, whilst Kenny mixes everything and gobble up.
In the same manner, where and how a person sits in a restaurant says a lot about the person.
Outside / Ground
People who sit outside may be trying to avoid another cold environment such as the office (temperature wise). It is already freezing in the office; they need someplace warm. Furthermore, having stuck between four walls at work; one may like to sit in the open. There are also the sunlight, the breeze, and the crowd – a naturally refreshing environment.
At the same time, people who sit outside also want to feel a part of society. They like to watch life pass them by. The group of (high) school students talk and laugh loudly. The businessman in his black suit walks and talks hastily on his mobile. The old couple walks hand-in-hand down the city sidewalk. The jogger walks her pet dog. Some common stereotypes of city people. Life goes on.
Balcony
Moving up is the balcony, another open-air environment. People who sit on the balcony are deemed to be seeking solace. It’s probably very hazy below. They have had a rough day. They need to be above the clouds. They need an alternative and refreshing view to the troubles of life.
Thereafter, the breeze blows away the negativity. It is gone with the wind.
Facing the entrance
Now, let’s move into the restaurant. People who sit facing the entrance have great expectations of what’s to come.
They are expecting something of the unknown; something magical; something dramatic to happen. Somehow, somewhat, someone will walk through the entrance.
Back facing the entrance
of facing the entrance is to sit with their backs facing the entrance. People who sit in such a way want to look away from all the distraction that is happening. They can’t stand the drama that is happening.
They had an eyesore. They’ve seen too much, heard too much, and said too much. They want to un-see what they have seen. So they turn away.
At the corner
The table in the corner is usually where the quiet, lonely, and focused people sit. They have important tasks to complete. They prefer to be left alone and undisturbed.
They don’t want to draw too much attention to themselves. This is so that they can quietly sneak in and out of the restaurant without being noticed.
In the middle
People who sit in the middle are presumably attention seekers. When a person sits in the middle of the restaurant, all eyes would immediately turn to him. People seated on his right would turn to their left. People seated on his left would turn to their right. People seated in front of him would look up. People walking into the restaurant would notice him sitting in the middle of the restaurant.
Alas, my client called me when I had just finished my lunch. My client (who also happens to be a restaurant owner) had just arrived and I am going to show him a ground floor shop-lot for rent.
That person is me. Sitting in the middle, I had a 360-degree view of all that was going around me. I saw how and where people sat in the restaurant.
Let’s talk about those little bumps on our skin that we could all wish away.. Some people are more prone to cellulites than others (🙋 who is with me on this one?), we can only blame genetics for that…
I’ve learnt to not obsess over it and I’ve learnt to accept that it’s alright to have them. It’s funny how when you’re not intentional about something, everything just falls into place. And that’s my story with them cellulites.
I noticed the change and the reduction when I started adopting these habits. The sole purpose of incorporating them into my lifestyle was to take better care of my body and my health; cellulites reducing was just the cherry on top. I enjoy many other benefits from these habits that are far more important than that.
Habit #1: Eat Real Food
No joke, but as I started eating whole food and less processed food many years back, I’ve seen a tremendous change in my skin and those dimples. One thing I’ve learnt over the years when it comes to anything is, there’s never a shortcut worth taking. I’ve gone down that path of shortcuts one too many times and this is what I’ve learnt 👇
“Shortcuts may work, but the results are never here to stay”
And don’t we all already know this: the beauty is always in its journey, not the outcome.
I’ve touched a little about eating “real food” or whole food in my previous write up here. I thought today I’ll get into it a little more. Many get confused with the word “whole food”. It just means food that is not processed and in its original form. They are mostly not in a packet. Anything you see in the “FRESH” section of the supermarket is the whole food.
“Whole food = The food itself is the ingredient, and the ingredient itself is the food.”
Eg: sweet potato, orange, pink Himalayan salt, salmon, etc. No adulteration of any kind on them!
You can enjoy delicious meals just by using whole food or food that has only whole food in its ingredient list (yes, check those ingredient lists people!). For those of you who aren’t used to cooking, it is definitely not a daunting task, don’t sweat it. Here are some of my favourite recipes that you can try if you have no idea where to begin…
This habit is a little more current to me, but oh boy do I see the difference! You know when they say dry brushing is for detoxification? Whoever they are, they got it right… When I explored wellness a little more last year (yep, I did all that homemade scrub, homemade mask, and even DIY facial steam!), that’s when I got onto the whole “Dry Brushing” wagon. These are some of the health benefits I found when I looked it up:
👉 Clean pores and minimize pores
👉 Get rid of dead skin cells (exfoliation)
👉 Lymphatic support (detoxifies!)
👉 Energy Boost
I mean, how can anyone resist that? 😅
I started doing it daily before a shower and the reduction of cellulite happen pretty quickly with this one. Check out how to dry brush effectively and go try it out y’all, you can thank me later 😆
Tip: Always lather up with moisturizer after a shower if you’re dry brushing to keep skin moist and smooth.
There you go, the 2 habits I’ve adopted that has helped in reducing my cellulite over time. I hope they will help you with yours too. But remember, don’t obsess over it. Take care of your health first, and everything else will fall into place. Cellulite or not, you’re just the way you should be, nothing more and nothing less. #perfectimperfections #loveyourdimples 😉
Have a good week ahead! As always, remember tolove, share, encourage, listen and give 😘
Now, I’m sure we are all dying to know the secret to achieve guilt-free eating because seriously, who is not struggling with it? At least, everyone I know does…
I have personally struggled with it my whole life, in fact, more than the average person would, due to my extreme tendencies. It has led me to much emotional distress in the past. But before this becomes a sob story, there’s a silver lining to it!
It took me a long time (all through my schooling years and adulthood) to get to where I am today with food and at a place where I’m comfortable around food; not overthinking my choices or guilt-stricken after I thought I made a “bad” choice.
But before I go rambling on about all the craziness that goes on in my head, let’s drill into the topic of the day:
“How can we all eat whatever we like and not feel guilty about our choices, especially when they are deemed “sinful” or “unhealthy”?
Everyone’s unique and different in their own ways, so there’s no one size that fits all. This is something that has worked well for me so I thought I would share it with you.
Tip #1: The 80:20 Lifestyle
80:20 is something I live by that I believe is not restrictive and definitely sustainable. It basically means eating wholesome food 80% of the time and the other 20% you let loose and have whatever you fancy. Don’t get me wrong, you do not need to be weighing out this ratio to the tee because that’ll just be stressful (and that’s not the point, eating healthy should not be stressful!). Here’s how I typically do it;
I would cook more at home and eat out less. For my schedule, it would normally be lunches and dinners at home on weekdays and dine out on the weekends. I love making nourishing meals (my recipes) with wholesome ingredients. So when I dine out, I’ll just order whatever I fancy; if it’s burger and fries on that day, then burger and fries it is!
Since I’ve started adopting this, I enjoy my food guilt-free. I do not have thoughts of wanting to work out more or eating less the next day just because I’ve overindulged that night. When I noticed myself feeling that way, I knew I had broken free from my unhealthy relationship with food.
Tip #2: Set your mind to 👉 “It’s about what you eat, not what you can’t eat”
With all these elimination diets going around (you know those that preaches no carbs, no fats, no sugar….), I personally think it’s more important to focus on what you are nourishing your body instead of what you want to eliminate from your plate.
I mean, eating well is just all about eating your greens, proteins, fats, and carbs from whole food. Since when has it become so complicated? #eatrealfood guys, that’s all you need to remember about eating well.
My take on balanced eating and having a healthy relationship with food is if I’m nourishing my body well enough on a daily basis, what’s an indulgent chocolate cake going to do with it… Our body is so wonderfully created to do amazing things (such as cleansing and detoxing); it is smarter than we think! So, go ahead and enjoy your cake; at the same time make sure to also nourish your body with lots of good stuff and real food.
Enjoy your food, nourish your body, have a good week ahead guys! And remember to always love, share, encourage, listen and give 😘
The Malaysia Website Awards Presentation Ceremony 2017
MALAYSIA, DECEMBER 4, 2017 – The Exabytes Group, the organizer of the prestigious Malaysia Website Awards 2017 (MWA 2017) today officially announces the date and venue of the upcoming Award Presentation Ceremony of Malaysia Website Awards 2017, which is slated to reward over 720 immensely talented local website designers with over 39 awards in 3 award categories.
The Malaysia Website Awards 2017 is the third in the series, seeking to recognize and reward the outstanding performance, talent and effort of the best web developers, web designers and web agencies, and at the same time encourage creativity, sharing and improvement of overall web design quality in the country.
Organized by Exabytes Group and sponsored by eGHL, MYNIC, Frambie, CO3 Social Office and among others, the Malaysia Website Awards 2017 features 3 award categories, namely personal, commercial and E-Commerce, and several awards, such as the Site of the Month Award, the Public’s Favourite Website Award, and the grand prize, Site of the Year.
The much anticipated award ceremony of Malaysia Website Awards 2017 will be witnessed by several highly regarded industry experts, veterans and honorable judges, such as Mr. Leong Wai Khong, Head of Multimedia Design Department of The One Academy Penang, Ms Rachel Tan, Marketing Lead of Shopee Malaysia, Muid Latif, Lead Project of Creative Commons Malaysia and Susilan Kesavan, Senior Manager Social Media of Webe Digital.
Event details of the exciting night are as follows:
Date : 27 January 2018 (Sat)
Venue : CO3 Social Office @ Puchong
Time : 1800 to 2200
Admission : Free
Attire : Smart Casual
According to the group CEO of the Exabytes Group, Mr. Chan Kee Siak, the Malaysia Website Awards 2017 is highly competitive, with the organizer receiving over 500 website submissions each month. In order to choose the best among numerous immensely talented website designers, MWA 2017 required all website submissions to be approved prior becoming qualified to participate. The judging criteria of Malaysia Website Awards 2017 range from Design, SEO, Accessibility, Performance and Content
For further information on Malaysia Website Awards 2017,visit:
The Exabytes group, made up of Exabytes Capital Group and Exabytes Ecommerce group is a leading website and ECommerce hosting provider in Southeast Asia. Besides providing topnotch and highly reliable website hosting, server hosting and server management services etc. to more than 75,000 customers in over 121 countries, the group’s ECommerce arm that consists of Easyparcel and Easystore have in the past years worked seamlessly together to create value for ECommerce sellers in terms of knowledge and skills, ECommerce solutions, and business competitiveness.
For partner benefits and details of other promotions and products of the Exabytes Group, which include shared web hosting, cloud hosting, dedicated server hosting, reseller hosting, SSL web certificate, Virtual Private Servers (VPS), Content Delivery Network (CDN), server management, EBuzz Email Marketing, server co-location, student hosting, charity hosting, domain registrations, hosted ECommerce platform, integrated courier service platform (Easyparcel) and more, visit www.exabytes.my, www.exabytes.sg, http://usonyx.net/, http://www.signetique.com, https://www.easystore.co/ and http://easyparcel.my/
Autocrats vs The People: Authoritarian Populism in Malaysia
About The Book
Anne’s 1993 PhD thesis, ‘Authoritarian Populism in Malaysia’, published in 1996 by Macmillan was ahead of its time in its theoretical and political conceptualization of this current world-wide phenomenon. She has updated her thesis as a reminder of this Malaysian variant of authoritarian populism and its consequences. Apart from the toxic effects of populism on ethnic relations, authoritarianism has cost the country billions through financial scandals including the current 1MDB losses. Clearly, good governance and populism cannot coexist.
This book demonstrates how populism in Malaysia is long established and has been sustained ever since the New Economic Policy that came into force in the post-May 13, 1969 period. The Malaysian variant is a populism that is based on a call for ethnic entitlement (‘Bumiputeraism’) and one that has become increasingly Islamic in recent years. Anne’s thesis also contains one of the most thorough expositions of the politics surrounding detention without trial and other repressive laws in Malaysia.
Contents
Introduction
The Colonial Roots of Authoritarian Populism
The Post-Colonial State
Suppression of Political Opposition
Restructuring the State and Society
State Repression in the Seventies
Authoritarian Populism Under Mahathir
Class Contradictions and Popular Protest
Authoritarian Populism Entrenched
Conclusion
About The Author
Anne Munro-Kua received her BA in political science from the University of Sussex (1978) and her PhD from the Faculty of Economics & Social Studies, University of Manchester, UK (1993). She has taught in schools, colleges and universities in the UK and Malaysia and has also edited several publications including ‘Women’s rights as Human Rights’ and ‘Women and New Technology in Asia’. Since 2007 she has been leading her training and coaching consultancy, AMK Transformations.
What The Readers Say
Professor Edmund Terence Gomez, University of Malaya
‘Anne Munro-Kua’s analysis of authoritarian populism and its evolution in Malaysia is different, yet equally compelling, carefully traced against the grain of official history… a timely reminder that we need to be aware that this continuous process of constructing and reconstructing populist rhetoric is a tool employed by the ruling elite to perpetuate authoritarian rule.’
Gareth Richards, writer, editor, bookseller
‘Anne’s conceptualisation of ‘authoritarian populism’ has helped crystallise the defining features of the postcolonial Malaysian political economy.’
Gayathry Venkiteswaran, Lecturer at Nottingham University
‘This book is highly recommended for anyone wishing to understand how and why the Malaysian authoritarian state has been able to survive this long.’
