De-stress, De-stress, De-stress…

I have a 101 things to blog about but have been so busy with work lately (*frown*). It’s almost year-end, and for business units like us (I manage corporate and investment accounts when I have half of my head on), year-ends are when we try to seal the deal to meet the budget so that we can live happily ever after on our fat bonuses. Sadly though, a fat bonus is probably a far-cry considering that we’ve barely met the budget this year. Which makes it an even more stressful year-end for me (although we have tried to blame it on the economy…hey, it’s not our fault, right?). On top of that, year-end is also where all the auditors in the world (both internal and external, not to mention the Bank Negara auditors too) suddenly converge to make it a living hell for people like us. The facts of life (*sigh*)…

Anyway, despite the busy-ness , I’m quite happy that I managed to squeeze in a few de-stresser activities over the past 2 months. Since I haven’t had a chance to write about them yet (will endeavour to do that real soon), I thought I’d just list summarise them down first. So here goes, a list summary of my top de-stresser activities for the months of Nov & Dec 2009:

1) Broga Hills Hike @ Semenyih, Selangor
A great way to work-out with friends and family. One can take a short hike (about 45mins to 1 hr) up Broga Hills to watch the sunrise/sunset, or simply enjoy the view from the top. Definitely a refreshing experience compared to the endless traffic and perpetual noise pollution in KL.

2) Comedy Club @ Zouk, Kuala Lumpur
This is a real great place to let all hang loose and laugh your guts out. I’ve had the pleasure of frequenting this place twice, and both times tremendously enjoyed myself. The Club features stand-up comedians from around the world, as well as local acts. I’ve only been to the ones held at Zouk, but I think they run shows at other places as well. If you’d like further info on this, please visit their official web page at:
http://www.thecomedyclubkl.com/home.html


3) Salomon X-Trail Challenge
This is my first time joining a running challenge and I LOVED it!!! Being a first-timer, I only did the 4km race and I finished too. Yippee!! For those who haven’t heard about this before, the Salomon X-Trail challenge is an off-road running race that takes you through the woods of Lembah Kiara, Taman Tun. The race is mostly 2kms up-hill and 2kms sprint, down-hill. And, there’s also the 10km track, for pros of course. Results are not out yet, but I think I may have done it an hour or so. Don’t know how I fared compared to other 4km racers, but I’m just happy I managed to finish it in one piece.

All in all, I’m feeling completely recharged and ready for the final 2 gruelling weeks of what's remaining of 2009. After that, all set for a new round of de-stresser Christmas hols and a whole new year ahead. Can’t wait!!