Birthday Wish

One last post before I fly to the Pearl of Orient.

Mich wished me Happy Birthday in advance last night, "sam siong si sing" she said.  It's a common Chinese saying that means "may your heart wishes for comes true".   May be it was late in the night when I was tired and winding down, hence, somewhat melancholic.    I suddenly felt very empty and lost when she said that..cos I don't really know what I want..so what I am gonna wish for?

"simple and happy life and may be a man" ~ that's what Mich recommended


haha...

yeah..sounds good!

BD Treat @ Daorae

Thank You ~ is all I want to say.

Thanks PPL for these :)

We have not met for such a long time...really appreciate the get together.

Sir fried Korean Rice Cake

Chit chatted just like old times.

BBQ pork belly

It's been so long that I've almost forgotten how fun you guys can be...

Kim Chi soup with Noodle

kamsahamnida !

BC Overdosed

Re: 3 hours Body Combat Challenge

I need to have an entry about this, yet I can't seem to get into the right mood and words to write about it. May be I'm still in a state of overdosed, overdosed with body combat that is.  Or may be the event was just too damn awesome that there are no words appropriate to describe it.

Imagine three hours plus of non stop solid body combat actions.  If you don't know what body combat is like, just imagine doing high energy cardio aerobics for three hours continuously ...

..in a mall concourse
..lead by 6 (or 7?) highly energetic instructors

..with only 1-2 mins break every 20 mins (approx.)

..with approximately 50 other hardcore combaters, who don't seem to get tired!

It was an eye opener to see so MANY hardcore combaters from different gyms around town
And everyone was real good!

I was in delirium after 2 hours plus, my arms and legs moved according to what my eyes observed from the instructors on stage but most muscles and probably brain were already numbed. I'm not sure if my soul were around.

I was so happy for Mich when she had to leave at the 1.30pm after about 2 hours. Part of me wanted to leave with her too!  Being quite a BC fanatic, I stayed on of course.  We were told that the session will be from 1130 till 230pm, hence, subconsciously part of us were 'looking' forward to 2.30pm.  whilst the other part of us wanted to last till the end.

At around 1.45pm, someone asked if it's 2pm yet, we replied that we hope it's 2pm too~

I ran out of water at around  2ish.  Hunger sets in.  My feet were starting to hurt.  Betty asked if I wanna carry on, I said let's just finish it..hoping that it will end in a while.  She has to leave by 2.30pm anyway.

When 2.30pm finally came, another instructor took over..and announced that it's gonna be another 6 tracks!

omg.

I decided to stop when Betty leaves.  I could have stayed to complete it but..6 tracks sounded too daunting,  I was really tired : / and needed hydration quite badly.

I still feel overdosed right now, turned down Mich and Betty invitation  to join them for a 90 mins special class at their gym on Monday evening.  Think I've got enough of combating for the time being.  Since I'll be away for more than a week from Wednesday...I will surely be ready for more when I return =)

It was indeed a marathon of different sort.

Loved it!










    

Staying in touch

When was the last time you had casual chats on the phone ? Excluding love bird chats.  Do you still chat on the phone often?  I have not done so for a long time.  Most of my calls now are short and purposeful.  Well, may be a little longer when there are hot gossips...

I've been missing a friend's calls. The first call was on Tuesday evening when I was having a hair cut.  I didn't pick up the call but sent a message later to apologise.  There was another missed call yesterday evening when I was at the gym.  I didn't call back but sent another message much later after settling down at home.

You must be wondering why I didn't call back immediately?  Well...erm..she didn't leave a message to say it's urgent.  Plus, I know my friend well, she has a habit of calling us up in the evening to catch up when she is driving home from work.  So..I kind of know..it's nothing important.  My bad...

When I messaged last night, I explained that "I'm normally 'busy' in the evenings, so please leave a message if it's urgent"  In her reply, she said..she is only free when she drives...haha.  True..cos when she reached home..she has to care for her daughter.

But then,..come to think of it..when is the right time to chat huh?  Day time is no go as I don't chit chat at work. MSN chat , yes..but not on the phone.  Evenings..I'd normally be driving somewhere or at the gym..how to chat.  Weekends..also on the move most of the time.

Now, that doesn't mean I'm a loner.  MSN, FB, WhatsApp, SMS are current tools to stay in touch in our busy lives.

Physical interaction is still key though, that's why it is so important to make sure to meet up once in a while to catch up...no matter how busy your daily lives are.  It's really good for the soul to get away from the routine..and be with different people, doing different things.  E.g I was taking a post marathon break from workouts / gym on Monday, hence, I took the opportunity to spend some time with my nephew at my sis place.  Co-incidentally it was his birthday..so we had a quiet cosy celebration.  Nothing fancy but everyone's happy.

Long time ago, I was asking SY if she can make it to a gathering.  She said that she will be busy with..this and that..etc.  I told her... "be careful not to stay away for too long, cos you don't want to be out of touch and without friends 20 years down the road,when your kids are all grown up"


Will be meeting some buddies for dinner tonight.  Thanks to PPL for organising =) our truly reliable organiser.  We are hopeless without her.  We have not met for so long because our PPL had been busy.

Oh.I must find time to visit my old school friend who had her first delivery a month ago!  Only have this weekend to do so or else it will be after the Sri Lanka trip. That will be too much of me !


Busy weekend ahead..

A Closure

The following was issued today:

As the title sponsor, Energizer Malaysia will now be taking over Expose Media’s prior commitment to fully distribute all certificates, medals, finishers’ T-shirts, headlights and complimentary gifts to every registered participant in the race....(continue reading)


In summary:

• Energiser has taken over the operations.  The event organiser will no longer be involved. 
• All participants were assured that they will be receiving the full refund
• Headlights, certificates, medals, etc will also be distributed to everyoone
• Additional details were provided to entertain change of address and contact details for the above purposes
• Concerns and frustrations on the race results and official timings were also acknowledged.  Assurance were given that they are looking into the matter.

Don't cry over spilled milk, let's just move on - someone commented in one of the many pages. I agree to that.  No one can deny that almost everything that can go wrong, went wrong during the race.  But this is life, things can go wrong. When things go wrong, we learn and strive to work out the best solution to minimise further damages.

I believe that's exactly what the Energizer team had been doing in the past few days - fire fighting!

I've done a fair bit of that in my work .  No fun at all!  

No way they can turn back the clock and make everything right again...moving forward is the only way to go. And, this is about the best they can offer.  Let's appreciate it and move on.


So..shall we have a closure to this?

When there is a will, There is a way

Today's tweet by quotegarden  : 
 "Where the willingness is great, the difficulties cannot be great." ~Niccolò Machiavelli 


The above is something I believe quite strongly in  when evaluating my own actions and decisions as well as  when evaluating my expectations on people around me.


When there is a will, there is a way.... 


It's pretty simple and straightforward for myself. If I drag my feet and procrastinate over something..it must be something I don't really want to do. Whether I will force myself to do, it depends on how important the matter is.


Extremely important and I'm all for it...no issue..just do it!


Extremely Important but I don't really want to go through it - I'll have to force myself.


Not that important and I don't feel like I want to go through it - rest the case.


Not important but I'm excited about it - just do it! as long as it brings happiness.




Simple life philosophy eh? If only life is that simple...haha.


Same goes for other people...their behaviour, responses, actions.. pretty much indicates how much they care about the subject matter.


Similarly...for social functions or get together..


If I care enough, I will definitely look forward to the outing and will surely turn up
If I don't really 'like' the person(s), I will look for excuses to skip it :D


We have this fantastic school friend whom we only caught up with in recent years, thanks to facebook.  She turns up on every single occasion regardless of who, where or when the gathering is.  She, too, leads a busy life like everyone else, married with kids and holds a fairly senior post at work..and yet she makes it a point to be present every single time.  We love and respect her for that!


That's what I meant by..when there is a will, there is way.


So..stop giving excuses.  It shows...

Moving On

Re: The Energizer Race saga

The E.O. had issued a public apology and agreed to take full responsibility.
Energizer had also issued an official statement stating deepest regret to all the inconveniences and agreed to refund all registered runners.

There were no mentions on certificates, medals and goodies bag as of now.

The medal and the certificate are probably the most important to the runners especially the serious ones.  It represents a sense of achievement - another feather to the cap.

Goodies bag, (as the name says) are goodies.  It's like kids getting their candies or treat for good behaviour.  So..we kinda subconsciouly look forward to getting our goodies at the end of each run.  Refund sounds good, so at least the runners have their money back if the goodies bag are not delivered.

Well..what's happened has happened and no one have the power to undo the frustrations.  It's a bitter pill to swallow for the organisers.  It was supposed to be THE running event.

Well, life is so.  Unpredictable.

This is a very good learning experience for everyone..be it about life or marketing or event management.

As for me...I'd like to move on.

It would be nice if we can at least have the certificate and finisher tshirts as promised.  After all, we did work hard to complete the run with determination despite the unfavourable conditions.
























In fact I felt quite good through out most parts of the run.  Gotta thank all the RPM and BC classes at the gym  that really did help to build good muscles and stamina to endure the 3hr+ run.  Legs did much better this time too. Calves did great..no cramps at all.  Hamstring pull only recur during the last 3-5km just like the last time but post pain and recovery was much much better. *happy*


The medal may not be applicable to me as I missed the qualifying time.  We tried our best.
I could have pushed myself harder by running ahead of SH to go under 3 hrs but I opted to honour my word.  Medal or no medal is really not that important to me. (although, it's nice to have one)  After all I didn't  really train that hard ....he he.

What's more important to me is the fact that we actually completed the actual race as per designed. We didn't cheat. We didn't give up although we were de-motivated after the first loop.

Now..let's move on.

Next up is another  3 hour 'marathon' of a different sort :D  this Saturday !

Stay tuned.

Poor Mr Energiser

I can't sleep!
Very very tired but I just couldn't fall asleep.  In fact, I doubt any of the just completed Energiser Night Race runners are sleeping at this moment.
It's 3am, by the way.

The event was a total flop. Seriously..
Just go to the Energiser FB page..you will feel the anger and disappointment of all the runners.

It was very very badly managed. Period.
Probably one of the worse running event ever organised.  It's hard to understand how they can overlook so many things....so many simple but important things.  They were plain lucky that there were no serious casualties caused by their negligence and insensitivity.

I'm not gonna go into details nor will I say much about what actually went wrong. Just go and read the angry complaints in the FB page...you will know.

These 'officials' were nowhere to be seen ..when the race was still ongoing.

What's done is done.  Damaged done.  The organisers are in deep shit now..they will need a long time to do damage control that's if they care to do any.  They can opt to take it lightly...after all only 10,000 are affected...and we may not even be consumers.  Bear in mind though, with the current power of social media network, this can be the biggest nightmare for the brand.  This is an annual international event, ermm...*sweat*.


My heart goes out to the full marathoners.  It's not easy being out their battling physical pain and mental challenge to finish the enduring race.  I read that there were very little done for them..not enough water stations, no proper traffic control, no proper directions.  One comment even said that the organisers had already packed their bags and left without waiting for all the full marathoners to return.  Many gave up and went home instead.  Some determine ones soldiered on but imagine arriving back to an empty venue..not even water stations..they have to do 5 outer loops and 1 circuit loop.

That's very very sad.  I feel for them,..cos I felt the same when I entered the compound to complete the 2 loops around the circuit.  Half marathoners had to do 1 outer loop + 2 loops on the actual circuit.  We were expecting a cheerful and encouraging atmosphere in the circuit compound ..unfortunately we were wrong.

There were no one to direct us. The track was almost totally quiet with only sounds of runners footsteps.  There were no signages nor distance markers.  So..we had to half guess our progress.

A glimpse of the circuit track and the runners

It was extremely demotivating when we  reached the start / finish line after the first loop and was supposed to do another loop (by right)...but...there were no officials to usher us...zero..no one was there ..only other runners who had supposedly completed their respective runs.

Me and SH were so lost and demotivated..we didn't know if we were done...? Shall we continue?  Everyone seem to be stopping.  Do we even bother to do another loop? Nobody even cared?

But..we decided to finish it off anyway. Only 5.5 km left..what the heck.  It's for ourself to know..and remember that we did the complete race.

However, it was a rather miserable journey.  Well, one gal cheered us on =)

We wondered and wondered why ..there are so little runners left

There weren't many runners left..and we were wondering why...either most half marathoners finished much earlier than us or...most gave up after the first loop.  We may have missed the 3 hr qualifying time by a bit..but  it's still an average time..it's not normal to have so few runners left.

Sigh..we were so bored and tired.  At one point...I was asking SH...where the fuck are cheerleaders?

..anyway..there you go.  I won't say anymore.  There are more to these...these are just the tip of the ice berg.

Poor Mr Energizer.  Brand image had dropped by 200% in just one night..... and this had caused 10,000 consumers to change battery brand!


Well, so much for a crappy race. Congratulations to all who completed their runs 'genuinely' ;P 


Good Luck to Mr Energiser in..rebuilding your image...

Bunny Run

So..tonight is the bunny run a.k.a. Energiser Race. The bunny run term is from KT =D
the energizer bunny had been phased out and replaced by mr energizer for so long and yet we stil associate it with the lil bunny. Is this legacy or are we resisting change ?




It was a wet wet morning..started raining at 9am and the rain just stopped. It's now close to 2.30pm.



Will be leaving around 4ish to the site. No idea why we have to be there so early when the race only starts at 8pm.



I think I'm ready..although I didn't sleep too well last night..shall blame the decaf latte that I suspect is not that decaf-ed ..is there such thing?

All set..

Pretty much stayed home ..since it was raining non stop. This is my self made carbo loaded lunch. Surprisingly yummy :P

Carbs

And I finished it...surprisingly..

Burp...

Gonna take a bath now...and hopefully there is time to take a nap before leaving.

In the line of duty..

Hope to complete the run in 2.5 to 3 hrs.



Wish me luck!

Chicken and Duck Talk

Q: How much Usd u bring?


A: Usb lookg good.


Q: How much USD?


A: I took the lowest package i thk 48 per mth chck maxis forgot capacity


That was sms conversation between me and friend this morning ...

Baby Steps

Many of us have dreams, goals, desire in life or even on a daily basis.  In life, some aim for a bigger house or car for the family.  Some aim for early retirement.  Some aim for luxury holidays.  In a day, especially at work, some have 10 meetings to attend.  Some aim to complete several proposals or report. And the list goes on.

Setting the bar too high creates unnecessary stress and pressure.  So..I prefer to take baby steps.  If time or resources permits..I take many baby steps with much care and accuracy and hopefully when i look back...I've moved on quite a distance.

Waking up early for example, it will be a torture to me, to impose a 30 mins earlier rule all of a sudden.  Instead..I woke up 3 mins earlier today :D  It was actually nice to have that additional 3 mins.

But..

I ended up reaching my target destination...5 mins later than usual -.- because of slightly more congested roads today.


Life is so.

It ain't a bulldozer

Nissan service centre estimated that the repair cost would be about RM80.

I took it to my neighbourhood mechanic who used to service my old faithful.

He fixed in less than 30 mins \o/

And he didn't even charge me!  I so wanted to give him a kiss *muaks*

Well, he did say it is not perfectly fit-in, a proper job by the a 'auto body repair' specialist would probably reassemble the whole bumper all over again and it will fit perfectly, hence, will cost much much more.


But..do I need that?

Nah...

He also reminded me that this is a CAR, not a bulldozer.


haha.

I survived Body Attack

I started with body combat (martial arts based cardio exercises), then rpm (endurance indoor cycling), then body balance (flexibility and strengthening).

Heard lot's about body attack (combi of athletic aerobic movements with strength and stabilization exercises) but I was cautious, afraid, reluctant to try it out.

What I  heard said was :

..it's super tough. One of the toughest programme from Les Mills.  There isn't any rest.  It's all jogging and jogging and jogging.

..in others..you can 'cheat' or take it easy when you are tired..i.e. punch or kick softly, or cycle slowly but in this...when you stop it will be so obvious.

..some said..it's very tough for the knees..yikes..

So..I wasn't interested..until recently, I got "itchy", since I feel somewhat stronger and fitter now, relatively speaking.   Basically, I felt that I can do more ..ahem.

On a rare Friday evening, I happened to be in the gym (normally I'm out feasting on Fridays :P), and it so happened there is a body attack class...and so I took the opportunity.

It wasn't that bad after all!  In fact I enjoyed it.  Well, it was a bit tough on my weak ankle and my calves hurt for days after that, but it was all good.  Most importantly, I pulled through and it wasn't as bad as I thought. I actually like it.

And guess what, I think it's a very good form of training for the marathons...since I find it soooo hard to get my butt out to run.

Another hobby, goody good good =)


Read more about it HERE

Challenging April

Was staring at the calendar for a while...making sure I'm well aware of the 'present time'.

The Energiser race is happening next week, this time..yes, next week this time I can foresee I will be in a lot of pain.  Help...

Another a week and a half after that, we will be in Sri Lanka.  Earlier in the month, I mentioned that I wanna start packing :D Obviously, I haven't.  Still have time, but really gotta start soon..to make sure some essentials are in.  There will be some adventures...the Adam's Peak will be one of it.  5,400 steps ...*gulp*  My legs have not been doing well..so I'm kinda worried.


Cash..oh I'm so short of cash this month! Insurance of all types, taxes...No fun at all :-(


But..it's still gonna be a good month =)

Beautiful Monster

body combat 47 09 beautiful monster full vocal la la sessica mix

Mp3Skip.com

This is the song for the conditioning track in the recent body combat release.  It's probably one of the toughest conditioning exercise so far..and I'm sure most regular 'combaters' will agree to that.

http://sportsmedicine.about.com

Try doing the hover (see above) plus raising the opposite arm e.g. raise right leg and left arm together. Actually staying put without raising any arm / leg is already very tough.  So..imagine, starting with the hover, then slowly raise one arm, then the other arm, for about 4 sets, then add intensity by raising one leg and opposite arm together, repeat for about another 4 sets.

And it doesn't end there, there are push ups in between, and then crunches of different intensity..and it goes on and on for about 5+ minutes!

When the release was first introduced, I could barely raise neither arm or leg.  After doing the release for 3 weeks, (also been working out harder than usual to train for the coming half marathon), now I can at least hold for the first round before dropping to my knees (the easier option).  I probably have a much stronger core now and ...may be a flatter tummy :P no six packs yet..but I do think six packs is possible if we are to do this every day!

Beautiful monster it is...torturous but yet so effective.

A year or two ago, just holding the hover position was a great challenge to me.  It's still a challenge now..especially on days when the core is weak e.g. ate too much or lack of core exercises.
Try doing it, you will know what I mean.

It is quite crucial to have a strong core..and it applies to everyone not only athletes.

The muscles of the core also make it possible to stand upright and move on two feet. These muscles help control movements, transfer energy, shift body weight and move in any direction. A strong core distributes the stresses of weight-bearing and protects the back...


Read more HERE


"Leisure athletes" like me risks picking up injuries without a strong core.  When I first started working out actively, I had knee and shin problems because my core wasn't strong enough to support the rigorous movements.  Thankfully I met a good sports doctor who taught me several exercises to help me to strengthen up, instead of discouraging me from exercising.

Trust me..the core is the key!  On good days e.g. when i don't slack on core exercises, I run better, I cycle/spin stronger, I jump better, I kick better, I walk better.

Again, being a 'leisure athlete' without formal training, I still tend to pick up aches / injuries along the way...but along the way,  I also continue to build and strengthen my muscles, as a result, I have better controls, hence, the chances of injuries reduces.

So..it's kind of a chicken and egg thing, eh?
Won't say much since I'm not a professional trainer.  I'm trying to strike a balance myself....how much is too much? When to stop? When to rest?


Beautiful...monster :P

Away

www.inmagine.com

The above stays as my profile picture in Facebook ..it's been over 30 hours.

How come...

Sometimes it's comforting to be in the dark..away from everything, true?

:'(

I'm really upset.

Iphone Shot via Camera+

A stupid misjudge... Only have myself to blame.

I'd probably feel better if it was an unavoidable accident with another car.


F.

Toast & Roast

Discovered a quiet cosy corner in SS2. Clean, safe, not too crowded, most importantly, great, affordable, simple food.

Located at:
20, Jalan SS2/72
(Drive as if you are heading to Rothmans roundabout from SS2, turn into where New Paris is, drive straight in till the end of the road, the shop's on your right)


Verdict : I'm always a fan of hakka noodles..and I don't eat any hakka noodles.  This. I LIKE!

Iphone Shot enhanced by Camera+

Char Siew's good too!

Iphone Shot enhanced by Camera+

Ya, I know the name of the shop doesn't quite gel with the food.  We did ask the owner...he said they thought it will be quite fun to give the impression that they Toast & Roast their Char Siew. 

Hmm..

Illegal Dumpsites

It was a bright sunny afternoon when I arrived home, there was a fire engine and police patrol car right outside my house, since there was no smoke..so shouldn't be anything serious, I told myself.

Iphone Shot enhanced by Camera+

This car was parked near to a illegal dumpsite.  It was badly damaged when the dumps caught fire.   Luckily, the fire was put out quickly before any major explosion.   There were many other cars and even houses nearby.

..I have irresponsible neighbours who has the habit of putting their 'unwated stuff' away from their own compound e.g. old furnitures, garden wastes, boxes, basically big unwanted items that they don't want to clutter their home with or items that the normal garbage truck won't accept or they can't wait that long for the garbage truck pick up.  Selfishness? Or some will say that it is selfishness caused by inconvenient services?  

It's true that we do not really have pick up services for bigger items.  So..most some residential areas will have their own 'designated' site for these items.  Strangely,  the authorities will assign separate pick ups trucks to clear these 'designated' sites when it gets too 'full' i.e. overflowed to the roads.

I've complained to the authorities before, firstly asking them to clear the overflowing rubbish and secondly asking them what are the long term solutions to the problem i.e. do we call for pick up? Or can they provide    big containers?  Following my complaint, they promptly sent a team to clear the site but did not answer my second question.

And I didn't pursue.  

Well..that's us. Malaysians.

Batu Caves

Was bored as usual...didn't wanna do the same same things every week.
Thought about Batu Caves since a friend posted some photos on FB when she was there last week.
Told ya FB is useful.

Proposed the idea to Felicia as a 'practice' since we will be ascending the Adam's Peak in Sri Lanka in a few weeks time.

Lumix LX3 Shot

Tell you a secret..I'm a true Malaysian but this is the first time I stepped my foot on to the grounds of Batu Caves, the most popular tourist destination in the Klang Valley.

Lumix LX3 Shot

Batu Caves has 272 steps.  Adam's Peak has 5200!

LOL...

Lumix LX3 Shot

Physically I could've been in a much better state.  Didn't sleep well the night before. And Ms P finally arrived...over a week late :s  So I only did one round.  Many others were there for training / exercise too..and they go a few rounds  up and down the flight of stairs.  Felicia did about 3 rounds while waiting for me.  Yeah..I was late :P

Some photos in the cave, here onwards.

Lumix LX3 Shot

Lumix LX3 Shot

Beware of monkeys of Batu Caves..do not bring any food, to avoid being their target.

Lumix LX3 Shot

More info about Batu Caves HERE