Big Walk, Small Win

Yeo Hiap Seng  I won a hamper. Yeah! Yeah! I was pleasantly surprised when Jennifer called me to inform that she saw my name as a winner of the Malay Mail Big Walk Big Win Daily draw last week. The winners were selected from the pool of registered participants for the Big Walk that will be held on August 8. What were in my goodies bag? 2 Days supply of Yeo Hiap Seng food and drink – 1 carton of soybean drink, 1 can of baked bean, 5 packs of Cintan Instant Noodle (original flavour), 1 big can of Kaya and 2 cans of flavoured tea. Probably worth about RM15. That should cover my registration fees for the run already. (Insert greedy laugh here..bwah hah hah)

Harem Diva At Work

Sarah Brightman Harem World Tour CD and Ticket  I have Brian to thank for asking me to go for Sarah Brightman the evening before the concert. I almost missed this incredible show if not for him. No one wanted or could make it to accompany me to watch this concert earlier. We got the cheapest tickets available – RM122. That was still considered expensive by other artiste standard. Mariah Carey cheapest concert ticket was sold at mere RM 68. At the other extreme, a seat near the stage (close enough to see Sarah’s nostrils when she walked by) would set one back RM800 per ticket. I was f**king pissed by the management who printed the dress-code requirement on the ticket. I had to go back all the way to Sunway from PJ to change when I got an SMS from Brian asking me to dress up for the show – no faded/ torn jean round neck T-shirts, short sport attire or slipper. I changed my Bermuda and black round neck Tee to a “smart casual” (who the f**k invented this term anyway?) collared tee with a pair of crisp ironed khaki. Guess in what other people come in with? Slippers and shorts. (Insert eye-rolling ceremony here). Why bother printing something they don’t enforce? Same thing went to the starting time. Printed in italic “Show will start promptly at 0800pm. Patrons are advised to be seated well before then. Latecomers will NOT be admitted into the auditorium until a suitable break”. Guess what now? The show started half an hour late and people still thronging in by then. (Insert Hulk’s angry roar here). The stage was impressive. It was crescent-shaped with a catwalk like extension that led to a star platform at the end. Huge mid-Eastern drapes covered the stage, looking like what else but a HAREM. But what is a HAREM? According to MSN Encarta dictionary, HAREM is defined as 1. women’s part of a house: the separate private quarters reserved for wives and concubines in a Muslim home. (Hmmm..didn't know that Muslims are allowed to have concubines..LOL) 2. group of women: the wives and concubines who live in a HAREM(Insert a loud Hmmmmm...here) 3. zoology group of animals: a group of female animals of the same species associated for breeding purposes with one male (Insert a louder Hmmmmm...here) 4. women followers: any group of women admirers or followers ( humorous ) ( sometimes considered offensive ) The word originated from Mid-17th century via Turkish from, ultimately, Arabic - Haram “prohibited (place), women’s quarters”. I was hooked on Sarah since I first bought her Time to Say Goodbye album featuring her duet with Andrea Brocelli. Contrary to the sad connotation to goodbye, this song is about saying goodbye and to go to new places to be with the one you love. She got a voice that you either love or hate. Some of my friends commented that her voice is too shrilly, like a banshee on ecstasy or like a cat being held by the tail. I beg to differ. She opened her concert with HAREM (What other song could it be? Duh!). Throughout Sarah dominated the stage with voice and a little help from her belly-dancing posse. Truly a great diva with equally great hair extension. I must admit she was damn good. I didn’t understand half of her songs (me no speaking Italian…) but I could feel her emotion dripping over her sultry voice. She did a flawless rendition of her timeless classic – Time to say goodbye. The ambiance was marvelous. I love the part where her dancers walked around the stage, throwing red confetti that looked like roses petals. Then Sarah was lifted up in the air on her swing. She was swung high above the air while singing her mid-eastern tinged “What A Wonderful World”. Then suddenly a shower of millions of red petals started to pour from the top. I was visually stunned. In her final song, she was strung high up on air and then took tumble, 360-degree a few times and at the same time, millions of silver confetti were blown up on air and drowned the audience. I don’t think I have described her act best with my limited vocabulary. You have to be there to experience it. I recognized the tune of Who Wants To Live Forever, It’s A Beautiful Day, The War is Over (a duet with some Arabic dude), Whiter Shade of Pale, Nessum Dorma and Dust in The Wind among the tunes she managed to cramp into her show. After watching her 2 and a half hour show, I could safely conclude that this woman was not afraid of height. She was raised on a high platform a few times. Hung on air, flapping like a pterodactyl. Swung up air in her swing. Did that 360-degree tumbles hanging up on air. And she did all that without breaking her pitch or singing out tune. I was impressed. If you ever taken away all the lights, swing, crescent-stage, costumes, wireworks and belly dancers…I am sure Sarah would still be as captivating as ever with her emotive voice and diva persona. This HAREM, I wanna be in. I brought my Nikon CoolPix 3500 to the concert and here are the results CLICK HERE FOR THE AMAZING SARAH BRIGHTMAN HAREM KL TOUR PICTURES

Liquid Dream

Chocolate Fountain 

I was on my way to Yoga class when got called from Francis. I have totally forgotten that there was a food gathering that Sunday. So I took the LRT to Dang Wangi and walked to Shangri-la Hotel. Lee Siah, Lam, Poh, Joan and Francis were already feasting on the prawns and rock oysters when I arrived. Great meeting them again.

Question like "Why do men cannot aim properly into the toilet bowl?" and "Can girl pee standing?" were among our topic of discussion. I found out that girls do pee standing, in the shower. Lam just got back from Sydney. She got me a kangaroo key-chain, adding to my dusty collection of unused key chains from various part of the worlds, from friends and relatives. The amount of key chains I got probably can last me through 3 lifetimes.

She also brought some chili flavoured chocolate for us. Hmmm..I wonder who thought of this idea but most of us could not tell that there was chili in the chocolate. Our taste bud corpuscles probably dead by long-term abuse of chili padi and the spicy stuff that we gorged upon everyday.

The highlight of the day was probably the chocolate fountain. Whoever invented this was a genius. Five tiers of flowing melted chocolate waiting to be dipped into. My liquid dream indeed. We dipped our fruit, biscuits and marshmallow into the chocolate. It was heavenly with strawberries but did not go so well with honeydew. I must have made 10 rounds to the fountain. Wouldn't it be nice if they provide fountain like this at the marathon drinking stations? Heavenly way to refuel.

Saw a very nice yoga mat at Nike Shop at KL Plaza, available in bright orange, light blue & light green, complete with the "swoosh" logo. Tempted to buy one. Finally decided not to as mats are provided at my yoga class. Moreover, the yogis in India probably do all the asanas on the ground without any mat, let alone Nike yoga non-slip mat.

But then, I might just return to the shop and grab it later. Anyway, my motto still is – If you are not GOOD at running, at least you must LOOK GOOD running. I guess the same applies to yoga (Insert cheeky laugh here).

Purple Rain & Jumble Sale

Marianne at the used toys section 

I was awake very early this morning. Yes - it's a Sunday today. A habit I guess. There was no run this morning. Turned on the VCD player and watched Purple Rain (a 1984 musical starring Prince during the peak of his career). Bought the VCD yesterday at R.M 7.90 at Speedy. It was a passable watch, especially for the music but was somewhat disturbed by the visions of shoulder pads, bad make-ups and frizzy big hair (thank god now that we have the rebonding technique!).

Arrived at the SPCA (Society of Prevention of Cruelty to Animal) at about 10:08 am. The Jumble Sale already started. Many bargain hunters and junk collectors were seen rummaging through the donated items for sales - stuffed toys, used household items, books, magazines, decorative items, clothing and accessories. Met up with my good friend, animal lover, Marianne who worked at SPCA to show my support to this event. I have been going for this annual Jumble Sale every year without fail, doing my bit for my little furry friends.

Headed straight to the book section where I found some very good buys. Bought 7 books for only RM20, among others- a hard cover of John Irving's The Fourth Hand , Nicholas Sparks a Walk To Remember (now a movie stars Mandy Moore) and Lance Armstrong's Performance Program (7 weeks to perfect ride) - a bicycling book. I do not own a bicycle but at RM2.50 apiece, the book was a good buy and should come in handy in case I want to venture into the world of cycling (dualthon/ triathlon) in the future. Hmm…. Am I daydreaming again? :)

The proceed of the sales will go to the abandoned dogs and cats. SPCA managed to collect about RM11, 800 in the 3 hours sale. Not bad at all.

Finally got my paws on a copy of Runner's World (June Issue) from an Indian sundry shop near SPCA. Been looking high and low in MPHs and news.com around town for it since few weeks ago. Highlight on how to run a perfect 10-K. I will put this regime to test for my next 10-K run. See if it works. Amused by an article - the most important accessory for Boonsom Hartman's 100th marathon was her tube of lipstick. Women! (Insert eye-rolling ceremony here) : )

Finished reading it in on sitting while commuting in the LRT from Ampang to PJ. Went to gym for my yoga class and had a good stretch. I love Sundays.

Runaway Horses

Nike15K 

The Nike Pacesetters 15km Run (May 23, 2004) was organized by Pacesetters Athletic Club Malaysia, sponsored by NIKE. It made its debut last year and received overwhelming response from serious and fun runners alike.

At exactly approximately 7:05am, a group of runners in their elegant crazysexycool Nike vests (blue-yellow for male and white-pastel baby blue for female) charged like a bunch of runaway horses from the horse stable up the "little slope" in Lake Garden. It was wild. I was among those horses, galloping away.

The route was dubbed affectionately (or fearfully) as Double Hills amongst the runners. I always resorted to baby jog up and down the hill and sometimes I had to walk. For this year Nike Run, I had to walk up the hill. My horsepower seemed to have diminished once I reached the slopes. Lack of practice, I guess. Done most of my training on flat grounds - Subang Lake. Ought to kick myself for not preparing for it. I was exhausted by the time I reached Sri Carcosa Negara but I had to flog myself to complete the race. Reached the finishing and got myself a finisher medal.

Zoomed straight to the Milo van for two cups of icy cool drink. Food aplenty – taufu fah (yummy with brown palm sugar), rojak (soggy), chicken porridge (never tasted so good after a run), maggi instant noodle (out of stock), canned 100plus (out of stock) and fruit (banana and watermelon).

One boo-boo that need to be corrected. The ribbons given at the starting point and checkpoints should be waterproof and should not run upon contact with sweat. I felt pity for those runners whose elegant Nike vests were stained by horrific red marks when they wore their ribbons around their necks (quick someone, bring out the crosses and garlic). Lucky for me, I wrapped my ribbons around my wrist. I ended up looking like I had slashed my wrist.

It was a well-organized run. Well, it HAD to be since it was organized by RUNNERS for RUNNERS. I definitely will be back next year to run like horses.

Saw some KL Municipal horses around the Lake Garden area while walking back to the car. Took some pictures with those muscular beings while they were grazing away. Is the secret of running like horses is to eat like horses? A question to ponder.

Went to 1-Utama. Bought a DVD at Movie Magic – The Color Purple, got myself a FREE DVD – The Best Show (about a dog show). Want to watch Shrek 2 but watched “You Got Served” instead at GSC Midvalley. Wasted RM10 on it. It sucked.

10 Things I Learnt from my First Bowling Experience.

Had my first bowling experience last Wednesday among the national players and Famemas group at Sunway Pyramid. I found out bowling can be a very fun game but it can be nerve wrecking at the same time, especially when I watched helplessly the ball rolled into the gutter one after another. I had two strikes (yey!) and numerous longkang (gutter) balls. My points add up to 160 for two games and won a special prize for being the technically challenged team of the night. Here are 10 Things I learnt from my first Bowling experience. 1) They will take one of your shoes as hostage before they give you your bowling pair. 2) Selecting the right ball can be mind-boggling. You have ball number 6 to 16 to choose from. 3) Three level of finger insertion - full, semi and finger-tips. Always go for full unless you are a pro. 4) If your fingers are oily, a little baby powder will smoothen things out. 5) Angle of entry is important to ensure you knock all the pins. 6) Always aim at the pocket. What the heck is pocket? Area between 1-2 pins for leftie and 1-3 for right-hander. 7) X is a symbol for strike. You do nothing wrong here. The more X’s, the better it is. 8) Bedpost is a 7-10 spilt. Not a very good split. 9) Blowout is downing all the pins but one. 10) Bowling is like Boomerang. Your ball will always comeback to you. : )

Asam Boi Flavoured 100Plus

Today, I discovered how to add some "zing" into the plain isotonic drink. Drop an asam boi (preserved plum) into your bubbly concoction and add some ice. Works with 100Plus and Excel...

On Your Mark, Get Set, BREATHE!

The World Asthma Day Jogathon in Kuala Lumpur is organised by the Malaysian Thoracic Society in partnership with pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline. It is aptly themed On Your Mark, Get Set, Breathe!

Went clubbing on Saturday night. Man just finished his exam and wanted a night out. The jam along Jalan Sultan Ismail was horrific. Got home around 4am. Decided not to sleep and worked on my virtual tourist web site. Amelia gave me a wake-up call at 5:30am. Got ready. Ate a pack of Maggi mini instant noodle and waited for her to arrive.

We were given free T-shirt upon registration. Huge black XL T-shirt with purple sleeves. Mandated to wear the T-shirt in order to participate. Didn't like the design at all. It would end up in my pile of T-shirts for Salvation Army.

Noticed Datuk Sharifah Aini under the tent chatting with the organisers. In the field, hundreds of people swaying like cows on drugs, warming up to some cheesy techno tunes. I have nothing against that uncle but why can't they invite some body pump babes with exposed mid riff to lead the aerobic session? But then again, this event would be featured on national TV. Sigh…

Regretted taking the instant noodle. Big mistake to "carbo-load" on Maggi. My throat felt like Gobi Desert half way through the run. Completed my run in 30 min.

There were no Milo and 100Plus vans in sight. I was given a pack of Ribena (my favourite childhood drink), a can of Horlick and a McChicken.

Didn't bother to wait for the lucky draw. Left Padang Merbok to collect Nike Pacesetter running vest at Bukit Aman. The event is next weekend - 23 May 2004. Very happy with the vest. Good quality vest, a far cry from last year's vest that looked like a white plastic bag. Signed up for 1/2 marathon in the Ipoh Run (4 July) too.

Went to Mid Valley for lunch with BW. Bought the movie tix for TROY. Instead watching TROY, TROY watched me. Dozed of during the show. Woke up during the pivotal battle scene between the Greek & Troy. Very surreal. Bigger and better than the battle scenes in Lord of the Ring. Lesson leant: Watch this movie only when you have had enough sleep. The first half of the movie is plain boring. Heheh!

Bird Shit, Dirty Sponges and Chicken Rice Balls

Wake up call @ 4:30am. Still groggy. Amelia enthusiastically prepared fried noodles (specially bought from Tengkera Night Market the night before) and boiled potatoes for breakfast.

Had breakfast with the golden girls. They were as chirpy as mynahs in the morning. Around 5:20am we went out to the roadside (Jalan Tengkera) to wait for the marathoners to pass by. Cheered for the marathoners. Why was I in such a cheerful mood in the morning? Aunties’ enthusiasm was indeed infectious. Suddenly, it poured. We ran helter skelter back to the house.

The starting point was at Tun Fatimah Stadium. The air was fresh after a splash of morning rain. The half-marathon started of sharp at 7:30am. The route led us to the bridge across Melaka River.

Was quite a challenge to run up the bridge. I felt something warm splattered on my left hand when I was passing an overhead signage. It was white and runny. Slightly warm. Yucks! Bird shit! I guess I was lucky as this happen a few meter from the refreshment station – got some water to wash the shit off.

The Melaka River as viewed from the Bridge

The highlight of the run was Jonker Street where all the old distinctive straits buildings were. Very Chinese feel. Auspicious red lanterns. Celestial Dragons. I slowed down my pace to enjoy the charm of the buildings. Passed by some shops selling antique, knick-knack, clothes, kopi tiam/café, temples here. I was busy clicking away. I acted more like a tourist than a runner.

Road leading to Jonker Street. Notice there is a church back there.

Jonker Walk looks deserted in the morning

Monkey God on the lookout for Marathon runners

Raise the red lanterns

Notice the Stadhuys (Red Building) in the background

The Orang Utan Shop - eye-catching. One of the many souvenir shops not to be missed when you are in Melaka.

More Chinese temple

Jonker Walk

An Chetty Indian Temple

A Mosque. Notice the Chinese influence on the facade.

An old Chinese temple

I spotted this cute antique buggy along the route. The owner must be a very patriotic man.

The remaining of the run was not interesting. Quite boring actually. We ran through the city, passed by heavy traffics and some residential area. The sun was not forgiving. I began to walk after passing by the 15km mark. Felt my calves’ muscles pulling. Had to walk.

Drinking water - See the label - it's specially bottled for the Melaka Municiple.

The last couple of sponging stations were appalling. The sponges were dipped into muddy water. I suspect they recycled the used sponges and placed them back into the bin. Yucks!

My timing was not my best; nonetheless I qualified for a medal (Top 200). Should be better I had not climb Mount Kinabalu on 3-4 May. Overall, it was a memorable run. No luck on the lucky draw. All 5 mountain bikes for the draw were swept away by the school children. Next time, I have to remember to bring my compass along and sit face my auspicious direction. Hope my luck will change for better.

Went for the famous Chicken Rice Balls at Jonker Street for lunch before heading back to Kuala Lumpur. Hmm…Tasted just like chicken rice anywhere else in KL. But it was heavenly to cure the tummy of hunger after the Melaka Historic City Marathon 2004.

Me, Biggie and My Backpack

Saturday morning. Woke up without Amelia's wake up call. She didn't join us at Batu Caves this time and had gone to Malacca to run some errands. (One of it is registering for Malacca International Marathon which I have asked to sign me for the 21km event). This time I did 4 laps only as Woo wanna leave early. He dropped me at the Kepong train station. Took the train the Sentral then the monorail to Bukit Bintang. Was a bit early for the Biggie registration. They were just setting up the stage and tents when I arrived, so I decided to have breakfast at Coffee Bean, KLP. Mocha Latte and Blueberry cheese cake. Yummy. Went up to Tower Records. Nothing new there. Left KLP at 11:30am to Bukit Bintang Fiesta Walk. Crowd is growing. Managed to wrestle my way to be third in line. It was sizzling hot and humid. Overheard some veterens grumbling about the entry forms. This year we have to buy a copy of the Malay Mail to get the form. It was free the previous years. Approached by some reporters because I was looking absolutely irresistable in my last year's Biggie T-shirt. Mundane interview questions like name, age, occupation, since when I have started to walk in Biggie (5 years now) etc. Another ploy to make me buy another copy of Malay Mail tomorrow. Collected the goodie bag - 3 cans of drinks Milo, Ginger Ale and Livita. A far cry from last year which was filled with many samples and vouchers. Went to Midvalley to buy my backpack from TearProof. Sale is on! Got one under RM200. All ready for Kinabalu and beyond!

How do I rate Passion?

I braved the rain to board the bus to Asia Jaya LRT station. I still feeling feverish. Should be home resting as instructed by my doctor who gave me an MC that morning. But it was something too good to be missed – a FREE screening of the no.1 Mel Gibson’s Passion of the Christ on BIG screen! I was surprised when Kevin told me that he got some free tickets for POTC. Christian movie like this would be banned from Malaysian cinemas, fearing will shaken the belief and faith of non-Christians. The screening was held in a former old cinema turn assembly hall for a church in PJ. So, I guess the church people would have gotten the permit to screen it. Initially we were seated on the ground floor but we decided to “upgrade” our seats to the balcony seats upstairs. It was an old cinema, pre-cineplex era style where the ground floor were for the common people and the upstairs seats were for people who can afford to dish out more dough so that they can be on top of everyone else and throw pop-corns from the balcony. It sure brought back some memory. The show supposed to started after some brief words from the man who I think was the pastor of the church. I was told by friends who have watched POTC on pirated VCD/DVD that it contains graphic violent scenes. Having watched Kill Bill earlier in the morning, I thought I could handle possibly all the blood and gory scenes. Boy, I was wrong. I was cringing in my seat watching Jesus being beaten, flogged and finally crucified. I cried. It was painful for me to see the amount of pain and suffering that we human can inflict on another. Why they want to watch him suffer? At the end of the movie, the pastor got up again to the church and preached. We were ready to leave but the pastor asked everyone to close his or her eyes and reflect. Those who accepted Christ were asked to go on the stage. We quietly sneaked out from the back of the cinema. Hey….I was there for the free movie, nothing else but why do I felt like a thief sneaking out. A very effective “recruitment” drive for the church, according to Adrian. Whatever it is, I was moved by the movie. I can’t say that I enjoyed it. I cannot bring myself to enjoy other people’s pains and sufferings. I can’t rate it. How can I rate the pain and sufferings that people inflict on people?

Caves and Charity Run

6:45am. Saturday. 10 April 2004. It was still dark when we climb up the stairs of Batu Caves. This time I was prepared for it. Did some light stretching and some warm-up before I start the climb. I glad that I did as my calves and thighs are feeling fine today. Last week, it took me 3 days to recover from sore legs. Did 9 laps compared to last's week 5. Lai outdid all of us by making a 10. Woo vomited after his 7 laps. I think he pushed himself too hard or maybe the he cannot stand the guano smell that polluted the air. I didn't notice the smell the week before but last week, it was eugh!!! Managed to coax an ex-colleague out of bed to buy us breakfast ? Segambut Seafood Noodle. What a treat. Succulent fresh prawn, seaweed, squid, fish, clams drowned in thick curry. Yummy! Stay home for the rest of my Saturday, watching the Sxx and the City DVD- The Complete Season 5. Wonderful! 8:00am. Sunday. 11 April 2004. Started to run Hong Leong Charity run. Took me 38mins to complete my run. I think it is definitely more than 5km as what they claimed. I don't quite enjoy the run, I supposed the lactic acid from the Batu Caves climb was still accumulated in my leg muscles. Had lunch in Oishi in Midvalley. Promo, buy three get one free. The buffet spread was not that impressive. Somehow the standards have plunged during promotion time. Hang out at Strudels, listening to Joan recent Japan trip stories. She brought some cute Pooh Sweet, Mickey Mouse Madeleine cakes and sweets she bought when she raided Tokyo Disneyland Gift Store. Wonderful!

Dates & DVDs

Watched 50 First Dates at Pyramid last Moday and collected my DVDs from Ken. Adam Sandler plays a man who falls in love with Lucy (Drew Barrymore), a woman with short-term memory loss. Therefore, Lucy never remembers Sandler and this proves to be a pain for him as he always has to gain her back every day. Sean Austin looks completely different from the fat and meek Frodo-worshipping Samwise Gamgee in LOTR. He plays a trim and fit steroid-taking brother of Lucy, complete with twitching chest muscles. Wonder what he eats. I never liked Rob Schneider before but in this movie, he is a riot as Ula, Adam’s sidekick. The walruses and penguin add the fun cutesy animal factor to the movie. Don’t miss this one. Some new DVD for my viewing pleasure. Sxx and the City (Complete Season 4 & 5), Infernal Affair 1, 2 & 3, Golden Chicken 2, Running on Karma, Irreversible (Monica Belluci), Something’s Gotta Give, Kill Bill Vol. 1, 2Fast 2Furious, The Hulk, Down With Love, City of God, The Girlie Show and BabyFace Video Collection.

Thunder and Hail Storm

I am stuck in the office. I should either at the gym, sweating it out or at home, slumming on the couch watching DVD. The girls in the office (and the she boss too) were excited, shrieking like they have discovered orgasm when they saw some ice bits on the ground. It rained solid ice just now. Just a few second. I heard the roof was bombarded with kacang. They were not big ice cubes. Just as big as M&M, except that they melt in my hand. Now it is still pouring outside. The weather is a bit peculiar nowadays. It never fail to rain at 5:00pm. Not at 3:00pm when I am still in the office, having my afternoon teabreak with Mrs. Pang's kuih. Not at 8:00pm when I will be at home, slumming on the couch watching the 8:00 o'clock news. It HAS to be at 5:00pm when I am getting ready to pack my stuff and leave the office. Why? I don't know. Must be some kind of forces that try to keep me in the office....... The rain has subsided. Just received an SMS from a friend who just got back from Penang, with my DVDs. I sent him a list of DVDs that I wanted him to buy in Penang. They are slightly cheaper there and quality is assured since my friend is a regular customer. Hmmm...will write about that next. Gotta go now. Bye.

The Eye on Magazines

It’s Monday again. Five more days to the weekend again. Last weekend was a movie weekend. Watched midnight show of THE EYE 2 in TGV Pyramid. Was not as scary as the first one but nonetheless creepy. A new interpretation of reincarnation process. The spirit has to float into the pregnant mother’s birth canal (they did that in slow-mo) when she is ready to go into labour. This would freak all the would-be mothers out there. Woke up about 6:15 am on Saturday morning. Almost overslept if not for the call from Amelia. As schedule, Lai picked us up at Project before setting of for another adventure in Batu Caves. This will be our first training session for Mount Kinabalu climb next month. There was a jam on the LDP near Westen Digital, pretty odd for a Saturday morning. Saw a motorcyclist sprawled in a pool of blood on the roadside. That explained it. Choy! Choy! Arrived in Batu Caves about 7:30 pm. There were many devotees around. Praying and walking shoeless up the caves. The stairs (272 of them) didn’t appear to be intimidating from afar. But after several rounds of ascend and descends, my knees started to turn wobbly. My quads shook as I trotted down the stairs. Not easy at all. Should have done some warm up before shooting up the stairs. There is still a tight pull on my calf even after two days of rest. Sigh….Hope next week’s climb will be better. Went to KLCC for lunch with a friend. Watched THE GATHERING at TGV KLCC. Couldn’t get tickets for Scooby Doo 2 or 50 First Dates. It was a slow paced horror flick stars Christina Ricci. It was OK. Nothing spectacular. Watch it only when you have nothing else to watch. Dropped by at S&M shopping mall on my way back. It’s the place I go for cheap local original VCD and DVD. Bought 2 DVDs – Dinotopia (Hallmark Series) & Dark Water (a must watch Japanese Horror flick, from the creator of The Ring) and a Thai VCD about a Muay Thai warrior. Sunday was a relaxing day. My right calf was still bothering me. Have to walk with a limp. Kevin came by to collect the Janet Jackson's Damita Joe promo disc and passed me some of his DVDs (Fantasia, Zoolander, Phone Booth, Thelma & Louise, Janet Live in Hawaii, Battlestar Galactica- The Movie). Went for a swim at my gym and joined the yoga class. Stuck at Wisma Thrifty PJ due to heavy rain. Went shopping at Pyramid. Spent an hour browsing in MPH bookstore. Came a cross a magazine called Ah Moi, targeting singles in Malaysia. Bought a copy. It was quite interesting to know that many singles out there are like me who enjoy their own company and will not succumb to the nuptial traps. This mag will be placed on my subscription list. Other magazines that I enjoy reading tremendously: V Mag – This is the best magazine in the world. I cannot find a magazine with freebies (Starbuck Coffee, Nando Chicken) inside that cost more than the magazine itself. The ultimate magazine for all the Kiasus. Different colourful theme every month. Men’s Health – A macho mag with great health tips and great colour pictures on how to work that body! Feng Shui World – What else but Feng Shui. Get the latest flying stars charts on the month to know what are my affliction and lucky sectors. Where do display my three legged toad, gold ingots, dragon tortoise or crystal balls. Runner’s World – expensive (RM20.90) but worth it. Everything about running. Tips, diet, stories, shoes, gears etc. Must read for people who dare to call themselves runners.

Something's Gotta Snog

Two weeks after the marathon. My feet were still a little sore. Had a whole meal Nutella sandwich with a cup of coffee for fuel. There was nothing spectacular. Timing 1 hr 13 minutes. Could have been better. The lucky draw event dragged too long. We were baked under the sun waiting for the the numbers to be called out. They could have drawn the consolation prizes number randomly earlier and then publish the number at the notice board. It would save everyone a lot of time. Gale won a Nestle hamper. Glad to help this old lady to carry her hamper back from Dataran Merdeka to Bukit Aman car park. She said she was going to donate the hamper to a home for spastic children. Went to KLCC to buy a copy of Josh Groban live VCDs + CD (It’s a good value buy at 13.90). Also grabbed a copy of More Music From Coyote Ugly at the same price. Watched Something’s Gotta Give (starring Diane Keaton, Jack Nicholson & Keanu Reeve) at MidValley. Here’s a brief summary - Young Girl snogged Old Man. Old man had a heart attack. Old Woman CPRed Old Man. Young Man Doctor treated Old Man. Young Man Doctor fancied Old Woman. Old Man saw Old Woman naked. Old Man snogged Old Woman.Old Woman snogged Old Man back. Old Woman saw Old Man with another Young Girl. Old Woman left Old Man. Old Woman snogged Young Man. Old Man left Old Woman with Young Man. At the end, Old Man get to snog Old Woman again. I think that’s about it. Ahaks!

Running in the Neighbourhood

Did a short run at the PJS Lake. The place was crowded with people. Screaming little kiddies were playing at the swings and slides. The Malay boys were playing football. Chinese boys were playing basketball. Many just sat around and watched the world went by. I was panting away at the jogging track, trying very hard not to knock over the little boy in his tricycle and that fat couple who thought they own the track. My feet are still sore after 2 weeks of rest. I hope the soreness will go away this weekend as I will be tackling POWER run - a 10km run at Dataran Merdeka. 2 more months for the Penang International Bridge Run...

Alive and Kicking

I was pleasantly surprised when a blonde, fit instructor took over the kickboxing class yesterday evening. Sylvia from Germany she introduced herself. Trained under Billy Blanks – A Hollywood Fitness Guru known for his trademarked Tae Bo. I got a few fitness VCDs of his, gathering dust on my shelf. Sylvia was one energetic mama. Her class was ass-kicking fast, sprinkled with some nifty punching and kicking moves. Great throbbing club music too. Felt like sweating it up in da club. She was an instant hit among us. One of the fun yet intense exercises so far. I had to mop the floor due to puddle of sweat during the second half of the session. Achtung!! Been doing kickboxing every Wednesday evening for the past 2 years now. When I first started, C (a short but muscular guy) was teaching. He was a good instructor. Very systematic and balanced in term working out the arms (punch, hook and uppercut) and legs (kick). Class was very intense. I normally skipped any training on the treadmill or bicycle to avoid being burned out by second half of his class. One downer was his music – same tracks week after week. Sweat factor = 9. K took over from C when C left for China. I love the way K trained too. Like C, his class was fast-paced and intense. His floor session was brutal. How those ladies can follow him is absolutely unbelievable. Sweat factor: 8 K has been missing in action since last month. A took over. Jack of all trade. He also does Step class. His class was less intense and not adventurous in teaching new moves. Quite boring actually. But I still continue by putting on gloves with weight and ankle weights to intensify the session. Sometimes, the steps were out of beat. Not much attention was paid to the music. He just played whatever available in the CD changer. Sweat Factor: 5 Sylvia. New Instructor. Sweat factor=9.5. I hope I will see her again next week. Achtung!!

Boom Box

Went shopping at MidValley after work. Supposed to meet Alex for dinner but he had some "emergency" at work. Tower records is having sales. Yippee! 10% Storewide! Bought No Doubt's Boom Box - A Limited Edition (I love the sound of this...repeat Limited Edition...) Box Set that comes with 2CDs and 2DVDs. 1 greatest hits CD (1992-2003), 1 rare and remixed CD, 1 greatest hits videos DVD and 1 live in Tragic Kingdom DVD. All for RM 120.90 with 10% discount. Very good buy. One downer though..I don't have a DVD player yet. :) ...Decide to grabs some other CDs on sale. Picked up Ning Baizura, critically acclaimed Selagi Ada Ning CD. Her best album yet. Sheila Majid's old album Ratu was in my shopping bag too. One of my favourite Malay divas. Great album - laid-back, jazzy and smooth. Can't believe my eyes when I saw Alejandro Sanz's Unplugged album was going for RM13.50 among other bargain bin materials like Sammi Cheng and Aaron Kok CDs. Grabbed it without hesitation. Picked up Luther Vandross' Dance With My Father, Anuar Zain 1998-2002 CDs and an old Aussie VCD- Muriel's Wedding on my way to the cashier...smiling. I love CD shopping!!

Three-legged Toad

It's been awhile since I last blog. Been busy with work and training for my marathon. Trained at Bukit Aman area last weekend. Just a 10km. A leisurely run. Went to Amcorp Mall flea market to look for second hand CDs after the run. Bought a three-legged toad from one of the stall. "New design, just arrived yesterday" told the saleswoman. The toad is three legged, sitting on three tortoises on gold coins and ingots. I will place it diagonally to my main door, facing in. Symbolically, it is bringing wealth (this toad is holding a gold coin in his mouth) into my house (well..according to Lillian Too anyway). Money come....Money come.... Bought a remixed CD of Deborah Cox from Mind Shop in Bandar Utama. A very dancey album with soulful vocal. Love her powerful pipes. Contemplating to buy her "Morning After" CD... Did a 30km the week before. I have never run that long a distance before. Made it in about 3hours and 45min. Could have been better. I figure at this pace, I could finish the marathon within 6 hours if I were to walk the last 12km. Positive thoughts! Positive thoughts! My aim is to finish the marathon without killing myself in the process.