Running 10km

I'm still surprised that I managed to finish the 10km category of the Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2009! And to do it all in just under 1 hr 26 mins is a BIG accomplishment for me! For one who has never had any interest in any form of sports before... and the only thing which resembles exercise was the time when I was staying in my hostel in UM and without any form of transportation to the Faculty of Science, I was forced to walk for around 10 - 15 minutes to attend classes (which after some time, people did say that I lost some weight).

Below is the route map of the race. The category I participated in is pictured in turquoise blue.


Although my position is the 717th, at least I managed to finish the run within the qualifying time, which is 1hr 30mins. In view with how I'm such a sedentary creature, you may be asking (along with quite a number of others), how on Earth did I get myself into joining such an activity? The story began about 10 weeks before the event. ML had asked me whether I'd like to join the KL Marathon with her (this was a few weeks before), but I had procrastinated in making up my mind... then came the deadline for early bird sign-ups... and I made a snap decision to join in the fun! ML entered my registration in the nick of time... in fact, she had a glitch and we thought that I didn't make it for the early bird sign-ups... but we did! and so, we were left with 10 weeks to prepare our bodies for the challenge.

Initially we had worked out a schedule to train once every week. However, eventually we had to do our training on our own as work commitments and weather fluctuations came in the way. So I had to find training buddies, of which most of them were one-time jogging partners. The only loyal jogging partner I had was Zack! He served as my protection and a cute over-enthusiastic four-legged running partner on a leash... The only downside was the fact that Shah Alam was really hazy and Zack got tired out after 2 rounds around the playground.

Surprisingly, mum accompanied me quite a number of times at the ttdi park. Those were good times - when we both had the motivation to go to the park.

Then came the big day. We took the LRT to Masjid Jamek. The whole train was packed with runners, most of them wearing the official marathon singlet. I was one of the very few who wore long sweat pants! (I'm a bit shy of showing my legs... and I don't have any shorts! hehe)

The 10km runners started at 7am. There was a sea of runners and we had to go slowly at first. Later the crowd dispersed as each runner jogged to their own pace. Surprisingly, we managed to jog most of the way - I'd say around 75% of the route. There were a few water and 100 plus stops, but we only stopped for a small paper cup of 100 plus. This wasn't a wise choice, as I felt abit uneasy after drinking it. I think it was due to the carbonation.

In the later leg of the run, ML and I separated (as I was wearing out! hahaha). I must say that my iPod really helped motivate me to push on! Thanks to the Raconteurs, the Darkness and Jamiroquai!!! Kept me in pace.

ML finished way ahead of me (more than 5 mins difference, i think). I was really tired when I saw that I was approaching Dataran Merdeka... that spurred me on to jog the last leg... and as a result, I looked very dorky in the videos that were taken of the runners.

After the race, we followed ML's colleagues to replenish our fat stores - dim sum in Damansara Jaya. Ironic way of ending a day of intense exercise. ML was saying that when body fat is burnt, the first fat store to go is from the breast area; and when she said that, I was thinking "oh no, I can't afford a reduction there! And to think that I'd been diligently eating papayas (ML had told me this before) in the hopes of enhancing a certain anatomy" (hahaha... the real reason was because mom had an obsessive fit of buying papayas)... oh well, it's not like I actually notice any positive or negative development occurring there! haha

A funny thing occurred when we went home and slept off our exhaustion. I woke up with a sore throat, so did ML. I was really worried I'd caught the Influenza A(H1N1), being the paranoid person that I am, since we were in a highly crowded area all morning! Thankfully, it turned out not to be so.

Making A Resolution

I'm back to my little self promises that I make to myself. This time it is to read the Holy Bible (as much as possible, I dare not challenge myself to set a goal of completing it!). The 'soft start' began late last week after I obtained a pdf version of the Bible. I say 'soft start' because at that time, I hadn't thought of committing part of my day to the reading. I had only decided to seriously start reading regularly over the weekend, when I realised that I'll be missing church service for about 2 months.

Why am I recording this in my blog post? I'm taking this as a form of 'black & white' proof to hold myself accountable to this 'self promise' I'm making. Somehow a promise always carry more weight when it is recorded down and is witnessed by more than one person. I tend to value it and honour the promise made.

However, in true tradition of SM, before the hatchling can take off, I've already broken my promise! I did not bring back my laptop today, and so I'm missing a reading session supposedly scheduled for now. I hope I can make up for it tomorrow.

Oh, the reason I did not bring my laptop home was because I went to watch a free screening of Confessions of a Shopaholic! It was good! Can you imagine how outdated I am! Oh, and again, today I realised how sometimes things just work out the way it does... although you may percieve it as something negative at first... there's always a reason for things to turn out the way it does if you look hard enough! :)

Short Post

I've always seen how some bloggers put up one line posts... and then I think of my blog posts... *reader thinks: When will this post end!?!* So here goes my short post...

I've recently noticed that I tell people way too much stuff about myself. I've got to stop giving out free information before it comes back and bite me in the butt. Time to clam up! Since I find it so hard to lie, I've got to learn how to evade questions which I don't want to answer.

The Weirdest Thing

Something weird just happened. I was reorganising the files on my desktop, thinking of putting the pdf version of the Holy Bible on it for easy access. For the record, the pdf file is inside a folder on my desktop.

I had clicked a different folder and upon realising my mistake, I closed it. Then the Holy Bible pdf file launched by itself! I was puzzled. I minimised it, mentally noting to read a few lines later. However, after springcleaning my desktop, I could not find the minimised pdf file on my task bar! It had closed all by itself...

Extraordinary occurrence or computing mistake? I'll never know.

I'm Sleepy

Why am I always sleepy when reading news? Maybe I:

1. ate too much carbs during meal times.
2. don't have enough sleep.
3. bored with reading news.
4. don't have enough oxygen (due to bad ventilation in the office?).
5. don't have enough people interactions
6. lack praise & worship songs (funny thing, they do actually wake me up!)

Reacting To People

In continuation to my "Self Sabotage" post, I will now elaborate what effects certain people have on me. I don't know what causes me to react the way I react, but it just happens.

When I'm around knowledgeable people, I become dumb. I will ask the most basic questions which will get them talking. Then I will be agreeable and slip in little bits of my opinion here and there.

When I'm around smart alecs, I listen half-heartedly and point out their errors. If I'm in a good mood, I'll be agreeable and entertain them with questions probing for more information.

When I'm around goody-two-shoes people, I try my best to be a badass (which sometimes I go overboard with). I don't know why I keep trying to prove that I'm such an unsuitable friend to these people.

When I'm around badass people, I try not to sound too nerdy but always end up sounding like one without even trying.

When I'm around people who practice speaking good English, I do so too. Proper punctuation and grammar and spellings.

When I'm around Manglish speakers, my England becomes powderful!

When I'm around foreigners, my 'lah', 'meh', 'hor', 'wat' pours out unbidden.

When In Doubt

When in doubt, always remember to conduct a self assessment of the situation. Ask/Tell yourself:

1. Has there been any conflicting occurences?
2. Are you reading more than necessary into a particular situation?
3. What is the basis of your initial assumption?
4. Reassess every detail, weighing the positive and negative implications and deciding on the most logical option
5. Practise being a skeptic
6. How would a 'person outside looking through the window' perceive the situation?
7. Perhaps you are the one complicating the matter?

Only then can you make an assumption on what the situation is all about! :)

Scratching the Itch

Why do I keep wanting to blog? Even when I have nothing to blog about! I guess this is what we call 'getting bitten by the blogging bug' - as mentioned in an earlier post. The ironic thing is that before this, there were many a times when this blog has had its drought season, sometimes spanning up to several months of inactivity! (which probably only I noticed). And then revived/resurrected from its virtual grave. (ah, isn't this a common phrase used here)

So, I started on this post earlier in the day - thinking that I would blog on the music I was listening to, Andrea Bocelli. Although I have something else on my mind, I think I will blog a little about music. I'm in the mood of collecting a diverse collection of music on my iPod. So currently I have pop, jazz, funk, rock, disco, classical, opera, pop rock, gospel, swing, progressive rock, country, folk, chinese, bhangra, R&B, world, glam rock, bossa nova, alternative, Brit rock, singer songwriter, latin, dance, blues, acid jazz, big band... next on my list is raiding LK's room for progressive rock.

Now, to the issue I had on mind. Today's lunch was a bit disturbing. I was the butt of the jokes. Thinking back, maybe I should have skipped it. Since I'd already predicted that 'someone' would fire all sorts of jokes about pairing me up with a 'certain person', whom we were celebrating his birthday. The worrying thing is that the jokes are becoming more degrading and suggestive, to a point where I feel uncomfortable. Most of the time, all I can do is look away, politely fake a smile or shake my head. Occasionally I would speak back, but that more than not always backfires. As usual, I'm always choosing the wrong words to say... giving a leeway for a brand new avenue of crude jokes.

Maybe I'm just being petty. I don't know what would be the appropriate actions to take in order to alleviate myself from this 'torture'. I've thought of quietly confronting this 'someone' about my discomfort of the issue, but thought better not to take such hasty actions that could jeopardise my future. Perhaps when I am on better terms with the 'certain person', I could voice out this issue and see whether he feels the same. However I doubt that he is as uneasy as I am, as he's probably gotten used to being treated as such over the years.

All I can do is pray that the 'someone' will realise his folly and quit putting me in a spot.

Prayer Answered

I prayed for a sign
A sign He did grant me
I was not looking out for it
But the sign came in His timing
It was sudden, subtle and surprising
Left me with a little melancholy and wistfulness
Nevertheless, relieve and peace of mind washed over
It's funny how clear and silly things seem now in hindsight
How the mind complicates matters
Tricking itself into believing in the non-existent
But now all is clear and I can be myself again
Thanking God that this time, I thought before I spoke
Choosing to wait instead of blindly barging into things
Perhaps it was all in His plan
And now I can breath easy
Enjoying what comes my way!

Photos I Took When I Had Nothing Better To Do!

Yes, the blogging bug has really bit me this time. I'm back with another post. And this time, it involves uploading photos!!! (That's quite a rare occasion on this blog - author is just too lazy to take photos and transfer them to her laptop and upload them on a lousy Streamyx connection!).


This, I took on Friday. I was waiting for the traffic light to turn green, and this is what I saw in front of me - a trailer carrying OLD cars! I'm guessing these cars were the result of the government's recent (this year) policy of providing a RM5,000 rebate for car owners of 'more than 10 years old but in good condition' cars who chose to upgrade to a new locally-made car.


This, I took on Thursday. It's called Bamboo Cooler (from The Zoo in SS15). It has 'biji selasih' and cucumber shreds in it, which kind of reminded me of a pond with some tall grass-looking plants and frog eggs nestling in between the blade (Let it be known that I'm not trying to sound disgusting). The taste was ok - slightly sweet pandan flavoured drink. But it served its purpose of cooling my tongue down after the spicy Peanut Hunt mee.


This, I took last week while driving to work. The roads were pretty clear due to the school holidays (and me leaving home later than usual). It is not a common sight to see helicopter practice sessions around this area. However I saw this for 2-3 days - a bigger flying machine (mama helicopter) followed by 5 smaller helicopters in a straight line cruising the skies.


This I took while waiting in line to pay the toll on my way to office. Yes, I kind of look everywhere while waiting in my car (besides singing Hillsong songs loudly to myself!). The birds just love to perch on the roof of the toll collection booths! There are 12 here in this picture. There were more before, but I was too slow to capture those shots!


This, I took while I was too bored waiting for my lunch order. Love in a napkin. Love is all around! (haha, I don't believe that... at least for my case la!)


Ah, this I took quite a while ago while driving home after work! I'm not sure whether the sign is still up (at this time). I guess the project is not such a "prestigious" one after all! haha... My colleague was telling me to send this photo to Emkay, notifying them of their typo error (to avoid their further humiliation) but I'm not one to do that... so, the photo just rested in my hp for many months!


This photo of a mange cat with a mouse in his mouth was taken at a restaurant near my office. I did not notice it until my colleague was squeeling with irk at the sight! hahaha... that feline was just walking coolly and calmly with a dead rodent in its jaws (in an eatery, mind you!)


This is the grouper fish Mum was preparing for sweet and sour fish! When spread out like this, it's eyes look so crossed and angry, while the lips look like a blubber butt KPC (kay po chi) lips! On the other hand, the completed dish was great! Yummy!


Here is one with Zack feeling too cold. It's funny how he knows how to do such things. I mean, where did he learn to hide under the sofa's throw rug and how did her figure out how to push open a door!?!


This one was taken ages ago! The cat was my aunt's neighbour's cat and it wore a talisman! Kind of freaky (to me)! But it was so playful - did not mind mom toeing it! hahaha (Disclaimer: no animal mistreatment occurred before, during or after capturing this photo)

Wiry Mess On My Desk

This here is a snapshot of my desk, taken last week. I don't have much on my table but this mess of cables are unavoidable daily messes which I clear up at the end of each day. As you can see, there are 6 different cables here - phone cable, telephone receiver cable, laptop power cord, LAN cable, mouse cable and iPod earphones!

Although it doesn't look it, my desk is the neatest in the office! hahaha Believe it or not!

P.S: I have caught the blogging bug again. I started out (with the previous post) as a means of therapy to simmer away my negative emotions which had been building up since last night (one poor person sensed a bit of my snappiness while I was composing the post, I had to apologise... haha). Oh, and I discovered I don't need to type out rants to feel better, I just need to focus on writing and eventually feel much better! Aahhh, blogging therapy for dissipating anger!

Say A Little Prayer

Today I shall try to compose a happy post (although my heart doesn't feel like it). So... let's see... what happy things should I blog about today?

I guess the happiest thing lately is meeting up with the girls (hyperactive chatterboxes)! It was wonderful to have 3 meet ups with different members of the clique within a time frame of a month or so. Somehow, I always feel refreshed after meeting them. And then I realise how much I miss them and how diverse a group we actually are! I pray that we will remain in contact until our grey hairs outnumber our black hairs and when all we talk about would be our grand kids and not our crushes (like now)!

Thinking back, I thank God for putting me in a Shah Alam school among God-fearing friends. You may say what you like about Shah Alam schools, but the fact is that it was a good environment for us to grow up in. All of us turned out alright! And the best part is that we have become a support group for each other, although we were at one time scattered all over the globe! Soon we'll be spread out in 3 different countries!

So here's a little prayer for our little group, the Hyperactive Chatterboxes:

Dear Lord,
Thank You for blessing me with the opportunity of knowing each and every member of our clique. And although some of us are of different faiths and beliefs, I'm in awe at how You have enabled us to set aside our differences and turned us into an emotional and, in many occasions, spiritual support system for each other!
I pray, Father, that You may continue to bless each one of us with joy in our lives, spiritual wisdom in our daily ins-and-outs, safety wherever we may land, success in all our endeavours and find favour with the people whom we happen to cross paths with!
In Jesus' name I pray,
Amen.

Self Sabotage

I don't know why sometimes I say the bizarre-est things. Things that would get me into trouble. Things that would make people misinterpret me. Things that would expose my vulnerable points. Things that I don't mean to but just blurt them out for the sake of creating a scandalous effect on the recipient.

There's just something about some people that makes me always try finding things to say that would challenge their opinion of me. And the worst part is that sometimes these things that I say do not reflect the true me.

It is rather interesting how we humans always want to go against the flow. You say "up", I say "down". And why do we say such things? Just for the heck of it! It's that innate stubbornness that we are born with... from the most innocent of babies to the most guilty of convicts. It gives us a drive to excel, to reach for the unattainable... or it could be our destruction (such as in my case). Therefore, thanks to my mouth, I can start saying goodbye to a couple of opportunities! Goodbye! Au revoir! Farewell!

P.S: This has nothing to do with this post, it's what you could call a 'live feed'. I just got aggravated by some incident. And all I can say is, "I don't know why I need to pay for the petrol for OTHER people to run errands and go dating (when I don't even like the recipient person)!" and the crap part about it is that I can't breathe a word about the matter... because well that could cause a massive rupture and there'll be no peace here. So yet again, it is here that I shall channel my disappointment and dissatisfaction over the situation. This therapy does work; my head was pulsating a couple of minutes ago... but now I'm feeling fairly fine (thinking: I shall take my revenge another day... muahahaha).