Knocked off

I dont feel well today. In fact, it all started last nite. Panas semacam.

Planned to ride this morning. Blarhh. Sahur pun tak terbangun. When I woke up, its like ada batu in my head. Shit. Sakit some other time la.

Gotta rest a bit today. Baca lagi!

Tuesday

Got my lazy ass cycling this morning. Went to Melawati and back. And guess who else was exercising. Angah, Grunge's lil sis. Haha. Woi jalan-jalan tak aci la!

Made a mistake by going out at 7. Orang berduyun-duyun drove to work. And to make life harder for me, every inch of the road diorang nak pakai. Come on la, leave some for bike and motorbike to menyelit. But seeing the look on their faces (the drivers) when i zoomed pass them on my bike, was absolutely priceless.
"Hoi, harga minyak dah naik and I'm faster than you--at times!"
Macam la aku kayuh laju sangat...

******

To the pakcik who doesnt eat rendang minang because its not 'melayu', fak off la! Minang osso rumpun melayu la you ignorant pisshead!

********

To Faris Al-Sultan who just won the Ironman Championship last Saturday, watchout for this kid.

Hopefully he'll turn out to be a good kid. Baca lagi!

Dark, wet and slippery.

Dont get any ideas. Its our bike ride yesterday night. We, me; Azwar; Ajeep and Julian, went for a long ride at Putrajaya. The heavy rain before did not deter the four of us from doing a 90k ride (I did only 60 of it), although it subsided to a drizzle just before we head off. Supposedly start at 10pm, but thanks to me, we were off at around 10:30.

According to Azwar, its just an easy ride. Yeah, of course it is. But the bump in mileage for me is almost a tad too much to handle. You see, the longest i've ever ridden before was 40k. Now, after a considerably long layoff, 60k seems almost too much. And being a bit busy during the day is not helping at all. Ahh, I'm just whining. Woi! But I managed to do it nevertheless. Semangat Ironman! heheh..

It was, pure fun. The feeling of spinning the pedal on every climb, at night, after rain was simply orgasmic. Ok, I'm maybe strecthing it too far -- but it was good, even there were at times my legs are killing me.

After the ride, I've concluded that I'm not at my best condition, ever. This time last year, I was preparing for Singapore Marathon and I can still do interval runs during the day. This time around, kaput. Bongok. Buduh dush! dush!

Click the pix to see 4 orang gile kayuh di Putrajaya sampai pukul 3:30 pagi courtesy of Kuda Belang:

**************

I've changed my tube twice today. Gilo. And this is my first time ever changing a bike tube. Tukar tube motor pernah la. And using my kepakaran menukar tiub motor, I managed to puncture one with my tools. Hahah.. eh, there's always the first one kan? I'm soo gonna buy another spare tomorrow. And apsal kena tukar tube at the first place? Because I ferociously pumped my tyre till the presta valve bent and broke. Hahaha again. Tu la dia akibat semangat sangat. But thanks to Azwar, Ajeep n Jules for the ride last night. It was such a motivation. Baca lagi!

Kona, Hawaii.

This is the view of Ironman Village in Kona, where hundreds of participants of the 2005 Ironman World Championship will wait for the starting gun approximately 4 days from now. Ironman Hawaii is regarded as the Holy Grail of Ironman, in which Ironman is regarded by some as the mother of endurance sport.

And hell, they're having a blast out there! The picture above, taken during Ironman Parade recently, shows that you can always have fun before tormenting yourself over 10 hours of endurance activity.


As for me, I want to do my Ironman in Kona someday. Kona, its like the Mecca for Ironman. How bad do I want to go there? As much as I want to go to Mecca itself. I will probably compete in Langkawi Ironman 2 years from now. Hey, you gotta start somewhere, rite? You gotta live your life to the fullest. When you've reach a certain point in your life, you'll be asking, "What's next?". So, what is life after Ironman? I dunno. Ask me later. I'm not there yet. I still have a long way to go.

What is Ironman? It's not just a sport which consist of 3.8km swim, 180km bike and 42km run. Its a display of courage, determination and passion of mere mortals. I shed some tears watching last year's Ironman. Young; elderly; mothers; fathers; teachers; doctors; those who aren't so lucky that their bike broke; physically challanged people; those doing it for fundraising, crossing the finish line after giving what they've got. These people arent pro's. They're just like you and me. At the beginning of the race, they are recognised by their numbers. But do they want it to stay that way at the end of the day? No, they want to be known as an Ironman.


ps: Azwar, im going to hold on to your words! Baca lagi!

Good morning teacher!

Do you remember the one teacher or lecturer that everytime he(or she, i just malas to type) teaches, everything that came out of his mouth sounds meaningless to you? Or the one that bore you to death everytime he's holding the mic? Well maybe, just maybe these teachers need some refresher course on how to teach.

I once had a lecturer who seemingly talks to himself in front of the crowd. How boring this dude was. I think he still is. And not surprising, my grades for his papers arent that good. Ok la, there are those who made good grades but his effect on his teaching to me is ziltch. Nada. Zero. Lepas kelas dia aku pegi library cari his buku rujukan and read. Thats it. Oh yea, I once confronted him and asked what can I do by learning this? (It was on the subject of media power) I cannot fight the system? And he goes "its not what you can do about the system. OK?" But I still stood there waiting for a definite answer. He doesnt look like giving one. Oi, reach out la brader. Your student is in dire need of knowledge here!! After that, I never asked him another question again.

Anyway, an authoritative figure in education once said that education should not be exam oriented. So memang aku tak kisah sangat. Hahah. But this sort of teachers, they should be given a wake up call la. Jangan ingat nak jadi lecturer so dapat geran buat research and other stuff, balik awal so boleh tengok telenovela kat tv, till teaching becomes secondary. Anak murid ko tidur kat blakang lecture hall mesti ada sebab. Reach out to the masses. The masses are students. Ini tak. Bukak OHP, explain lebih kurang and then ask, "semua faham?" Faham la for about 20 minutes. After that kaput.

I never stop learning. Never want to. To be in the know is very the best. hahah. But the more you know, the more you dont know. Haa. Think bout it. Baca lagi!

Of bargaining and killer traffic.

I noticed that kl-ites like to bargain even for food. What, bargaining for food? Well maybe its odd to me but to them its a norm. But then again, Ive never bargained for food. "Pakcik, nasik goreng tu singgit boleh-lah". adake?
Of coz bargaining is good in business. But bargain la benda lain. Tikar ke. Kereta ke. Kasut ke. Ini makanan. Perluke? Yes i know that prices have gone up the roof but your pay is still the same. But heck, this is what you eat. Be thankful you can have it.

*******

Come bulan posa, people are lining up to get out of their office as early as possible. This is of course for a number of reasons.

1. trying to get home early.
2. trying to beat the traffic.
3. trying to beat the other person who tries to beat the traffic.
4. they dont like to work.
   

Oh for gods sake, its a vicious cycle lah! No wonder ramai yang buka posa in the car (possibly by picking their noses, haha!) with a ciggie. Lepas tu marah-marah sebab jam. Oi orang lain pun posa jugak la! And not forgetting our non-muslim frens, even they took the opportunity to cabut awal. So try to avoid being a blardy bastard on the road, ya. And bawak bekal kurma next time. Korek idung is not a nice view la.

*********

Got my dose of stimulants yesterday. Yeah Im on drugs. Got it along ulu klang rd. Yes, i did a bike ride. I went off at about 730am while thinking that not many traffic yet. Rupanya makan asap. Lorries and pesky 2-stroke bikes (i once own a 2-strokey, dual exhaust!) giving me a flavourful of smog. Flavourful cos their 2-stroke oil tend to be fragrant (Shell VSX smells the best!).Nonetheless, it was a slow and easy ride. But people along the couldnt help giving me the look, especially at melawati. Yes its the look "tak puasa ke budak ni?". Biasa la tu, when you dont conform with others, you will be regarded as weird. Aah pegi mampus dengan ko punya look.

Supposedly today i have a ride with Azwar and Ajeep and Jules at putrajaya. But since hujan yang amat best pagi tadi, i decided that tido lagi best la oi! hahah. Korang pegi ke tak tadi? Hopefully lain kali boleh ikut up to 60k. Maklum la, saya naik basikal kicap jek. Baca lagi!

Hyponatermia

Breaking fast yesterday, consists of a shitload of sweet cincau drink and a piece of kuih. Thats it. Too tired to think about food.

Got home, guzzled more water in the form of air tebu which i got half a jug for free, a piece of kuih bantal peluk and some plain water.
I cant remember whats the color of my piss.
No, I'm not suffering from hyponatermia but the idea of having it somehow flashed into my mind. Sort of poisoning yourself from an unpoisonous substance, eh? Stay away them water bottles from me.

This morning, skipped sahur coz too tired (and devestated?) to wake up. So its another endurance test today.

******

I think I'm catatonic lately.
Wow, isnt it good to know that youre about to go crazy, and youre aware of it?

******

A lite n easy bike ride planned for this Sunday. Azwar, Ajeep and some penguins will join. An easy 60k of Putrajaya, according to them. If I were to do a 60k, sure tak posa punya!
Maybe this is just what I need. Maybe I'll join.

*****

After some apologies have been made, I felt better. Dunno whether apologies accepted or not. Come on, forgive this crazy fart this time eh? Baca lagi!

Argh...what a headache. Maybe its too hot today.
Or perhaps ive been sitting too long in front of the monitor.
What to do, duit beb.

...buckle up straight Jack,

sanity is such a drag,

jelly bean, thorazine,
trancedental jet lag,
sanity, I ain't gotta,
feeling like a Pinata,
sucker punch-blowin lunch,
motherload-pigeonholed,
I'm feeling like I'm gonna explode...

-Aerosmith

Baca lagi!

What a shock!

Imagine 240V of electric passes thru your body for about two seconds. Scary huh? I just got electrocuted. Now, two burn marks are left at my right pointy finger.
Mujur tak mati.
Lampu punya pasal, I nearly become roast of the day. Guys, if you happen to change lightbulbs, please remember to turn off the switch.
Actually, I would have remembered to turn it off. But the whole lighting setup was shattered to pieces coz of some no good screws that holds it. So jatuh berderai ler. Sebab terkezut lampu hancus, lupa tutup suis.
Phew.
I guess my time hasn't come yet.
Maybe for some good reasons. Baca lagi!

What a year

I guess this is it. With Powerman behind our backs, I guess the year has ended, at least for me. Wont be going to Singapore this year I think.

Next year, I guess i can focus on few races (especially duathlon) and maybe, just maybe squeeze in a marathon and a triathlon. PD was definitely a great experience.

More running to be done after raya, more fats to be burned of coz. Perhaps new equipments along the way. Hehe..a new multisport jersey would be nice, eh? Siapa nak sponsor suit Quintana Roo sila email saya ye! Baca lagi!

Happy Birthday!

Happy 25th birthday to you!

ps: org yg dalam gambar ni jgn perasan comel plak ek! hehe..

Baca lagi!

Power, power, Powerman!

This Kenyan dude came in transition first

Dino

Wong Ah Thiam. Sorang pun tak layan aku kat kedai dia.

Shahrom (far right). Aku rack bike aku sebelah dia kat PD dulu. hehe..

Not forgetting, Azwar the Zebra man. Despite injury, you go man!


Checkout those Zipp wheels.

I went. But I didnt participate. No training. Plus, its Poweman la. OK. Not some weekend 10k race. I just went to support some people and enjoy the excitement of multi-sport life. For more info, checkout www.powerman.com.my Baca lagi!

Next month

tak tau apa nak tulis. tak ada apa untuk dibaca. 'Dibaca' bukan 'di baca' kerana 'baca' tidak menunjukkan masa atau tempat.

I will be looking forward to the coming Ramadhan because of two things. One, because its Ramadhan la. Second, because some other important thing. Could be the breakthrough thats needed.

Do you know that you can train your mind to feel happy? Some neuroscientist did a research on a sami buddha to see the level of happiness of a monk. You know la sami buddha, they are filled with compassion and what not. Bukan macam kita ni. Orang potong queue ko dah nak mengamuk. Kena tegur sikit dah melenting. Pukul. Bunuh. Santau. Haih. Neway, looks like those sami buddha wont be needing any prozac if confronted with problems. just, meditate. Omitaufan. or sumthin like that. Maybe I should train my puny brain more often.

On another note, having not exercise regularly for the past God-knows-how-many-weeks, I think i've very low levels of endorphine. too much cortisol is overwhelming my bloodstream. hmm..boleh kena kanser nih. Thats the beauty of exercise. It makes u feel good about urself. Which I dont currently. Baca lagi!

the ethereal me

ok, now im taking a stand. i know what i want and i am going to get it. cant do it the proper way? there's always the ugly way of doing it. persistence. persistence. persistence.
oh yeah, you should never admit defeat before crossing the start line. that is so true sabb. now im putting my money where my mouth is. err, what's that suppose to mean again? damn, this keyboard is suddenly acting up. penat aku menaip.

finding my vocation. hell yeah. i could do this all day long without complainin. heck, who have i to complain to? komplen kat diri sendri la! at least i wont have a bastard breathing down my neck "just to make sure that everything is in place". plus, i got to train. muahahah...that should be further discussed.

huh, 1 am oredi? tido oi! esok keje! hahahahaha!!! Baca lagi!

Dazed and confused

Deep thoughts...deep thoughts.
Must think hard.
Decisions to be made.
Right or wrong? Im not in the know.
Came to the crossings. Its too damn hard.
Dreams and reality. Oil and water dont mix. Damn.

Disconnected? From God, perhaps.
Strayed away for a long time. Need to get back on track.

Funny how things work in life. Seems like everything is intertwined, making knots that seems impossible to untie. Maybe it is possible to untie it, but it could take time. Everytime I bolted out a new move, something will happen to make me confuse. crap. All this is a big piece of crap. A big, muthafakin' piece of crap.

I just wanna live....jeng jeng jeng...
Dont really care about the things that they say
Dont really care about what happens to me
I just wanna live..jeng jeng jeng... (sing in a sissy voice)

Hahaha with words like that you can sell records. Thanks to Good Charlotte.
Oi, where have all the rock bands gone? Ne'ermind.

Crux of the matter, I just wanna live. Arkhhh...
prozac, prozac,prozac. I wanna be at prozac nation. Baca lagi!

The year's most koboi run for me.

Fadzli, Fadhil and me after the run

Its the Putrajaya Half Marathon, last weekend. Without any decent preparations ie. training, food and all, I rocked Putrajaya that morning. Hehe..as if!

I was 5 mins late for the gun-off (thanks to a certain Fadzli, hehe) and had to play catch-up with hoardes of runners in front. This was how it went: we parked the car, ran up a flight of stairs, gave the marshall the registration coupon and ran. Not even time for warm-up! And like I said, I have to play catch-up. Duh, having to catch up with no proper training means killing yourself for the first 3km. I was huffing and puffing. I think I was sucked into catching up them too fast. But soon, the rhythm starts to kick in and I'm kicking ass! Hahaha. No lah, I just overtook some skool kids. And that's, ladies and gents, is my curent form.

So, nothing really interesting though. Got no medal eventho the organisers said there were 400 medals to be grabbed in the 10k category. Yeah, rite. Or maybe I turned sour becoz I didnt get one? Hahah. Sabb and Angah on the other hand, got their medals in their 'special' category. Well done u guys! Hope this will be a stepping stone towards erm..towards a healthier life!

Baca lagi!

The Great Bike Race

Life is like a great bike race, the goal of which is to live one's own Personal Destiny.
At the starting line, we are all together, sharing camaraderie and enthusiasm. But, as the race develops, the initial joy gives way to challenges: exhaustion, monotony, doubts as to one's ability.

We notice that some friends refuse to accept the challenges -- they are still in the race, but only because they cannot stop in the middle of a road. There are many of them. They ride along with the support car, talk among themselves and complete the task.

We find ourselves outdistancing them; and then we have to confront solitude, the surprises around unfamiliar curves, problems with the bicycle. We wind up asking ourselves if the effort is worth it. Yes, it is worth it. Don't give up. Don't give up Tank! Baca lagi!

Animal lovers, unite!

Its not a coincidence that I have 11 cats, and a host of other visiting animals like monkeys, squirrels and even foxes behind my yard. It is my choice. So make the right choice. Sign up for the SPCA petition to amend the laws protecting animals in Malaysia. Click the poster for more info. Baca lagi!

Aiya this Sunday got race ah?

Oh yes this Sunday is the Putrajaya Half Marathon! and I'm in perfect condition. NOT! Let see how's my workout have been for the past 2 weeks:

Mon:- no running
Tue:- bz preparing for bbq
Wed:- Bee's housewarming party, merdeka
Thu:- binging on hotel food somewhere
Fri:- same as above
Sat:- no running
Sun:- main bola with some high skool kids
Mon:- no running
Tue:- main futsal, (tak best main ngan mamat shah nih)
Wed:- sibuk buat personal projek.

So yang tinggal, Thursday and Friday. And kalau sempat, Saturday. And my left shin rasa pleik semacam. As if I knocked on something tapi the feeling of bengkak have been for 2 weeks. Shin splints? Muahahaha. Last year, I was doing gilababi mileage (not so gilababi like marathoners though) tapi takde injury pun. This year, training pun macam kaput, dah ada injury? Gilo apo. If shin splints, then babai la my marathon dreams end of this year. Cycle for 3 months as ganti. Baca lagi!

Oh I am deeply...

Hello world, it's me again. I've been away for a while. Where ive been, even leaves me puzzled. Disconnected. Blearghh. Bored with this boring shit. Let me tell you what happened during Merdeka. Nah, this aint another melancholic, downward-spiral, self-rightous suicidal thing. Its a happy one.

I've decided to hold a party that day. Yeah, u know i just wanted to have something to do that specific day. So why not a bbq to celebrate merdeka? wasnt a bad idea afterall since Amir havent done any housewarming party whatsoever yet. Maka bermula kerja-kerja en tank memasak untuk 10 orang. It looked easy my friends. But it is. hahah. crap.

Long story short, the party was a blast. Capped with a disastrous (to me and Lah) game of Monopoly, its a hell of a time. The highlight, the presentation of a birthday cake. Oh yea its my birthday six days prior. Man! Im deeply touched! Heck it hit me unexpectedly! Hahahahaaaa.. the cake was a fabulouso marshmallow choc cake. A BIG one. And i got an ORIGINAL pc game (Alexander, like the movie) from nana. Aku dengan blurnya ingat dia nak main game that nite. d'oh! Rupanya its for me. That is how unexpected it was.

To all of you, Nana, Ayang, Ubie, Amir, Sabb, Lah, and Eus, thousands of thanks wont do justice to what you've all done. Not forgetting those who wished me a 'happy tua day' including Grunge, Bee, Yan, Shimot, Kett, and Linz.

You guys just light up my day. Baca lagi!