Sons of bitches

My cat Jerry died last nite. Severely mutilated by no less than 10 stray dogs. I could do nothing at that moment for I was in the loo. Damn dogs.

Jerry has been with us since 1993/94. She'll be the one who bising banyak during meal time.
Arghh...cilaka punya anjing. Im gonna wait for you tonite with a blade tied to a stick and Im gonna slash em all. Bitches. Baca lagi!

Pablo Neruda

Where did I hear his name, this Pablo Neruda? Ah yes, in the movie Il Postino. It was a lovely movie, not the mainstream kind though. I faintly remember the story. Its about a boy who the only job he knows is fishsing, but he doesnt want to. So he became a mailman. He eventually got to know Neruda who's visiting there and he learnt from him. Then theres some love story between the boy and a girl. And so on.

Hmm..bila nak tengok citer best lagi ni? Lets check what's playing in cinemas now...aiyoh, Garasi and Main-main Cinta je? Citer omputeh tak payah cakapla. Tapi citer Melayu berkualiti takde ke bulan ni? Setakat nak tengok Misha Omar kat silverscreen tak payah, hari-hari boleh tengok. Bukan yang real la tapi kembar seiras. You know who you are. Hahah..

******

Ayang's housewarming party was great. She had some tahlil and all (which I missed) prior the bbq and a great round of Pictionary. Best gilak! I teamed up with ayang coz my gewe kontrak wasnt around (pity her, she was feeling sick) and we won! Aku jadi tukang teka most of the time and ayang was a great drawer. Tak la cun pun, but descriptive. Thats the key to the game. Sabb, bila nak main lagi?? Lupa nak amik gambar how ayang drew 'The Silence of The Lambs'. Klakar giler. Theres a picture of a man putting a finger to his mouth and a lamb that had pointed ears that looked more like a cat. Hahaha... tapi kita menang kan?? I cant stop laughing remembering that.... Baca lagi!

These digits dont lie

...and so does the sunburn on my arms. The incredible me went almost 99km up bukit Ampang-Hulu Langat right until Semenyih Dam and back. Actually I overshot the rendevous point by some 2-3km. Terlajak bai!

Ok let me remember how painful the ordeal was...

Azwar, Ajeep bon-bon and I started at Ampang Point around 8 am. Few minutes later, found myself climbing the painful bukit Ampang-Hulu Langat. As always, I'm left behind la. What do you expect, basikal besi maaa! Approximately 1 km into the climb, aku sudah koyak. Stopped for a while for some nyawa. Then continued for another km or so. And then Azwar backtracked. Continued uphill right until habis climb section. At that time, meter baru nak masuk 10km. Gila tak?

Sampai Hulu Langat bt 14, Toing joined us. The terrain was undulating with few 'good' climbs right until bt 18. Then came the majestic view of Semenyih Dam.

With the view, came a series of long gradual climb. Azwar was kind enough to backtrack almost 10 times during the course for me. Besarrr hati Azwar. Dah, puji sesikit cukup. Kembang bontot plak.

Lepas Semenyih Dam, aku ternampak satu rest/recreational area penuh ngan bas sekolah and all. But I didnt see any of the guys. Aku pun kayuh la selow selow. Sekali dah masuk hutan getah mana ntah. Sekali tgk belakang, Azwar dok panggil aku. Hah! Terlajak! Nasib baik tak sampai Johor. At that time , cramps was setting in my quads. Giler sakit like I've never felt before.

After recovering with nasik lemak, we set off back. I said to myself, "I'm gonna just finish this". The meter was 45-ish km at that time. So kayuh lah aku dengan selow and steady nyer untuk mengelakkan cramps. Because kalau cramp teruk, dah takleh kayuh. Kalau takleh kayuh, tak boleh balik la. Then how now brown cow?

All the way back to bt 14 was ok but the cramps are creeping in slowly whenever theres a climb. Even the slightest climb pun dah terasa. Babi betul la. Inilah padah tak mengamalkan latihan berterusan. Then we stopped for air tebu and ayaq nyok.

After air tebu, continued back our journey. To my surprise, another gilababi cramp attacked. Tersadai aku dekat bus stand tepi jalan tu. Urut-urut. Stretch sikit. Rasa dah ok sikit, aku sambung. Makcik dua orang yang tunggu bas tu dok tengok je aku.

Sampai kat masjid bt 14 tu, diorang dah tunggu. Aku cakap, rasa cam takleh panjat je nih. But Ajeep n Azwar kept encouraging me. So, jalan je la.

Baru lima minit panjat, cramp giler. Berhenti. Aku amik keputusan, tolak basikal. Dalam kepala hotak aku, aku nak je tahan lori and tumpang sampai Ampang. Tapi aku pikir, tak Ironman la camni. Hahahah! So menolak basikal la aku sejauh 2-3km. Sampailah Azwar backtrack. Tukar basikal dengan dia. Cuba kayuh gak. Tak sampai seminit, cramp balikkkk. Cilakak. So aku pun tolak la basikal dia tu. So adds up, aku tolak basikal dalam 5 km ada kut.

Dah lepas bukit tu, time turun baru boleh aku ride balik. Sampai Ampang dekat Kosas, aku telah tergolek bodoh kat traffic light. (Nota: Ini amalan biasa bagi mereka yang berbasikal di kawasan traffic light. Ajeep pun penah kena kut, hihihii) Sebenarnya lampu aku nak hijau dah, tetiba ada motor keluar dari wrong way. Menggelabah la aku nak unclip pedal. Dush! Tergolek. To add salt to injury, kena pulak cramp on the spot. Aduh saliha.

Sampai Ampang Point pukul 3-ish. Badan dah hitam. Dalam kepala nak makan nasi ayam and then dip into an ice bath. Malam plak ada gathering kat rumah Ayang+Ubie. Pergh... Baca lagi!

Sucking up some sambal belacan

Funny how some people hate those who would do them good. As though its so repulsive. They loathe the faintest idea that this person would do them good.

Remember your most hated teacher back at school? I remember my ustaz at school. He was like - oh my GOD - so mean that he carries rotan 80% of the time I saw him. And of course I got whacked once in a while lah. But because of him, I think, Im a bit better in mengaji.

Some quarters might say its like a father teaching his children lah. Straight as a ruler, but deep down inside, its love. But that's children. What happens when we deal with intelligent, grown-up people? Well, I would say that there could be repercussion. Even at school we could always scratch the side of the teacher's car so ugly, that the teacher had to change cars with his/her wife.

But then again, they want us to do good. Maybe, just maybe we think or feel that his/her ways are not suitable to our sissy ass. But the objective remains the same. They want us to do good. Just like sambal belacan, its hot but its its good. So suck it up. Baca lagi!

Akal pendek

Its amazing how full of hasad dengki some Melayu can be. Without knowing anything about another person, they can easily say, or assign bad labels to other people. The hell, like they own this world! Even our DPM, Najib also said that Melayu masih banyak sikap hasad dengki. No wonder we Melayu cannot compete with them Chinese in business. Orang Melayu kalau nampak Melayu lain maju sikit, dah nak sabotaj. Bagi jampi, santau la, basically all dengki stuffs. How on earth we can maju?

I'm not saying I'm the anti-Melayu now, but this is reality. Melayu will never go anywhere with hasad dengki. Why cant we have 'I scratch your back, and you scratch mine' mentality? You cannot be the uber businessman without help from others. You cannot wear the yellow jersey without the help of your team mates. You cannot be the damn best worker in the office with hasad dengki as your arsenal.

To those with hasad dengki, PISS OFF YOU PRICK!

******

I would like to convey my gratitiude to Melli of Real Betis for his gracious own goals (2) against Barca las nite. Hahahahaha... hopefully you wont get shot in the head when you got home. Baca lagi!

Klakar bangang

Some funny stuff picked up from Tri-Geek Dreams (I hope you dont mind, Kahuna!).

You might be a single triathlete if you are:

1. You have ever decided to give up dating for a month or more to save money for more race registrations. ==>wow, I think I might do this in the future!

2. You've explained the differences between road bike geometry and tri bike geometry on the first date. ==>for sure you will bore her to death.

3. You've worn bike shorts to work under your dress clothes because you were out of clean undies (and you didn't feel the least bit uncomfortable). ==>Azwar has worn his running shoes to work before, can it count?

4. You've considered making a donation at a sperm or egg bank in order to get closer to your ideal race weight (and you would use the money to buy more Powergel packets). ==>if only we have sperm banks here, ada ke?

5. The "3rd date" means it is time for the other person to show their commitment to you by signing up for a sprint.==>if only I can find awek triathlete!!.

****@@@****

On another note, we are having a mini duathlon this coming 26th @ Putrajaya. Just a bunch of guys/gals who frequents pipot.com la. tu je. And there will be some pot luck breakfast afterwards. Sounds like fun. I hope I can make it. Ye la I am the one who proposed the bike route! Come to think of it, this group activity sounds pretty much fun. Maybe nanti boleh buat bike jersey souvenir ke, baseball cap ke, you know commemorative stuff. Who knows. Baca lagi!

Thingamajig

A girl told me I look like 23 yrs young. Haha! Mudo remajo pakcik rupanya!!

Rahsia: makan ulam dengan sambal belacan selalu.

*******

KL hujan pepetang skang ni. If only I can go to gym... I think my cycling would improve tremendously if I were to go cycle in the gym. Alangkah indah...

Right knee still hurts. I think ligamen problem la. Yesterday I ran for cover from the rain, suddenly the knee kinda locked. Arghhhh!! Sakit la buduuh!!! So how now brown cow?

Promised a friend some ice cream and a walk. Hmm...bila ah? Baca lagi!

Giving the finger to the big bad green lorry

I felt like I was in a high speed chase. But the only thing is, a lorry was chasing me. I mean a big ass 24-wheeler. Why? Coz I gave him the finger.

It all happened when I was cruising in the middle lane along KESAS to a friend's house. I saw the lorry cruising at the left lane (it was a 3-lane hiway). Then suddenly, without any indications, that sonofabitch suddenly moved into my lane; just missing me by few inches that I had to slow down. Bodoh. Bagi la signal dulu.

I dengan angry nya overtook him. Gave him a honk. He honk me back. Kimak. I opened my window, and behold, the finger! *shiny, sparkling effect*

I exited at Puchong, heading towards my destination. To my surprise, he followed me! Bastardo. I quickly turned into a housing estate. He slowed down at the junction, waiting to see where I'm going. Huh, apa lagi, pusing-pusing dalam housing tu la! Until I found another exit from the taman. Phew, I lost him.

Well lepas ni, I'm gonna have a concealed weapon under my seat. Kalau nak mati pun, at least biar ada fight. But the crux of the matter, bagi la signal sebelum tukar lane. Abih kalo gaduh, nko yang mati instead aku, camna? Tak ke rugi....

#@#@#@#@#@#

This morning aku pegi Putrajaya for a ride on my newly setup bike. Phewng!! A bit late la, around 9am. But it was overcast all along my 1:45:xx ride(I was hoping to get some tan!). The route? A new route for Pipothlon this coming March. It was easy, with only 1 big hill to climb. The rest was fairly flat. Distance was about 37km. I just went there for an easy ride. Since my right knee was hurting from Tuesday's run, so how to tekan? About my knee, I think its a case of too much too soon. Tu la, nak sangat lari jauh-jauh. Beware, after a lay-off, you have to re-train your sendi-sendi to endure the pounding. I hope its nothing serious. Baca lagi!

Wahlau!

OK. My 'iron' bike aka basikal kicap has been given a new breath of life. Well, its actually me that's gonna have few more breath after riding it. As I said before, new wheelset, new groupset and even a new bar tape!

The thing is, I almost got myself an Ultegra FD for me kicap. But luckily the tauke didnt have any that support triple chainring. Nasib baik. Kalau tak, ada jugak esteemed brand kat bike aku. Neway, Ultegra tu pun model 2004 kut. Nampak lama semacam jek. Well I sorta have to change another FD coz the one Ajeep ( yo I still owe you 50!) gave me, the clamp was bigger than my seat tube. So... I put another Shimano kokak one la...

Back to breathing issue. I got a gut feeling that my bike setup is waaaay lighter than the old one. How light? I dunno la. Never timbang it before and no plans to do it now. Suffice it to say 'ada perbezaan'. No Samy Vellu stuff here ah. I mean, I grab a hold of the old crankset and it was berat macam besi. Memang besi pun! And the new one is like aluminium. Sendiri kira la.

Enough said la. Apart from changing a new seatpost and saddle to prevent me from being sterile at a young age (ehem, oh, it moves), my training bike is complete. Lepas ni, simpan duit beli Cannondale yea!

Oh, and on another note, dont buy anything Danish. Thank you. Baca lagi!

Fakta menarik

I found this somewhere in the net while searching what the hell is Cro-Moly.

"Specifically, 4130 steel - an alloy steel - which is commonly known in the bike industry as chrome-moly, contains the following alloying agents: 0.28- to 0.33-percent carbon, 0.4- to" 0.6-percent manganese, 0.8- to 1.1-percent cromium, 0.15- to 0.25-percent molybdenum, 0.04-percent phosphorous, 0.04-percent sulfur, and 0.2- to 0.35-percent silicon. The other 95-plus percent is made up of good old-fashioned iron. Now, there are hundreds of kinds of steel, but 4130 finds its way into bike frames because, among other attributes, of its weldability, formability, strength, ductility and toughness. (Many low-buck frames are made with 1020 steel, which is called plain carbon steel, and has significantly lower strength than the chromium-molybdenum steels.)"

Now that what my bike is made of. Just slightly better than basikal 7-up kampung tu. Hahah!
Neway, basikal aku belum siap tranfer enjin lagi. Should be ready by tomorrow. Baca lagi!

Surreal, but nice.

Sabb bersama seorang artis.

Let me laugh three big times before I start. Kah kah kah!

Believe it or not, I, the unmistakenmably-never-followed-Muzik-muzik person, went to Juara Lagu 20, front row seat. Red carpet entrance lagu tu!

Sabb and hubby Amir.

After burger sepah and a big-ass milo ais, I still cant believe it. Thanks to Sabb and Amir, dapat tengok Mawi live. NOT! I told Sabb that I would fall asleep when Mawi sings. Well, too many gorgeous babes and cleavages to ogle at to fall asleep there.

**********

Earlier that morning, Grunge, Alan and I went for a crazy -- at least for me-- run to Hartamas. Why crazy? Eh halo, aku tak pernah lari since lepas Titiwangsa tri (which I didnt participated, sadly) and suddenly wanted to do a 30k? Well my intention initially was to run at my own lembu pace till the group -- Azwar, Bacin and co.-- turned back.

Made it till Masjid Wilayah when we met the group turning back. So how far was that? A good 12-13k? I donno really coz no watch and did not learn to read the sun for time. Lantaklah. All I know is that I could feel the endorphines streaming thru my blood.
A good sign. I think I still got it in me. Baca lagi!

Finally, ek!

All was over and done with. Malas aku nak tulis all the nitty-gritty but suffice it to say that, from the quirky groom during nikah to the reception, it was a bravo!

Lots of good news during the wedding, but nobody stole nobody's thunder.


Dua hari in a row makan nasi briyani. Perut aku pun dah macam periuk briyani dah.
And not forgetting the 'mis-timed' Dr Azwan who thought the reception was at night. Melepas sangat. Dr Adnan was there too. Dr Azwan said, "I am 'lost' with the new students, unlike my former students (us la tu!)". Never occured to me we were that influential...

Well after this, the gang will be an extended one. More fun!

Our table marker, boleh?

Baca lagi!

It's time to start living again

I stole the title from a junk email that was sent to me. Regardless of its irrelevant contents, I guess the title somehow applies to me. (Oi I dont need Viagra to live again la!)

Got myself a bike jersey (never had one before), a new pedal, new bike shoe, in the process of acquiring a new grouppo (not new la, secondhand jer); wheels, and last but not least, a new ..... Great.

Just perfect. I'm gonna do my first ride of the year tomorrow. Giler jauh ketinggalan from the rest of the group.

Im going to train the best I can.
Im going to show up at races.
Im going to be in a certain shape-- maybe good maybe not.
I will try to add ice cream and pizza to my training.

Sofian will do Ironman Langkawi this 26 Feb. Pity I cant go volunteer or even watch. Maybe I can if I get a sponsored day-trip flight ticket. Wish. So good luck bro. All Ironmen/women inspires me. Baca lagi!

Ampun Tuanku!

Susah ada anak raja kat rumah ni. Dari pagi sampai ke petang, semua tapak kaki anak raja mendarat di alas dengan sutera emas. Itu pun nak suruh orang lain buat keje dia, gi sana gi sini? Lemak. Kereta dah beli. Komputer dah beli. 2 lagi. Tak cukup pc nak laptop plak. Belajar tanak kat luar KL. Sebab takde Zouk, kot. Itu pun nak suruh orang buat itu, ini?

Kalau dah takde sapa esok, sapa nak cuci punggung kau?

In a thick Geordie accent I am saying to you, "Fuck-off!"

Bila aku nak berambus ni. Baca lagi!

Why ?

Why? Why do people who train hard day and night, exert themselves during a gruelling race, be hard done by something like brain tumor? Something like Lou Gehrig? Something like cystic fibrosis? Something like, dead sick?

Why all of that hard work wasted because of some illness?

Maybe its God’s way telling human that nobody is invincible.

I dunno. It just seem unfair to me.

I know of a person who was diagnosed with brain tumor. He said he hadnt much time left. Thing is, I raced with him once. Maybe more. But I vividly remember him during PD Tri. I was at the back of the pack during the swim. Then, he came from behind to me and asked if I’m ok. "Are you ok, Fitri?." I was struggling to float at that time. I said, “Don’t worry, I’m ok”. He swam on. I never caught him on the bike. Then, 2km into the run, I caught up with him.

You see, he is the kind that enjoys the active life. Trekking, running, tri and many more that I maybe not aware of. Read up his blog and you’ll see.

Funny guy la. Once I saw him race at the Poweman last year, he was selamber slowing his pace just to be running behind this one hot chic when he can easily overtook her.

Anyway, I hope you got your wish of doing an Ironman someday soon. I’ll try to wait for you at the finish line, Terence. Baca lagi!

Bodoh bangang pundek

Engkau ni bodoh la. Kalau tak tinggal kotak rokok kosong bersepah atas meja orang tak boleh ke? Apa, engkau ingat aku ni orang gaji engkau?
Tak lama esok 'telor' engkau pun ko tinggal merata-rata. Baca lagi!

Axe rock

Killer melodies.
Dramatic intros.
Super killer solo guitar.
Multiple riffs of solo.
Ass kicking drum beats.
Music that have soul in it.

All that is rock man. Cant never get enough of it. Not just some lame ass one-tune band-ees that churn out almost the same drumbeat and riff every album (read: Offspring).

Deep Purple, Whitesnake, Black Sabbath, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zep, Frank Zappa, Pink Floyd (this one is psychedelic), Metallica (pre Load era), Aerosmith, Iron Maiden. Heck, even Tenacious D rocks.  

We have (or had) Sweet Charity, Lefhanded, Search, Wings, Crossfire, and dozens more.

Most of the names above are history. Some of em might be even dead. But is there no continuity? No more ‘rock kangkang’ follower? No more kids jamming Taming Sari by Wings? I bet you would get a surprised look from people outside the studio if you jam to that tune. “Lagu apa tuh?”, they would say.

It might not be cool to wear hotpants or tight jeans anymore, like The Darkness. But arent any local band out there following their musical footstep? Or the mind of every kids today is filled with MTV-material music like hip-hop and nu-age? I came across a disturbing fact from a Korn video that they opted to use hip-hop artist in their music video because traditional rock music video arent getting much airwaves. I am not surprised. Turn on MTV, and you’ll see lots of booty-shaking being done.

By the way, Oasis is coming to, yes, our neighbour Singapore. Malaysia tak rock, tak payah singgah.

And to the fickle minded law enforcer, layan rock and wearing black doesn’t mean we are worshipping the devil.

I have to be careful after this. I don’t wanna be caught while listening to Black Sabbath. Baca lagi!

Bottoms up!

(Virgin) Margarita

0.5oz Lemon juice
0.5oz Orange juice
1.5oz Sour Mix

Rub lime on the rim of glass. Dip it in salt to coat it.
Mix Lemon juice, orange juice and Sour Mix in a tumbler with some ice. Shake it until bubbly.
Pour into glass filled with ice.

Sour Mix recipe:

2.5 cups sugar
2 cups water
2 cups Lime juice (the mix should taste a bit tart. So adjust the lime/sugar ratio to your taste)
1 egg white

Make a syrup mix from the sugar and water. When cool, add Lime juice and egg white. Shake well. Refrigerate.

Drink responsibly! Baca lagi!

I'm no Superman

What is it with Johor women? Not that there's anything wrong with them, but im just curious. Especially when it comes to religion. On many accounts, I have come upon women from Johor (JB to be specific) that claim they are religously sound, yet they broke some of the simplest rule of it. Not that they killed or commit adultery, but still, defiance to the same laws that applies to everbody else. And this is just my personal observation. I am not lashing out at anybody here.

Example no. 1

Zainah Anwar, Executive Director of Sisters in Islam. At the young age of 51, this fiesty, single, women activist hails from JB. She said : “I know about Islam. I am from Johor, I went to sekolah agama when I was a girl, read Mutaal Badrin.”

How about that? Mutaal Badrin is a compulsary reading if you go to sekolah agama in JB, if Im not mistaken. I have tried reading it. Aint easy I tell you. But, count me out ‘coz im still jahil.

She went to the famous Sultan Ibrahim Girls School.

Example no.2

My sister-in-law. An esteemed architect by her standards, she too is from JB. As a mother and wife, her non-apparent traits of both has somewhat contradict to her upbringing. Heck, she even went to umrah when nobody in this household ever did. A bright star, but fades way too quickly.

She received her secondary education at Muzaffar Syah, Melaka where water could be scarce. Hence, showering probably not a routine activity. Hehe.

Example no. 3

My ex-girlfriend. She too, went to SIGS. Just like Miss Zainah. Well, im not going to talk much about her, ‘coz she might be reading this. Plus, I don’t have bad things to say ‘bout her. And, she too read Mutaal Badrin.

So what is the connection between the three of them? Maybe a lot. But I will just point one. None of them, abide the simple rule of covering up. Not their bodies. But their hair. Isnt that the simplest thing to do? If it’s the simplest thing to do, it might as well the simplest thing to not do.

But one woman stands out, and its Zainah. For crying out loud, you are the head of an organisation that fight for women rights. Muslim women rights. And yet, you are like that. Im not saying that you are on the wrong side of the river. Probably if I ask you why you don’t wear a jilbab, you might have a 1,000 answers that can render me speechless.

Liberal. Maybe that’s the word. So if liberal, than we can go out to clubs, party and all, and be back just in time for Subuh, right?

Baca lagi!

Smelly

Smell of sweat, motobike fumes and 'lok-lok' sauce, mixed together to form a distinct aroma of the New Year. The sight of huundreds of thousand people taking over the road; looking like a street mob in action, making it hard to move. Though it was raining earlier, the rain somehow 'conspired' with them organisers of concerts, rave parties,fireworks and what not to stop the rain and give way. Shuck. I was hoping the rain would get heavier, so there's no parties/concerts/fireworks so I can get on my own way. But, them organisers prevail, and KL was buzzing with activity. But most of them, endured traffic jams, and petulant smelly people just to watch the city hall waste some few thousand ringgit on foreworks, and leave.What a weird country this is. I am bereft of words to describe it. Baca lagi!