Mission Suicide:KLIM 07 (Said who?)

Yes, said who? I did finish it. The whole 10k of it. Tak la membanggakan pun. But to think of it, I did NO training at all. Still i finished within the stipulated time (1:30).

Arrived with Anne at Dataran close to 6.30am. Our bibs are with Grunge. He said he's still home. Aiyoh macha..

At 6.45, still no sign of macha. Said he's taking lrt cos many roads closed. Anne suggested it.

At 7.00, 10k runners were flagged off. Hahah.. aku ingat dah tanak lari and go back curling underneath the covers lagi best. Tapi, hope finally arrives, 15 minutes later. Pinned our bibs, and off we go chasing the pack.

Somewhere near DBP, lack of training starting to take a toll on my body. Sakit sini dan sana. Adoi! Nasib baik converged with other runners from 21k. So ramai sikit the crowd, and bersemangat sikit. My so called run has turned into run-walk event. Alah, biasalah, dah lama tak lari. Apa nak segan pun.

Near Ritz-Carlton's Caltex, went for pitstop. Puas pusing belakang kedai, rupa-rupanya jamban kat dalam. Ceh. Nasib baik the toilet was clean. After selesai mengosongkan pundi, ran back to the streets. Suddenly, had a pat on my back. "Hoi Tank," a voice startled me. Lor...si Mary rupanya. Dia masuk 21k. She did well.

The suffering continues minutes and seconds after that. I only ran with my heart. Seriously, my body dah tak tahan. Rasa nak menjerit cam pondan je rasa. Tapi aku pikir, I've never DNF-ed before. And this wont be my first.

Cut the story short, I managed to finish the run at last. With all limbs intact. My body felt like I was clobbered by Ben Grimm from Fantastic Four.

And Im proud to tell that my fiancee, Anne, managed to finish her 10k--her first ever--without much training too. Sorry dear, I shouldve told you that 10k is not that near! Lepas ni nak lari lagi? hehehe...

Met up with the gang, Azwar, Azhar model spender, tapir, Bacin, Zailan, Faie, Mary, Purpz, Wendy, Haris. Lama tak jumpa korang. Gambar lepas ni load.

Baca lagi!

How to save a life?

How to save a life?

1. breathe
2. let go
3. forgive
4. accept
5. love
6. appreciate
7. learn

and perhaps thousands more ways. I'm not listing down the ways, just a video clip from The Fray, kinda cool to me. It's their song, How to save a life. Heard it numerous times before. But didnt know who sang it until just now.

Step one you say we need to talk
He walks you say sit down it's just a talk
He smiles politely back at you
You stare politely right on through
Some sort of window to your right
As he goes left and you stay right
Between the lines of fear and blame
And you begin to wonder why you came

Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life

Let him know that you know best
Cause after all you do know best
Try to slip past his defense
Without granting innocence
Lay down a list of what is wrong
The things you've told him all along
And pray to God he hears you
And pray to God he hears you

Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life

As he begins to raise his voice
You lower yours and grant him one last choice
Drive until you lose the road
Or break with the ones you've followed
He will do one of two things
He will admit to everything
Or he'll say he's just not the same
And you'll begin to wonder why you came

Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life

Baca lagi!

Perforated eardrum

Definition:
A ruptured or perforated eardrum is an opening in the tympanic membrane (eardrum).

Yes. I have a ruptured eardrum in my left ear. So the culprit was ear wax, or cerumen I believe. It has clooged my ear prior, and now it has caused an infection, thus perforated.

The doc (a young lad, I must say) prescribed me with antibiotic pills and ear drop.

What to expect?
A ruptured or perforated eardrum may be uncomfortable, but it usually heals by itself within 2 months. Any hearing loss is usually temporary.

That means i will be 'right-eared' for the next two months. Duh.
Baca lagi!

Tension

Dah seminggu telinga aku pekak sebelah. Bukanlah pekak betul, cuma sound dia kurang sikit sebab tersumbat. Been hearing ringing sound all week. Sakit sial. Eardrop yang doc bagi pun dah nak abis. Tapi tak baik-baik gak.

SAKITTT!!!

Nak keje pun susah. Kalau bercakap dengan orang lain, nak kena adjust kepala pusing bagi telinga kanan dengar. Duh. Pastu malang orang tu kena ulang 2-3 kali apa dia cakap sebab aku tak berapa dengar. Adeh...penat.

Malam ni kena jumpa doc balik. Tanya dia, apa dia boleh buat. Baca lagi!

Mission Suicide: KLIM 07

Yes. You read it right. Its mission suicide. Well, OK, its not really a suicide at all, I guess. Im just running 10k. But deep inside my expanding gut, me thinks it is.

Work has got all of it. Work has got me. Work has got my legs from running. Work has got my ass from sitting on a saddle for 3 hours. Work has got my swimming, or whatever you may call it.

Looking back, I have always wanted to run the marathon in KLIM. The real thing. The whole 41.195km of it. Years passed, and im still looking at the photo of me finishing a half-marathon in Singapore, back in 2004 at a painfully 2 h 24 mins.

Back then, I was just running no more than 10k a day as far as I can remember. There was no real structured training for me. Just log your mileage and hit the road on race day.

Now? I cant even log a decent 500m!
Oh, what am I whining about?

Regardless, my girl and I will be running KLIM in the 10k event next Sunday. I just hope i dont end up in the sweepers van. I hope to finish it. I have never DNF-ed before. Not even when Im the last person at some point during PD International Triathlon. I can still hear the words I was saying to myself during my endeavour in Singapore: "Just keep running, even if its slow. Just finish it".

Im going to repeat that mantra again come Sunday. And hey, you are already a winner by showing up at the starting line, arent you?

Baca lagi!

Tiga tahun dulu...

Tiga tahun dulu, sekitar waktu ini aku berada di Langkawi. Bukan untuk bercuti, tapi menjadi sukarelawan untuk satu acara yang begitu asing untuk diri aku. Acara Ironman.

Ketika itu, aku sendiri tak tahu apa itu Ironman, ataupun triatlon. Aku menawarkan diri untuk menjadi sukarelawan selepas Mazhar, kawan baik aku, menawarkan peluang. Tanpa fikir banyak, aku terus menaiki kapal terbang ke Alor Star sebelum menaiki feri ke Langkawi dari Kuala Kedah. Sebenarnya, pasukan sukarelawan lain dah berada di Langkawi kerana mereka menaiki bas dalam satu rombongan. Tapi aku tak kisah berbelanja lebih, ah, Langkawi kan seronok tempatnya.

Hari ini, aku dah buat dua triatlon, tapi aku tidak berada di Langkawi. Ramai rakan-rakan aku berada di sana, bersedia untuk perlumbaan Sabtu ini. Aku? Mungkin sibuk ke Jalan TAR untuk melihat kain hendak dibuat baju bersanding agaknya. Tapi aku tak kisah. Dengar katanya, LIEM, si penganjur tu akan menganjurkan acara itu sampai tahun depan. Mungkin tahun depan aku boleh berlumba Ironman. Siapa tahu? Itupun kalau aku ada masa berlatih. Dengan gaya kerja macam ini, mana ada masa...tapi tak tahulah.

Sekali lagi, selamat berjaya rakan-rakan di Langkawi. Kepada rakan-rakan penonton pula, ‘soak in the atmosphere’. Tunggu sampai cut-off time. Pasti tak menyesal. The finest display of human spirit.

Baca lagi!

Sedihnyaaaaaa!

Baru lepas melawat blog Azwar. On the 24th February, he and a possible 700 others will compete in Ironman Langkawi. Arghh.. I wish i could just be there. And soak the atmosphere.

On his website, ada this one video clip of Lance Armstrong by Nike. I've seen that clip many times before. But today, when I saw it, it just breaks my heart. Why? Because I have no time to cycle anymore. Not even time to run regularly. I feel bummed.

I want to. But I cant.

By the way, good luck in Langkawi, my friend. Baca lagi!

Blast-it

You know the feeling when, you have put in your best effort into something, but at the end it was not all appreciated? Yes, it sucks. Now imagine you doing a free promotion of your boss's puny little state, but little do you get any recommendation for doing so. Yes, it sucks.

Sometimes its just exhausting when you are not appreciated. Just a simple "Good job" should do the trick. Plus, i just filled up a page for you. Isnt that worth something? Even guys in KL dont do that. Not unless they're told to.

I dunno. My performance review is looming fast. Come this 16 February, it will be a year that I have endured this. I would gladly endure a triathlon, but this...its something else.
I dunno. Baca lagi!

Panic @ the office!

Yes. Yours truly here had a panic attack at the office today. Why you might ask? Because i dont freakin know what to do today! Usually there will be events lined up for us to cover. But today, NADA. ZERO. YILEK. So, i panicked.

I arrive early in the office, around 10 just to breeze thru the newspaper, hoping to get a lead to write. There's one. Lucky. But still, i have to go out and look for something to write. At about 12pm, I went out with my trusty volvo. Kereta buruk la, bukan S40. Nothing particularly interesting to write about. So i went back to the office. Hmm..I was thinking to kill myself if i couldnt find a news by 3pm. At the office, i sat down for a while, thinking.

A few minutes later, i went out again, hoping to find some news. OMG, this is really killing me. Then i figured: If Kelantan bureau could publish a stry about 'nasi longkang' yesterday, why not i do a story on cendol? Haha.... So if those sicko's in KL (read=bosses) ask me: "why on earth you write about this fella selling cendol, lah", then i would say, "Kelantan boleh, apsal saya takleh?"

Lucky me, my day was saved. I hate going to work without knowing what to do. Blearghh.. Baca lagi!

Eh, lupa plak...

Lupa plak nak perkenalkan. Inilah tunang saye...hehehe... Nama dia Johanna. Baca lagi!

Time really flies

Time really flies. Without even realising it, it has been two months since I first set foot on Malacca ground. And with that, it has been more than three months since I made any physical activities, let alone running or biking or heck, swimming. All because of work.

If in KL I used to be back at home by 8 something, just in time for gym or at least something, now at 8, ive just finish packing my stuff to go home. When to run? In the morning? Slim chance. Cycling? Bila la wei. Really miss doing runs/cycle with Azwar, Bacin, Ajeep, Grunge and everybody else.

But there’s more. There’s this boss in KL who kinda watches over us here in Malacca. He is an arse I tell you. To make things worse, he’a a Malaccan. Aint no shit. He likes to pester us with ridiculous demands just to make his state prominent in the paper. Duh. Get a life sucka. Or better, get your own paper.

He kinda kills the life out of the two of us here in Malacca. My colleague here, even contemplated leaving the company sometime in February or March because he couldnt handle the pressure anymore. Me? I’ll see how. I would really love to run again for sure. That will be among the factors, main factors for me to get a new lease of working life. Like I would to put it, ‘kalau ada peluang, sambar’.

Baca lagi!

Ironi

Semalam aku jumpa seorang lelaki kat di sebuah disko semasa operasi narkotik polis. Muka dia macam Cina, dengan rambut menggerbang ala Joe Flizzow; bertindik di bawah bibir dan berantai di leher. Dia seorang ‘bar tender’ di situ.

Sebab muka dia macam Cina, aku pun tegur dia dengan pelat Cina, macam kita biasa buat kalau jumpa member Cina.

Ironinya, dia pula tegur aku : “Tolong, you tak payah cakap pelat Cina dengan I. I Islam, tau. Melayu”.

Terdiam aku. Bukan terdiam sebab dia tegur aku. Tapi terdiam sebab...tak apa lah.

Baca lagi!

Sakit ke rehat?

Ketua Menteri Melaka, Datuk Seri Mohd. Ali Rustam buat gempar baru-baru ni. Tiba-tiba, mmasuk hospital tanpa sebab. Bila orang sibuk-sibuk tanya, katanya penat sangat kerja. Tapi itu pun bukan datang dari mulut dia sendiri. Orang tu cakap dia sihat, cuma nak rehat kat hospital.

Masuk lima hari dalam hospital, semua orang kalut tanya dia sakit apa. Masih lagi, orang kat hospital cakap dia penat, nak rehat. Aku pun hairan. Kalau nak rehat, apasal lepak kat hospital? Takkan tak ada tempat lain nak lepak? Bayangkanlah orang sakit pun tak sabar nak keluar hospital. Ini dia nak lepak dalam tu plak.

Akhirnya, lepas lapan hari lepak dalam hospital, barulah Ali nak keluar. Kata dia, dia demam teruk. Sampai 40 deg C. Tapi aku musykil, sebab ada benda yang macam tak kena. Kalau dia kata dia demam, apasal dua pakar urologi yang rawat dia? Macam la doktor lain tak ada dah kat situ.
Ali ni silap langkah sebenarnya. Patut dia terbang terus ke luar negara masa mula sakit dulu. Macam Pak Lah. Orang tua tu (pak lah) terbang ke Australia sebab nak buang sinus dia. lepas Dua jam, balik KL balik. Orang tak cari, media pun tak susah nak jadi stalker or menyamar jadi doktor kat hospital. Aku tak tipu, dua hari aku jadi stalker kat hospital tu. Rasa macam movie Hollywood plak. Baca lagi!

Selepas hujan...

Perhimpunan Agung UMNO baru saja habis. Macam-macam dapat kita tengok kat tv dan baca kat surat khabar. Ada orang kena hentam. Itu biasa dalam perhimpunan parti politik terbesar di Malaysia tu. Tapi yang menariknya, ada orang tak boleh kena hentam. Atau lebih tepat, ada orang tak kasi orang yang nak dihentam tu, kena hentam.

Mukhriz cakap Pak Lah tak ada isu baru yang dibangkitkan dalam ucapannya. Ada betulnya jugak. Balik-balik, "bekerja bersama saya, isu ekonomi orang Melayu". Tapi, apa yang dia dok buat mengenainya? Bukan nak jadi pembangkang, tapi tengok sendiri la. Tok-tok menteri ni dok bersuka ria kat belakang Pak Lah, sapu projek sini, sapu projek sana. Habis tu rakyat marhaen macam kita ni apa yang dapat?
Kemudian, dan-dan Mukhriz kena warning oleh orang-orang kuat Pak Lah. Ya la, mana boleh lawan tauke kan. Tapi kalau tauke silap macam mana?

Tapi yang nak jadi terkejutnya pasal nak buat Istana Negara yang baru tu. Katanya RM400 juta diperuntukkan. Istana baru? Nak buat apa? Bukannya boleh duit dengan istana tu. Katanya sebab dah tak cukup tempat nak buat majlis serba serbi. Lainlah kalau nak buat macam Dis#eyland, masuk ada entrance fee. Dah la pulak tu, jambatan kedua Pulau Pinang pun nak dibina jugak. Jambatan tu panjangnya 24 kilometer dan bernilai RM2.7 bilion. Tambahan pula, projek 'double tracking' yang terbantut perjalanannya tu hanya nak disiapkan separuh jalan. Ramai yang tak sedar kalau projek double tracking tu siap, dari Utara sampai Selatan, Singapura akan kehilangan sedikit kuasa perlabuhannya. Barangan boleh dihantar terus dari Utara ke Selatan tanpa perlu singgah di perlabuhan. Entahlah, mungkin ada udang di sebalik mee kut.

Pernah terdengar satu masa dulu: "Orang Melayu sekarang ni susah nak berpolitik berjuang nasib bangsa. Dulu, semuanya cikgu-cikgu; orang bijak pandai yang mahukan kemajuan bangsa. Sekarang ni banyak sangat kontraktor, orang bisnes yang tahunya nak cari untung saja."

Mana aku dengar, tak ingatlah. Tapi, sepanjang pengalaman jadi wartawan ni, macam betul saja. Baca lagi!

Saturday

Last Saturday, I remembered calling up one of my friend, Grunge, and it goes like this.

Me: Hello! Ko kat ner?

Grunge: Aku on the way nak balik Melawati ni. Apa cer?

Me: Aku nak ajak ko pegi amik anak dara orang la.

Grunge: Amik anak sedara orang? Afiq ke? (Afiq is my nephew)

Me: Anak sedara mendanya. Anak dara orang la.

Grunge: Pehal pulak ko nak amik anak dara orang?

Me: Aku nak tunang la dol. Ingat nak ajak ko meneman..

Grunge: Bila? Hari ni?

Me: Ahah. Lepas asar.

So the day had come and gone. After asar, my family went up BA to mengikat anak dara orang tu. Earlier that morning, sempat pegi servis kereta lagi. Then singgah pi beli sirih and bunga melur. Pastu, singgah beli lemang pulak. Nak jamu sedara mara yang datang membantu la katakan.

Then, maka seperti sedia maklum, berjanji Melayu la kami. Janjinya lepas asar. Tapi ada kelewatan sikit dikalangan yang datang nak membantu, maki semua orang pun lambat la…well like they say, better late than never!

So lepas dropping em all at THE house, I went down a kedai mamak nearby, ordered a Nescafe ais and picked up a newspaper, browising for anything that could keep my mind occupied.

But the truth is, I couldn’t. My mind was busy imagining what is happening at THE house. Wondering what is people talking about, wondering if there’s something wrong. But my moment of wondering is short lived. A few minutes later, I received a call. I am now officially engaged. Hahaha…Ini boleh masuk ‘The year that was’ ni.

Surely this is a milestone in my life. Something to reflect on, not just bask in the joy of it. Oh well…congratulations to me. I think I deserve a pat on my back. By me.

Baca lagi!

Ini kerja ke, jalan-jalan?

The title says it all....haahhaaa!! The pix below was at Perigi Hang Tuah, and below it, Pantai Puteri at Tg Kling.


Baca lagi!

Blogging from Melaka

Yours truly here is in Melaka. Working, mind you, not on some holiday trip sponsored by the company (yeah, you wish). For the rest of my two or three, or even more years of my life, I will be here in this acclaimed Historical City. I wonder how they call it city although some parts of the town doesn't look a bit like a city. Anyway, here I am.

Living in a different city is not a problem to me. I've been living outside my home in Ampang for the last 10 years. So, no problemo. My only concern is the work. We are really independent here. So far, at least. No bosses to maki hamun you everyday, although they can still do that through the phone.

A lot have to be done. A lot have to be bought. Arghh...there goes my money for 'specific' purposes flowing like a river....What to do, the house is empty and it has to be filled. Oh, I forgot
to tell you that me and my colleague the photo man rented this three-bedroom single storey house in Bukit Katil for 300 bucks a month. Damn cheapo! So we decided to be civilised and buy ourselves mattresses, kitchen cabinets and what not. Just to make it 'homely' I guess. The place is just about 10 minutes away from the office. Food? Melaka food is like anywhere you can find in KL lah. Tom Yam and stuff plus the occasional asam pedas, which proves to be famous here in Melaka. I have yet to try that one.

Cycling and running? God knows where I can do that. I have to look around to find THE place.

Oh well, Melaka pun Melaka lah. Baca lagi!

Ironman

The epitome of Ironman races has come again this year, in Kona Hawaii. Live coverage will be around 3 am tomorrow. As usual, I will be stuck on ironmanlive.com to watch it.

Plus, a Malaysian will racing there. Wong Ah Thiam. All the best En Wong. Baca lagi!

Its alive!

Finally my bike is ready. My bebola biru, blue thunder or whatever u may want to call it is ready to be ridden. Complete with 105 groupset. Yes. U heard me rite. 105 baru aa..bukan lama. Muahaha...eksen sikit. Well it has made me RM1,6** poorer, so bleh eksen la kan. Nanti aku post gambar...hehehe

The decision to cepat-cepat pasang the groupset was spurred by a bittersweet news i got. Im going to be transferred to Melaka. Yes, no more runs in Putrajaya, no more runs in Titiwangsa, no more crazy cycling to Ulu Langat. Arghhh...I dont mind being away from KL actually. Im quite used to it. I spent half of my life away from KL. The thing i cant stand is starting work all over again - at least i think so. Build contacts again, starting from zero.

Then, im going to hidup bujang over there. Manage a house again. Adoih. Malas nak pikir la. I just want to think all the claims im going to get. Thats a more soothing thought. hahah!

Anyway im up for it. I can handle it. Bring it on. Baca lagi!

What have you been missing?

Puasa dah masuk 12 hari, keje makin menimbun, perut dah membesar, kawan aku (Sabb) dah nak beranak..apa lagi?

Lama dah tak tulis kat sini. Mungkin sibuk sangat la. Memang sibuk pun.. The thing is, bukanya sibuk every minute pun. Ada time dia yang sibuk tu. Macam petang sikit ke, haa..mula la. Perut plak dah makin besar. Arghh...i hate myself. Dah la pulak tu, majlis bukak posa kat hotel almost everyday!

Last nite, was a saviour. Azwar organized a run--a nite run-- in putrajaya. Aku dengan semangat gabannya decided to join. Ya la...im in really bad shape man! There was bacin, asri, mary and jaja. except for azwar and bacin, the rest were new to me. But they were nice. Mary even bought me a gatorade i ordered (just bcoz tak sempat nak beli).

They wanted to run 10k, powerman route. Gila la, aku sure takleh ikut. So senyap-senyap, im planning to u turn sebelum PICC. hehehee.... At first, breathing was pretty heavy. Signs of me being unfit. I remembered dulu when i still tak tau jalan-jalan kat putrajaya, me n grunge would pusing sini-sana just to make our run longer there. Sekarang? cakap 5k pun dah mengah.
Anyway, as i planned, i made a u turn sebelum sampai PICC. Diorang sumer dah jerit, "oi nak pegi mana tu tank?" aku gelak je..hehehe... so berpatah balik la aku sorang2. Running alone makes u feel the run is much longer. I think its just psycho. Thats all.

I feel high again last nite, eventho today i had aches at most parts of my body, im satisfied. Baca lagi!