Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Giving With Passion

What? Hari Raya and Birthdays Celebration

Where? Rumah Solehah, Cheras

When? 10:30am. 27 October 2007

Bad things should be stopped. Good things should be continued. This is a follow up visit from my first time last May. (Click here to read previous post on Rumah Solehah).

A bunch of colleagues and I organized the trip to Rumah Solehah to bring Hari Raya cheers to the children. We collect donations from the office. Some contributed cash. Some donated some festive hampers, toys, crayons and food. Most importantly, some donated their time.

I remember some of the faces of the children there. I don’t remember their names though. (Me getting old! Heheh!). They have certainly grown from the last time I saw them. The magic of growth hormones! Heheh!

The children are cute and sweet even though I would love to smack the mischievous one who kept pulling the hairs on my legs despite my warnings. (Insert ouch here!). Kidding! I guess what he wanted was just attention.

It felt like I had run a marathon after the day was over. My body was very tired but then I was very happy! It is some sort of high. There are no medals to be won here but it really feels good to do good.

Enjoy the pictures....

Thank you for welcoming us to your home.

Happy Birthday to You.....

Birthday/ Raya Cake!

Food, Glorious food!

Yum! Yum!

Who wanna party-wit-me?

Yay! Everyone gets Duit Raya (money for Raya)

Clowing around!

Peek-a-boo!

Having A Ball.

Make some noise people!

I'm coming up so you better get the party started!

Goo goo ga ga! Isn't she adorable?

Are those cheeks saying "pinch me"?

Don't Worry, Be Happy!

Put A Little Love In Your Heart. :)

Acknowledgment: Thanks to Amelia and Esther for spearheading this project. To all my colleagues, friends and their family members who made this visit possible. Apart from my own photos, I also posted some beautiful ones from Hamdi and Kevin. Thank you guys for sharing!

Monday, October 22, 2007

Kuantan TC Run 2007

I stayed at the Season Boutique Hotel. First floor is winter, second spring, third autumn (my room) and roof top - summer. But summer is still under renovation. Heheh!

What? Kuantan TC Run 2007

Where? Teluk Chempedak Beach, Kuantan.

When? 21 October 2007

How Long? 9.6km rounded up to 10km

Who? Organised by Kuantan Pacesetters

My uncle picked me up at about 6:40am. The sky was beginning to lit up. Looked like a sunny day ahead.

When we reached the beach, the warm up session was well…in session. I didn’t join in. Instead I took a walk at the beach, inhaling the fresh breeze. The Teluk Chempedak beach actually looked “prettier” compared to the last time I saw it (a year or so ago). I think they have done some “face-lift” to the beach by adding sand to the beach. Once, the beach was threatened by erosion but now it looks amazing.

At the Start. I saw many familiar faces at the run, both from Kuantan and those from Kuala Lumpur.

3…2…1…Blast off!

Running Up That Hill

Scenic golf course near the Menteri Besar's official home.

This is not a distance marker. It’s a direction sign.

Coconut trees. We ran pass some housing areas. Nothing much to photograph. I remember lots of barking dogs.

Water Station, serving water and energy drink.

Getting my checkpoint band.

Bukit Pelindung - This used to be my training ground when I was schooling in Kuantan for two years. It is a steep hill and lots of people come here to exercise.

CHEATER! Saw this man dashed out from a corner in front of me. He still got the nerve to laugh!

Me, myself and my reflection.

Good grief! The route was rather flat except for this hill at the beginning and at the end of the run!

Last few 100 meters…

Swaggering towards The Finish line. Yes…we ran on the sandy beach! No..I didn’t do the Baywatch slow-mo run! Heheh!

Seen here is my aunt (right) at the fruit station.

Irresistible beach – Teluk Chempedak. Some of my friends jumped straight into the South China Sea after crossing the finish line.

I must say this MC rock! She is bubbly and funny. Worlds apart from the one-nag-a-minute MCs that FTAAA employ in KL races.

Kuantan Pacesetter volunteers! Insert applause here!

Acknowledgment: Kuantan Pacesetters have outdone themselves! Thank you to Kuantan Pacesetters for the job well done. It was a fun and enjoyable run without any major glitches.

What’s in The Goodies Bag?

1 x Hi-5 Vanilla cream roll

1 x Brooks Discount Voucher (40%)

1 x Coconut Biscuit (Kuantan/ Sg. Lembing famous)

1 x Nesvita Cereal

1 x Surabaya Cake

1 x Cloud 9 candy bar

1 x Visit Malaysia Year drinking water

I love the medal! Shape of a foot! Isn’t it cute?

After the run, I treated myself to a meal at Kemaman Kopitiam, a famous eatery in Kuantan. Ordered a drink called Milo King - Ice Milo topped with a scoop of chocolate chip icecream and a love letter. Yum!

Nasi Lemak "Special". I wanted to order the Nasi Lemak Burung Puyuh (Quail) but they have sold out. This is just as good....(Insert burp here!)

p.s.

Also check out this race report…Amazing!

Carboman’s Kuantan TC Run Report

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Watson Charity Walk/ Eye On Malaysia

What? Watson Health, Wellness and Beauty Charity Walk

Where? Taman Tasik Titiwangsa, Kuala Lumpur

When? 19 August 2007 (Sunday; 7:30am)

How far? 2km

Who? Organised by Watson – Your Personal Store.

Why? In Aid of MAKNA (Malaysia National Cancer Council)

This is a belated post. The event happened in August. I was too busy to complete this one last month. So, I saved it for the fasting month where there are no races to write about.

The start was VERY MESSY! There were no proper signboard to the start point. So we had to circle around the Titiwangsa area.

When we arrived at the start point, they organiser was still seen scrambling to set up the booth, half and hour to the printed start time!!! Oh! No call the punctuality police!

Then, they made the dreaded announcement - The lorry that were carrying the number bibs got LOST! Yikes!! How can that be?

So we waited in the long long queues. If I get RM1 every time I hear the word "bad organization" during the wait, I think I could get enough money to organized my very own race! Heheh!

At the Start Point! Too bad the banner was facing the other side.

OK. Let's get the party started! Woosh!!!!

One of the reason I go for this walk....Isn't this beautiful?

Isn't this beautiful too? Tasik (Lake) Titiwangsa is one of the most frequented place for jogging and other recreational activities.

That blue roof building is Istana Budaya (literally translated to Palace of Culture). Malaysia's national theatre. This prominent landmark is on the Top Ten list of most sophisticated theatres in the world.

KLCC Twin Towers. You can't miss them when running in Malaysia.

Eye on Malaysia. The big Ferris Wheel installed at Tasik Titiwangsa for Visit Malaysia Year 2007.

Swaggering towards the FINISH line.

Here's your prize, sir! Wow! I got a prize? (Insert mock surprise here! Heheh!)

Inside the envelope - a ticket to ride on Eye on Malaysia and RM50 Watson voucher! Yay!

I wanted to visit Eye On Malaysia since its launch early this year. Took my parent there during last Chinese New Year but parents didn’t want to go up. Scared of height they said. Anyway, the queue was kinda long, snaking out into the hot sun. So, I gave it a miss until now....and I do not need to pay a single cent for it! Yay!

The Eye on Malaysia is the tallest (60-metre) portable observation wheel in South-East Asia. I heard Thailand has one at Lumphini park and Singapore is building its own.

Seems that every country want one of these giant wheels. Wheelies envy? Hmmmm....

The ferris wheel comprising of 42 gondolas (including 1 VIP one) is similar to the London Eye and has been unveiled in conjunction of Visit Malaysia Year 2007 on January 6, 2007 by Malaysian Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

There were 7 of us in the gondola. Amy, Kev, SH Tan (our beloved Footlosse magazine editor), Mr. Boey, SH's leng lui daughter and friend.

So, off we went round and round! It was great the first round, but everybody can't wait to get off after the third! LOL.

The view was great but not spectacular! The buildings just looked smaller than when we were on the ground. That's all! I guess I must have put too high of an expectation after viewing the brouhaha vavavoom bangbangboom launch early this year! Gone were the fireworks, laser show and water stunts.(Insert sigh here!)

Overall, the Sunday outing was great. Amy and Kev won themselves some prizes for winning one of the top 3 positions. There were many goodies to sample at the booths.

Who make the best gold fish impression?

Mr. Blue?

Or Mr. Red?

They are actually part of the group of The Amazing Waterhead. They walk around the Eye on Malaysia compound with their heads completely submerged in fish tanks.

Hmmm….I smell something fishy here…Heheh! Try to figure out how they did it. I could easily see through it. :)

Prizes for top 100 to cross the Finish line

1 x Entrance to Eye on Malaysia (worth RM15)

1 x RM50 Watson Shopping Voucher.

1 x Spritzer Mineral Water

1 x Minyak Angin Cap Singa Kembar 28ml. (I think the organizer need this more than us! Heheh!)

1 x Watson’s Icy Mist

1 x Watson’s Travel Tissue

1 x Watson’s Facial Wash

1 x Nu Shape drink sachet

1 x 1 week membership at Fitness First for two

1 x Watson PVC bag

Some other stuff that I got from the booths at the race:

1 x Shi Zen Green Tea

1 x Clearasil Ultra Facial Wash

For RM10, this walk is actually value for money. Forget all about the lateness during the start and the messy bib collection process. It was their first time organizing the event, so let them have their learning curves. I am sure they will come back next year, bigger, better coordinated and ON TIME!