Friday, October 24, 2014

Runner Profile: Yan Leng

I first met Yan Leng during the Gold Coast Airport Marathon (GCAM) running clinic sessions early 2013. We have never raced together at an event before, save for the rather disastrous Salomon Jamboree Trail Run in July 2013. Since then, she has been running and running, improving in leaps and bounds, and recently completed her first ultra event, the inaugural Starlight Ultra 84km held in Penang, Malaysia on 23rd - 24th August 2014. She has graciously agreed to spare me a few minutes (after I virtually twisted her arm) for this interview.

At the recent BHPetrol Orange Run.
Photo credit: http://2009tonton.blogspot.com

1) How long have you been running?
I started running about 2 years ago, since September 2012. My first official race/run was Nike KL Run 10KM. I joined it with my few colleagues and since then I fell in love with running.

2) What does your family think about you and running?
My family never expected that I will love running so much. However, they always support me. I also ensure that my running plans do not interfere with my family time. Normally, I will run in the early mornings during the weekends so that I still have time with my family after that.

Jamie, Piew, Yan Leng, Nick, Gan and Yee Hoo before Starlight Ultra.
Photo credit: Jamie.

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Still Alive

G'day.
I'm still here, if you're wondering.
If you're not, well, I'm still here, anyway. :)

It's been an exhausting 3 weeks since the arrival of my parents-in-law AND a new beginning - I have a job!

It's not much (of a job) at the moment, but I still have to get my ass out of bed by 7.20 am at the latest, and be in at the office by 9 am. I now have to make sure that my face is decked with war paint, otherwise I look completely washed out and deserve to hide out at home, like what I have been doing for the last year and a half.

I return home to home-cooked food and the urge to crawl into bed immediately. After-work runs have not exceeded 10km at most as we have to rush home for dinner.

I am just so knackered by the end of the day that I don't feel like doing anything after dinner. I can't even bear to sit in front of the laptop for too long!

Now that I work in the city, it feels cool to be part of the city crowd again. I need some new work clothes, that's for sure, but until I receive my first paycheck, I can't afford to go shopping!

Wearing a pair of trainers is so much more comfy.

The lobby area of the office building has mirrored walls that I can't help but to check myself out all the time, just to be sure that I'm looking prim and proper. Yeah, I take a lot of selfies, too. *vain*

I think my parents are relieved that I am employed again. They have been bugging me to get my ass back into the corporate world for so long, or at least be an employee somewhere, that a good friend told me the only way to counter their nagging is to get pregnant immediately. :P

My work requires me to converse in Mandarin a lot as most of the clients are from China. It irks me to be forced into this position where I fumble with my words, hoping that I'm making sense to the client and in return, the client would stare at me, hoping I'd make more sense by just staring hard at me.* 

The first week was rather scary as I don't like being thrown into the deep end and expected to swim to save myself. Being thrown instructions which I don't really understand and expected to deliver something immediately is not enjoyable at all. I have been on the verge of losing my temper and beseeching to the boss to make some sense to me, FFS!

My colleagues are friendly (so far) and we get along just fine. The office suite is filled with laughs and giggles on a daily basis, which suits me just fine. One of the bosses have bought me (and the colleagues as well) cups of coffee several times now. Yay to free coffee!

I had my first cup of strong latte last week and I couldn't sleep that night!

I've soon found out that a cup of strong latte has 3 shots of espresso so I've resorted to having a cappucino instead. :)

I am rambling.

I can't keep my eyes open any longer so goodnight, folks.
Have a great weekend, all.
I miss you.
I don't even know what's happening with everyone right now.


*my Mandarin is rather poor.

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

So Much Eating And So Little Running

With the in-laws in town and with the weather a bit crazy every now and then, I haven't been running as much as I would have liked. I'm sure there is a way we can get around it and hopefully we'll get that started next week!


We drove up to Silvan last Saturday to check out the Tesselaar Tulip Festival. AT AUD$22 per entry, I thought it was very steep. I offered for the hubs and I to wait in the car while the in-laws went in but the MIL insisted everyone went in.

Thank goodness we had brought a picnic basket, otherwise we'd have to spend more money on food inside!

I made sure the PILs were right behind me. Heehee!

With rows and rows of brightly coloured tulips, the first one to capture my interest was the 'Queen of the Night'. So dark in colour and looking black at first glance, they are really just a deep shade of maroon.

My other favourite is the Rosalie, which is a pretty shade of purple.

The place was crowded and no one hesitated to pay the entrance fee (except us*). With temperature as high as 27'C, I suppose it was a beautiful day not to be wasted indoors.

*I offered for both the hubs and I to wait in the car while they went in to explore. :D



We spent two hours inside and eventually left the place, only to find ourselves at the National Rhododendron Garden where no entrance fee was required! We didn't manage to walk right to the end of the park as we turned back halfway through. 

The place was equally crowded and its parking area was filled with cars.

(I'm not much of a flower person but I now know what rhododendron and Chinese cedar are!)

Despite protests from the FIL not to stop by for pie, we did find drop by Pie in the Sky anyway. After driving so far, surely we had to stop at tourist traps spots to cross something off the list!


We ordered the Beef Curry, which was dry and lacked the spicy aroma one would expect from curry. It was instead rather salty and its meat wasn't tender. An extremely forgettable choice.


My favourite is definitely the Korma Chicken, and MIL thought it was nice as well. The minute I cut through the pie, its gravy oozed out, making it extremely inviting to dig in. I suspect its filling is almost creamy that makes it a delicious pie. It's a multiple gold award winner!

(I really hope I can try making it one day!)