piffles inc. v2

Baking Frenzy For CNY

2012-01-17T00:34:00.000+08:00

And I'm still not done yet! HELP!!!
Why must I be so ambitious? Why did I think I could do it, bake cookies for Chinese New Year for the families?

.I started since Friday night, before my nose failed me. It was slowly getting blocked, and I knew I was going to lose my sense of smell and tasted.

Or should I have just given up?
NO!!
I stomped my feet when YB told me to "just buy the cookies".

"I told my family that I'll be baking them cookies," I insisted.

cornflake cookies

OK, I confess that my Friday night baking was a disaster, and I blame it on the main ingredient I used. I tried a shortcut and I failed. So, I'll have to redo a fresh batch all over again.

On Saturday, I proceeded to make cornflake cookies instead, which turned out alright. It wasn't the taste that I was going for. YB finds them a bit too sweet and I agree. The sweetness comes from the cornflakes. Hmmm.

ugly looking pineapple tarts but taste SO good.

Why must I be so bloody ambitious? Yes, you read me right. Pineapple Rolls, for goodness sake! I'm just a beginner, for crying out loud!

My Sunday evening was spent baking these babies, which turned out ... let me eat one now and see if I can find a justified description of it.

Erm. They DID taste yummy fresh from the oven, I swear!

Now they taste just OK (to me). *frowns*

BUGGER BUGGER BUGGER!
I need to find the recipe for the melt in your mouth ones... *wails*

But it's not too bad, I guess. If YB likes it, I guess my in-laws will be OK with them, too. Initially he was complaining that they were a bit too sweet, but now they don't. I guess the rolls take a bit of time to settle down or something.

(I can smell Indomie right now ... someone's making supper and it's not me!)

pumpkin puree soup with fried chicken.

Sooooo much work for pumpkin soup! And yeah, chicken looks pathetic. I'm really bad at frying stuff. But I love pumpkin and the soup was yummy, but definitely not for someone who's on a diet. Tsk tsk.

That was our dinner on Sunday night. The chicken was marinated with cumin seeds, garam masala, dark soy sauce, pepper and salt. It was stuck in the fridge for 3-4 hours before cooking.

Mushroom Lasagna and beetroot with white beans salad thingy.

Let's look at food which are much better presented.

The other day, YB wanted to eat out at Ben's General Food Store, at Publika. I think it's because he keeps seeing pictures of the food there on Facebook, or because I kept telling him about it?

Well, I've only been there once and I thought there was no harm in going there to try something new. YB chose the lasagna, which I think needs to be shared. It's rich and filling, definitely best shared.

chicken pie with limey barley and white mushroom salad thingy.

I opted for something else, although there was nothing else I wanted to try. Oh, I wanted to try the pizza but wasn't too sure if we could finish it.

The chicken pie was a bit dry inside, I won't recommend it. A friend of mine once ordered the Moroccan Lamb Pie and found it a bit dry, too.

The salad was very interesting. I can't imagine serving it as a salad for my family or the in-laws, though. Hehe.

Happy Chinese New Year to you, if I don't catch you online again before then!

Work was ridiculously CRAZY the past 2 weeks that I'm so relieved it's over! We were busy computing whether we achieved our KPI for 2011 and completing our appraisal. I just had mine today with my supervisor and he has submitted it to the unit head who will review it with the head of department. Bah!

p.s. I hope I don't get mopey during CNY ... it will be different. I miss home soooo much! My sister has reminded me that I'll be the last to have met my niece (her daughter)! SIGH!!!! But we'll be back in KK during the Thaipusam weekend, anyway. ;)

We Saw a Whale Shark!

2012-01-12T00:50:00.000+08:00

Yes, I do know that this post is a quarter of a year late, but it is only now that I manage to find the time to go through the pictures and arrange my thoughts a bit more clearly.

Of course, with my poor memory, I may tend to forget bits and pieces of it.

But oh, this must be how it felt like three years ago when I hadn't started this running habit - more time to do other things! And probably get fat in the process, with all this sitting around, slouching over the laptop...

Oh and if sometimes you happen to read a blog post that sounds jumbled up and incoherent, that's probably because I was nodding off while trying to write! I've been so lethargic these days that I crash onto the bed by 10pm.

As you know, we finally found the time after the wedding to pursue our Advanced Open Water licence last September.

14th - 18th September 2011.

Wednesday afternoon – Leech andCh’ng picked us up and we headed to Bukit Tinggi for lunch with GK. Lunchwas OK, I suppose, I can't find the food pictures anymore.

Next, Ch’ng got into GK’scar and proceeded to lead the way towards Kemaman. With a walkie-talkiein each car, we could communicate and make silly remarks, laughing at each other and that keptus awake throughout the journey.

I insisted we dropped by Chukaifor coffee/tea at Hai Peng coffeeshop, despite the idea being vetoed by Ch’ng.He wanted us to save space for dinner but come on, I rarely come by this part of Malaysia so it’s considered a must forme to drop by.

Shortly after, we somehow reachedour dinner destination very early. Oops. I was still a bit stuffed butunfortunately, it was time for our early dinner before we headed off toAwana Kijal to spend the night.

Thursday - We woke up before 6amto head off to arrive at Kuala Merang jetty to wait for our ferry.

We thought we could grab breakfastalong the way but unfortunately, much to GK's annoyance, we were running late. In the end we had to eat atone of the stalls near the jetty. Not great, I’m afraid.

At the Kuala Merang Jetty.

YB says I look like a mad person in the top right picture but I love it!

It took us about an hour to arriveat Redang Island. We were so excited! Blue skies and the clear blue seasand wind in your face … aaaah, it smelled like a holiday.

We stayed at Ayu Mayang Resort which was simpleenough to cater for our needs. At least the water heater works and there’sair conditioning. ;)

After lunch we went for our firstdive. The first one always gives YB and I the jitters, because clearlywe weren’t water babies and it takes us a while to ‘warm up’ to thewhole diving thing. Once we got comfortable underwater, it was lovely toenjoy the view and wave at the fishies. OK, I’m not sure who else wavesat the fishies, but sometimes I do that. I mean, they’re staring at meas if to say hello, it would be rude not to acknowledge their presence,no? ;D

The things we do after lunch.
YB is very diligent at filling up his log book while mine is half filled.

Fast forward, we were knackeredafter dinner but we had to stay up to surprise YB for his birthday thenext day (16^th). Our instructor said there was a briefing at9pm so we made our way to the chalet he was staying at (Coral Redang).

[Pictures from the surprise partyare here.]

Anyway, everyone was so relievedto sing the birthday song, posed for pictures and finish up their sliceof cake, (which was pretty good!!) before quickly running off to bed. Idon’t know about you, but diving can be quite tiring! It must be the seawater …

At Coral Redang Island Resort.

People bring their own stash of beer. YB lazing in the hammock while waiting for our next dive.

Friday – Everyone greeted YB witha happy birthday greeting. It was a deep dive that morning at Big Mount.

As we descended slowly and gotused to our surroundings, we saw a huge shadow on our right. YB and I bothswam towards it, wondering what it was. As we inched nearer, we saw thesilhouette of the whale shark.

YB gripped my arm and we both lookedat each other. Excitement shone in our eyes as we nodded at each other,giving each other the thumbs’ up sign.

I could swear there were tearsin my eyes, but who’s to know? ;D

We started gesturing to our fellowdivers. Pretty lamely, I must say.

I mean, what on earth is the underwater signfor a whale shark?? When I saw Leech hovering slightly beneath me, I wavedfrantically at him and he gestured, “What?”

I frantically pointed at the directionof the whale shark and swam towards it, hoping he would follow me.

It was honestly a sight to behold.It was like, woahhhh.

I didn’t dare got near it butI was still near enough to see the spots on its body. YB, Ch’ng and everyone else swam as close as they couldto touch it gently, while the photographers kept their distance in orderto capture snapshots of it.

YB swimming alongside.

A-m-a-z-i-n-g.

We swam it for a while, going whereverit was going. It was almost 10 minutes, I think.

And then, GK tapped it abit too hard on its tail and the whale shark shot off.

Everyone glared at him as bestas they could through their masks. I’m sure someone waved a fist at him, too.

Thereafter, our instructor tookYB and I down to the seabed to continue with our deep dive – basicallydoing Maths underwater. I took a little longer just because I wanted todouble check my answer. Ha!

As we ascended and got onto theboat, Ivan & GK were first, followed by YB and I, then Leech. We toldour boat driver excitedly, “WHALE SHARK!!! WHALE SHARK!!!”

You see, when we arrived at the island, there was word around that a whale shark had been spotted recently and since then, every dive group was on the lookout for it. So we considered ourselves one of the LUCKIESTpeople to have witnessed such a beautiful gentle creature.

Our boat driver was excited, too.He insisted that Ivan showed him the pictures, to the extent that he forgotto help other divers up into the boat.

He immediately called up his friend on his phoneto tell them, “Yoh, whale shark spotted here at Big Mount!”

IT WAS AWESOME, I cannot tell youjust how awesome it is but YEAH!!!

I was just relieved that my maskdidn’t fog up as much as it did the day before.

Everyone thanked YB for his birthdaywish, i.e. seeing the whale shark. We were grateful for being a part ofthat special moment. Hehe.

Food's not that great, you can tell. But sometimes if you're lucky, one or two dishes could be good.

Chilling out at the neighbouring resort.

Saturday – We had to do a wreckdive which turned out pretty disastrous in a funny way. The visibilitywas so bad that we couldn’t see beyond 3 metres. I spent too long studyinga dead fish under a log and when I looked up, YB was gone. The only personleft was Leech. Everyone else were at the wrecks.

I gestured to Leech to go left,as I recalled the instructor saying that the wrecks were on the left asyou descend along the rope.

But men being men, they don’ttake directions from women well. You know that, right?

He insisted we go right. I shookmy head and gestured left, but he INSISTED that it was right.

Fine. I shrugged and followed him,knowing that we were definitely going the wrong way.

The water was so sandy that youreally wouldn’t know where you’re going. The wrecks were on a sandy bed,devoid of corals or anything else.

We spent 30 minutes trying to findour way towards the wreck but we were clearly off the track. I kept smilingto myself, because I wanted to laugh. Leech was doing his kick cycle tosee if he could retrace his steps but I could tell we were definitely wayoff track.

Eventually we ascended to the surface.
We saw our boat far far far away.We also saw YB on the other far side. Our instructor was already on theboat.

Apparently YB decided to look forme when he couldn’t spot me at the wrecks. Ch’ng saw our instructorssignaling to each other that 3 people were missing, so one of them headedout to look for these 3 people.

But because visibility was SO bad,he got lost, too!

We all had a good laugh, really.Leech was worried that I’d freak out and panic but if I panicked, I thinkI would have resurfaced immediately!

Finally, we could all drink ourselvessilly that night. But YB and I ended up playing some telematch games onthe beach with a group of snorkelers. I’m sure there’s an embarrassingphoto of me somewhere … let me check with PL.

One of the few things we saw: blue spotted stingray, nudibranch and a green turtle.

On the last night, our dive instructors organised a lucky draw among their divers/snorkelers as well as a prize giving ceremony for the winners of the telematch games.

My lucky draw got me a TUSA tshirt! Ch'ng was jealous. =P

Sunday – oh bugger it was a weekbefore our River Jungle Marathon so I made myself get out of bed earlyto go for a run. YB was already up early, taking pictures of the sunrise.PL and I had arranged to run that morning but she didn’t wait for me andby the time I arrived, she was doing her 2nd lap.

We found out on the boat the otherday that we both took part in running events. ;)

The ferry on the way back was packed with people.

By the time we arrived in the evening,we met up with Des and Mae for dinner to regale them with our stories,especially our encounter with the whale shark.

We had text them the same afternoonwe saw the whale shark, urging them to join us immediately.

~
YB and I can’t wait to go divingagain but looking at our calendar, goodness knows how we’ll be able tofit in a quick weekend trip. I really hope we can because my buoyancy isstill a bloody problem for me!

Pantry Magic

2012-01-10T22:41:00.000+08:00

Location: 49, Jalan Telawi Tiga, Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur.

I was mesmerised by the candy striped awning. I felt like I was walking along the streets in England. I'm not sure why I associated it with England but it didn't look like a store belonging to Malaysia, if you asked me.

It was just sooooo quaint, like an old toy store in England, don't you think?

Like a kid spotting a toy store, my eyes couldn't leave the store and I found my legs walking towards it.

But like a dirty beggar, I was hesitant. It looked so posh, fragile and expensive that I was terrified I would break something should I step in.

I stood outside and lingered for a while, before entering the store.

Bright coloured moulds! Stainless steel utensils! Cupcake tier! Aaaaahhhhh how delightful!

All neatly arranged.

If this were my kitchen, the tidiness wouldn't last - it would be in a mess in no time at all!

I walked out later, empty-handed. Sigh. It wasn't for me, honestly. I'm such a poor baker that I don't think I'd qualify to indulge myself in such lovely items, =)

For more pictures of their colourful items, check out these sites:
Pantry Magic
Goreng.my
My Domestic Bliss
Home Sweet Home

Chickpea Corn Fritters

2012-01-09T00:58:00.000+08:00

I love vada or vadai, or what we Malaysians would call or pronounce as "vadeh", that look like this. (There's background music on the blog, so be careful when you click on it.)

Made from dhal, it can look like a doughtnut with a hole in the middle or it could be fritter like. This savoury snack originated from South India.

Sometime in early December last year, I was craving for something spicy (fragrant curry leaves!) and chickpeas. Oh, and sweet corn. I lovvvvvve sweet corn, except not in apom balik, sorry.

Then I thought about falafel, too.

Oh, and corn fritters!

Gosh, I was pretty indecisive that time, I just wanted to eat everything.

With three different recipes as reference - chana dhal, corn fritters and falafel, I thought I'd combine them all and pray for the best.

It was workable, though I'm sure I could have done better with a complete set of ingredients, but ahhh, experiments are called experiments when one isn't too sure about the end results, no?

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup of canned chickpeas, drained.
3/4 cup of canned sweet corn, drained.
1/2 cup of chopped onion.
2 Tbsp cumin seeds
dessicated coconut
2 bird eye chilli, deseeded and chopped.
curry leaves, chopped.
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp pepper
salt to taste
oil for frying

Directions:
(I can't remember! But I think it went something like this.)
1. Mash chickpeas with a fork. Mix cumin seeds, dessicated coconut, chilli, coriander powder and pepper into the chickpeas.
2. Stir in onions and corn.
3. Make small and flat discs and arrange on the plate.
4. Heat oil for frying.
5. Fry til golden brown.

Erm, yeah, they're not golden brown, I know. I am pretty hopeless with frying fritters as you can see. But they tasted FANTASTIC (curry leaves and cumin seeds, mmmmm) and YB enjoyed them very much.

I would love to make them again some time soon but right now I'm trying to make cookies for Chinese New Year. So far, I've tried making peanut cookies and they were not too shabby! I'll need to make some more this weekend to give away to the family.

I just made pineapple jam for the pineapple tarts (I am such a newbie!) and let's pray they won't turn our disastrous or I'd be very upset. I promised my sisters I'll try to make them for CNY!

Can you believe it's 2 weeks to the Chinese New Year? Holy crap!

Medan To Lake Toba

2012-01-04T02:30:00.000+08:00

19th - 21st August 2011.

Friday - We almost missed our flight that morning. The cab that took us, ran out of gas just 10 minutes away from LCCT. He told us that he thought he would have enough gas to take us to the airport, hence didn't see the need of refueling before our journey began.

We stood at the roadside, waiting for the cab driver's friend to save him (or us) by picking us up and dropping us off at the LCCT.

His friend grumbled along the way, wondering why couldn't the guy have sufficiently refueled before the long trip to the airport.

At the airport with 30 minutes before the gates closed, we had to beg the counter to accept our baggage check-in and then made a run towards the departure hall.

Poor parents-in-law! It was like a family version of The Amazing Race with all the stress and running involved. ;D

Arriving at Polonia International Airport Medan, our tour guide and driver whisked us off to visit Istana Maimoon. It was built by Sultan of Deli in 1888. Its unique interior designs reflect the influence of Malay, Indian, Spanish and Italian style.

We left Medan and made our way to Brastagi, stopping by at Mikie Holiday Hotel for lunch. Nothing fancy, just some dishes to be eaten with rice. (see top pic below)

There was another couple who were part of our tour and soon we realised that their presence made it a bit awkward for us: the husband never uttered a word, while the wife would do her best to chat with my in-laws. It was really weird!

After lunch, we proceeded to Brastagi and checked in to our hotel, the Grand Mutiara Hotel. The balcony in our room opened up to the gardens, tempting us to go out and play instead. But it was drizzling.

Our guide brought us to the market selling fresh fruits and vegetables and plants. We looked around but bought nothing.

That hairy puffer fish-like fruit caught my eye. After a quick walk around, we took shelter at a stall selling corn on the cob. The couple sat far from us, and separately. Really weird!

Dinner was the usual awkwardness at the hotel.

Saturday - The next morning, we made our way towards Lake Toba. First stop was the Sipisopiso waterfall, located at the North side of Lake Toba.

Misty morning at the Sipisopiso waterfalls. Everyone took an opportunity to use the loo with small fee.

The waterfall is a 110m drop from a cave opening. There were steps leading closer to the waterfall but as we weren't given much time to explore, YB and I couldn't get close enough to the bottom.

Next, we dropped by Pematang Purba to visit the old Simalungun Batak Long House. Only Batak tribe chiefs display a bull's head on their roof.

The Simalungun Batak Long House is also known as Rumah Bolon.

We proceeded to Parapat and stopped at Simarjarunjung to taste their ginger tea, served with banana fritter.

It was the banana fritter that was the deciding factor for us. Well, my in-laws enjoyed their ginger tea. It was too strong for me, honestly. Brrr!

It cost Rupiah 14,000 per serving, I think.

Arriving at Parapat shortly, we took the ferry/boat to cross the lake to Samosir Island.

We soaked in the sights of Lake Toba.

And then the boys started singing ... which was quite bad, to be honest. I knew they were going to ask for donations. =P

We first visited the Ambarita village to see chair stones.

A different type of longhouse, compared to the Rumah Bolon.

Don't you think the statue overseeing the donation box reminds you of Punch, of Punch & Judy?

From there, we stopped by the Tomok village to see .. erm ... something.

There were many souvenir stalls along the way but nothing fancy really caught our eye. I bought a scarf, along with the mum-in-law, who did her best to haggle. I also bought a tshirt from an old lady, although I really didn't want to buy it as she refused to give me a new one.

Another stall owner wanted to exchange money with us as she had accepted Malaysian Ringgit from a previous customer. The MIL obliged her.

We then checked in to Niagara Hotel, which offers a great view of the lake.

We realised that both the hotels we stayed had no lifts, causing us to walk up and down the stairs. Pity the porters and old folks.

We also wondered why their notes tend to end up disgustingly 'kiam chai' (preserved vegetable) like. Ugh.

Dinner was no biggie. We couldn't find a place to sit around and chat as there was no lobby for guests to mingle. There was only a lounge for guests to mingle, provided you ordered a drink.

Sunday - The next morning after breakfast, we had to check out to make our way back to Medan.

The breakfast buffet was full with rowdy visitors, queuing up for fried vermicelli and rice, eggs and cereal.

It was long and bumpy ride back to Medan, about 4 hours of torture. We only stopped along the way to buy some souvenir biscuits/candy from Teng Teng.

We didn't get to visit the kuih lapis or kuih bika bakeries. =(

There was plenty of trishaws on the road but I think it would be madness to take the trishaw and get stuck in traffic.

Our guide dropped us at one of the shopping malls in town where we found a food court to partake our lunch. Hmmm, it was the only time we could get a taste of their Indonesian dishes like soto, fried ikan keli and ayam penyet.

The 3 days 2 nights trip was just right, with too much free time on our hands. Besides Lake Toba, there really wasn't much to see along the way. It so happened that a few of my colleagues had also recently went to Medan to visit Lake Toba as well and they too, shared the view.

Fubon Taipei Marathon 2011

2012-01-03T07:37:00.000+08:00

Thursday, 15th December 2011.

We made our way to Taipei City Hall in search of the Fubon Cafe to pick up our race kits. We stood by the crossroads in front of the City Hall for a moment, and I felt that rush of adrenaline as I stared at the blue banners.

YB and I clung to each others' arms, "Oh my gawd, it's happening! We're going to run the marathon right here!!"

The race kit collection was a quiet affair, compared to our Malaysian ones.

Ready or not, here we come!

Race Day - Sunday, 18th De cember 2011.

It was hard to rouse ourselves out of the comfortable hotel bed when the alarm rang at 430am. By the time we jostled ourselves out and prepared to leave, it was already 540am. We were like hesitant children, reluctant to attend the first day of school.

We walked towards the nearest MRT station and soon enough we could spot the runners from the non-runners. The runners had a maroon bag each slung over their shoulders, a clear requirement by the Taiwan Running Association that you MUST use only the maroon CTRRA bags for storage deposit at the events organized by them.

On the MRT.

Buzzing at 6am.

It was still dark when we arrived at the Taipei City Hall at 610am. We purchased the maroon bag for NT$100, changed, deposited the bag and used the portaloo. By the time we were ready to head towards the Start/Finish line, it was inching to 650am.

As runners for the full and half marathons and 9km categories started together, it was so crowded that I feared I was going to take 20 minutes just to cross the Start line. It’s requirement for the runners to cross the finish line within 15 minutes of flag off, but how would it be possible with about 120,000 people?

The elite runners started at 6:57am. We were stuck here and couldn't up any further so we stood still to made sure we could hear the flag off.

The first 8km or so was pretty crowded but fun. There were many supporters along the way, some dressed in funny outfits, cheered the runners wholeheartedly. It was a different atmosphere altogether. I drank in the sights, taking in the crowd, the cheers and cool weather.

I lost sight of YB the minute we crossed the start line. Dressed in a black long sleeve cotton top over my Nike We Run KL dry fit tee with arm warmers, I was getting a bit warm. I rolled up my sleeves but still felt warm.

The 9km runners headed left after 4km or so, leaving the route a little less crowded. The half and full marathoners continued on until about 8km, where they headed up an overheard bridge, whilst we took a right turn to run along the river.

We saw some male runners peeing into the bushes on the right side of the road. A few uncles behind me, laughed and exclaimed, "Wah! Look at them!!"

We saw a half marathoner coming towards our direction, grinning from ear to ear, "Ooops! I followed the wrong crowd!"

The uncles behind me chuckled.

A few steps later, we saw a young boy coming towards us, clearly a lost 9km runner.

"Wah!! This one is worse! He has a longer way to go!" one uncle commented.

I was doing pretty OK right up to the 20km, clocking 2:06 thereabouts. I thought I was going to do a decent time (oh, such overconfidence!) but it took a downhill turn from there.

The top of my right thigh (where it meets the hip) started to cramp, and I have ALWAYS had difficulty in loosening up that part. I always have problems dealing with a cramp at that spot during my long rounds (> 20km).

But I wasn't the only person having problems, so I wasn't alone. There were others who would stop along the way to stretch. But that didn't make me feel better!

I stopped to put on my iPod, as I finally needed some distraction for the rest of the route.

It was a lovely day with the blue canopy. But it didn't make me feel any better.

The cramps, argh.

I took off my arm warmers and tied it to my pouch. It's funny, you know. Sometimes I was warm and I'd roll up my sleeves, but once the wind blew, I would feel a bit chilly again and I'd roll down my sleeves. What a dilemma.

Completing every km thereafter was an accomplishment I could not even sustain. My left calf cramped, and I tried to stretch. And there was a point where my right thigh cramped at the same time, and I was like, "What. The. Hell. This is ridiculous."

I kept repeating to myself, "Thisisridiculous, thisisridiculous, THIS IS RIDICULOUS!" because I didn't know what else to do. I looked out for medical assistants with Perskindol spray or something but there were none. I guess I'd really have to ask them for help, instead of expecting them to offer help?

As I was stretching by the railing when an uncle told me to pose for his camera. He then ran ahead and upon reaching a guy who was stretching by the railing, he did the same.

"He'll probably show his friends later how hopeless we were," I mused.

The river route was a long one. We ran for about 7km on one side and then climbed up a bridge to cross over to run on the other side to run another 13km. I was getting tired of the view and running on the bicycle path.

Thankfully, I could stop every 2.5km to hydrate myself, but then again, I was already walking and running most of the way.

I was very very very frustrated.

Even my right foot cramped!

I wanted my 4:40 but in my condition, I knew I was not going to achieve it.

You know, the Taiwanese are generally friendly people? Apparently I dropped my arm warmers along the way and one guy told me. I smiled my thanks and stopped in my tracks, not knowing what to do.

I could see that I'd have to run back 10 metres to retrieve it, but I didn't want to waste my energy. But I felt bad because it would mean I was littering.

With a sigh, I trudged back to pick it up, but only to find it was only one side. I couldn't see the other one.

Did I mention that the supporters along the way were still energetic people? Most runners, including myself would wave at them - they had to be acknowledged, of course. Too bad I wasn't running with a camera in hand, I should have thought about it!

My Garmin reset itself at 20 something km, adding to my frustration. I don't know how long it was out, but I knew for a fact that either I had to run quicker to make up for lost time (I couldn't rely on it any more for a good time).

At the 30km checkpoint, I checked the clock which read 10:38am, I think. Bad.

I shook my head in despair. I wanted to quit! But I berated myself and sighed, "Which joker told me that marathoners are no quitters?"

"Fine. I can't complete the damn thing in 4:40 but at least a sub-5, right?" I asked myself.

It felt as if The River Jungle Marathon was less of a torture compared to this one, but why? It was puzzling. Perhaps I was tired from walking around Taipei during the first 3 days? Or was I just unprepared? Definitely both.

My muscles are pretty funny, I must say. I felt a tad bit better by the 37th km and I had to shake myself out of this gloom and trudge on.

Back in the city, a shop proprietor and relatives/friends were serving fruits by the road, just outside their shop. I saw mandarin oranges, and I wanted to grab some, but I hesitated.

I continued on, instead, and focused on the last 5km. It was a long one.

An uncle supporter called out to me, causing me turn back to acknowledge him with a wave,"Pretty lady, keep it up!"

I think I hit the 40km checkpoint at 11:45am or so, I honestly can't remember now. I tried my best to muster up the energy since the finish line getting nearer and nearer. I wanted to make sure I finished the race with a sub-5 gun time.

Everyone was picking up during the last km. Supporters on the road continued cheering and the runners waved in return.

Argh.

I crossed the finish line at 5:01:07.

Nooooooooooooo ...

I mustered a smile and said thanks to the volunteers who handed me the medal and towel. I limped towards our designated meeting spot to wait for YB, exhausted.

I was relieved that the race was over, just plain relieved. I dug deep into the recesses of my brain to see if I was excited or not, but I came up empty handed.

YB and I congratulated each other as he managed to cross the finish line at 4:35 ... lucky fella!

The skies were grey by 1230pm. I still had to redeem my goodie bag.

The queue for the full marathoners' food distribution.

Although I didn't feel any sense of achievement, I felt I still had to take a pic as it was our last marathon ever! (Ever!)

Inside our food pack.

A local band had been performing for the crowd for a while, and it was slowly wrapping up the event.

We got someone to take the obligatory pic (with our medals) of us. We usually don't take pictures with event backdrops but we thought, ah might as well.

We slowly made our way to the MRT to return to our hotel. It was a very slow walk.

Back at the hotel room, I devoured the pork chop while YB watched the news on telly. There was a mention on the Taipei Marathon with some shots of colourful supporters along the way.

My legs were in pain and I was numb. I felt no buzz from completing the marathon but I couldn't figure out whether it was really disappointment or plain denial - I was slowly blocking out how I felt during the run.

But let's talk about the race.

The good things:
1. Although they said that water stations were only located every 5km after the first one, water and isotonic drinks were also provided at their sponge stations, making hydration available every 2.5km.

2. The supporters, the people along the way. I have never ever seen SO MANY smiling faces cheering the runners on. It must be the weather, I tell you. And their funny costumes would cheer you up.

3. As the 9km, half and full marathoners begin the race the same time, they cross the finish line at different times. The full marathoners were last to complete the race so the volunteers are able to focus their attention on them. You won't have to avoid bumping into the 9km or half marathoners as you race towards the finish line.

4. The event area is divided into sections, to avoid unnecessary overcrowding. The full marathoners deposit/collect their bag at one area while the 9km & half marathoners have their own section, situated on the other side.

5. Returning the championship chip entitles you to a refund of NT$100 on the spot. ;D

6. Medals, certificate and towels for half and full marathon finishers. We love our towel! That's considered our souvenir from Taipei. ;D

The bad stuff:
1. The route along the river eventually became very boring. We had to run on one side, make a u-turn on the overhead bridge to run along the other side. It was about 25km worth. Some live music would have been good, honestly.

2. At some points along the river, we had to run on the bicycle lanes which was very crowded. It was hard to run without bumping into anyone, nor would you have sufficient space to overtake someone. I almost tripped onto the uneven ground as I tried to manouvre myself around a boy. Grrr.

3. The medical people do not stand outside their tent with Perskindol spray (or whatever Taiwanese equivalent) or offer any help. Instead, they sat in their chairs and waited for runners to approach them for help. I tried looking for Deep Heat rub or any form of ointment but they didn't bother asking me what was it I wanted so I left.

Overall, it was very well organised event. Enjoyed their well-planned organisation!

~
Lele's pictures will give you a gist of how the run was. I'm sorry I wasn't running with a camera in hand. Check out the picture of girls in bunny ears holding a cardboard carrot each - that was my favourite 'support' group.

p.s. Try as I may, I really can't recall much about the race. Talk about selective amnesia!

And here's the Altitude Diagram, just in case you're interested. Hah!

Erk!

2011-12-30T11:40:00.003+08:00

What a shame.

My beloved company is now blocking access to 'blogspot' websites, just so you know, we're living in the dark ages where one must not surf the net during your own time (before and after office hours and lunch hours).

Goodness knows when they'll entirely block off access to Blogger.

The Macbook Pro's screen has gone wonky so I can't really read and see things properly now. I can't edit my pictures, hence the lack of mood to blog. What's the point of writing so much over here when there are some who rather scroll down to see only the pictures? =P

I've got a lot of on my plate right now. My list of unfinished tasks glare at me angrily (in my head). So I've decied that for my new year resolution(s), I'm keeping it pretty simple:

Finish up the unfinished, complete the uncompleted.

It's frustrating really, that work takes up so much of one's time. I've got a million unfinished tasks, mostly related to crafts.

In 2012, I shall try to do the following:

finish up and send out my half-written letters.

finish up my unfinished crochet projects.

tidy up my cluttered life.

improve the cooking experiments I've done so far.

keep training for that sub-2 half marathon, just in case. Who knows?

It's the second last day of the year and I've still got loads to do. *long face*

It's going to be a busy weekend again. I can't believe 2011 ended so quickly!

In case I don't have time to write, I hope you'll have a fantastic year end celebration this weekend before embracing 2012. Here's to a better year ahead with lots of improvement in everything that you do. Thanks for dropping by. ;D

Happy New Year!

Dutamas Runners : Raymond Ng

2011-12-23T20:30:00.000+08:00

Raymond a.k.a. Tomatoman, is one of the bubbly runners you'd meet on the road who will never fail to greet you, unless of course, he's running very very hard and turning red at the same time. His day job involves being "kuli orang" (his exact words!) or in English, you'd take it to mean "someone's slave".

He recently finished as the top runner of Tom, Dick & Harry's Mou Man Tai 2.0 run held on 13th November 2011. Woohoo!

1. How long have you been running?
started 2006 after near death experience in 2005. and this can be another interview...hehehe.

2. When did you complete your first marathon? Was it painful?
first 42km was KL marathon 2007. painful, yes, caused by leg muscle cramps.

3. What was your most memorable event for 2011 and why?
can I have 2 events? :P
PJ half marathon - I did my PB :)
TMBT - 50km trail run...my first distance beyond the marathon (in running)

4. When you're not running, do you play any other sports?
cycle...used to play racket games...badminton and squash but not anymore

5. You're very into trail running. Tell us, is it scary? Does it help you be a better (and faster) runner on the road? Would you be willing to guide newbie Dutamas Runners on an easy trail one day? ;D

(sorry, I had to throw that last one in. ;D)

yes, trail running is NOT boring like road running. definitely not scary during the day but when the sun sets, it can be a little spooky. other than that, it's definitely not scary if you like nature and don't mind mud on your shoes. it does help you to be more agile as trail running is not like the the flat road where you can actually close your eyes and run, provided no dog poo along your route!

trail running involves more muscles used. your feet not only move forward, they need to have extra movements, vertically & horizontally, or up down left right. essentially it's a full workout for your ankles. strengthen ligaments, tendons and other muscles as opposed to road running.

so when shall DR go for a trail run? easy trail...ok, let's go FRIM...26th ok?

6. What is the best and worst thing(s) about running?

best - you just feel good...partly due to endorphin...a "drug" produced by our own body which has the effects similar to morphine! yes! i'm not pulling your leg here. it's true.
google it or just read this link.
like it or not, we will be addicted to it...that's when you know why there are drug addicts. well, we are the natural and original drug addicts! woohoo! :D
who doesn't want to feel good, right?

worst - injuries!!!! cos you can't feel good when you can't run.

7. Do you have any favourite carbo loading food?

nope...i just eat anything...but remember carbo loading doesn't work if you munch munch munch the day before the race or marathon. you need to EAT, don't FAST the week before the run. not necessary to eat a horse or eat as if there's no tomorrow. just eat your regular meals with a bit more carbs.

8. If you could organise an event, how and what would it be?

Our Capt KYK DR1 has the answer. A time handicap run! Yes!!!

Set a distance, eg: 5km or 10km. Be honest with your personal best timing.
Slowest (no offence!) start first and fastest start last. Mathematically, all should arrive at the finishing line at the same time, but we know that's not going to happen. And that's where the climax is. Last few hundred metres will be everyone chasing & trying to outrun each other.

(DR1 kekeke, that's a good one!)

Raymond & Michelle at the Genting Trailblazer event.

9. What advice would you give to newbie runners?
Don't fly when you've just started walking!
Oh...what I mean is, don't jump into a marathon if you have not ran 5km, 10km, 21km, 30km. Why? Marathon is 42.195km...NOT 4.2km.
Now that I've got that clear, hopefully...
Ok, running is FUN!

DON"T be intimidated by those fast legs. You must understand that they did not start running yesterday or a newbie like you. Those fast runners have been running for years...yes ...years! They have trained and seasoned their legs, body and mind to be able to run fast over a long distance.

I started in 2006 and all I wanted then, was to run 10km without stopping and walk. I didn't bother about my time then.

After that, you increase your target...maybe run 10km a little faster than your previous time. Or just maintain your pace if you don't like to be gasping like fish out of water when you run faster. then when you've done enough 10km runs, you may like to try 15km or 21km and eventually progress to a marathon. But you don't have to if you don't like the idea. There are many runners who just stick to 10km or 21km. They don't like the marathon distance...too far la.

But on the other hand, there are marathon maniacs or freaks who only run marathons. they don't do 5km or 10km runs cos to them, too short. Or they just like the idea to run far over a long time to enjoy it.

Well, you don't have to follow anyone's standard, you just run according to how your body feels. DON'T be KIASU!

You don't have to beat or outrun anybody unless of course you have a bet with your friend and a beer is on the line. hahaha!

Don't be intimidated when you see a fast running tomato on the road, just say hi to Raymond!

A Biscotti Experiment

2011-12-23T07:38:00.000+08:00

(Written on 13th December 2011)

With Christmas just around the corner, I realised that I am once again, far from my ambitious plans of completing the following:

1. Making and sending out Christmas cards;

2. Baking Christmas goodies; and

3. Saving enough money for my holiday out of the country.

To date, I have achieved NONE of the above. =(

A few months ago, I had this grand idea of making biscotti and giving them away to friends for Christmas.

No, I'm actually lying. I only wanted to make some to send to the BFF up north.

Unfortunately, November was a terribly crazy month and then came December, which was/is equally bad! Argh!

I was upset with the results as they turned out pretty charred. =((

I brought most of them to work (leaving only 6 pieces at home for YB, just in case he may want to munch them) but I was wary about offering them to my colleagues.

I finally mustered enough courage to offer them to my colleagues and was pleasantly surprised that they said it was pretty good!

I mean, I couldn't stop munching on them wouldn't mean my colleagues would feel the same. Could it be the chocolate bits that nailed it? Hmmm.

I was going for Almond Biscotti but my sliced almonds wouldn't stick stay in. Most of them fell out! Meh. I'll figure it out the next time. ;)

~

We finally opened up our Secret Santa presents at work that afternoon and it was fun. It was fun to see everyone tearing up the gift wrappers to see what they'd receive and trying to guess who was it from. You could read some happy expressions and some well hidden disappointed ones.

Some of the gifts this year included: a weighing scale (the recipient isn't fat!), Cadbury and Van Houten chocolates, Famous Amos cookies with a teddy bear, cufflinks and tie clip, imported hand lotion from Australia, a gigantic coffee mug (this was the favourite among everyone!), wrist rest and mouse pad, Schaeffer pen, Smurf soft toy, photo frame, shawl.

My Secret Santa gave me 2 mini books with cookie recipes and curry recipes. I thought I guessed correctly who my Secret Santa was but when I thanked them (I had 2 suspects), they both denied giving them to me!

I've given up guessing who gave them to me.

But it's timely now that Chinese New Year is around the corner - I can try some cookie recipes!

Quick Hello from Taipei

2011-12-16T09:54:00.000+08:00

It's cold over here! The average temperature is about 16 C but when the wind blows in the evenings, it feels like 10 C!We got into Taipei at about 1am on Thursday. Set the alarm at 9am but we only left the hotel at 1030am to hunt for brunch before going into the city centre to pick up our race packs.I would love to include a few pictures in this post but somehow I can't log in to the blogger app. Geez.It's so grey and gloomy over here that it feels like London at times. ;P Stalls serving street food are abundant and honestly, I'm tired of eating already. I'm terrified of constipation. ;PThe bakeries grab my attention most of the time, they have so many different types of buns that I wish I could try them all! I freeze whenever someone greets me or prattles on about their products in mandarin. All I can do is nod and smile and pray they won't speak to me anymore. I'm absolutely terrified because YB has warned me that I speak Malaysian Mandarin which has phrases directly translated from Cantonese so the Taiwanese may not understand me.For instance this evening, a lady asked me about my camera, whether it was too heavy to lug around. I could only answer her, "Yes, it's heavy." and smiled prettily.I suggested she get a compact camera and she replied that it wasn't just the same. Blah blah blah and she went off to take a picture of the subject I was taking before she approached me.Anyway it's Friday and we've got to go somewhere out of the city. We've been told to visit as many places as possible on weekdays as it's REALLY crowded on weekends. 你好!

Dutamas Runners : Paul Dimaandal

2011-12-13T21:45:00.004+08:00

Paul seems to know almost every runner on the road - he's CRAZY friendly! You'll be able to spot Paul from a mile away as he'll greet you with an ever ready smile and a loud chirpy hello!

(actually, I'd say it's his hysterical laughter!)

1. How long have you been running?

I've been running longer distances since 2007. During primary and secondary days, I'm also a track and field player doing sprints and hurdles.

2. Have you always enjoyed running? Seriously?

I always enjoy running. I actually love running regardless whether I meet my goals or not. Running always gives me a sense of peacefulness inside. It's the time for me to release the stress and tension I get from the everyday hustle and bustle.

3. When did you complete your first marathon and was it painful?

My first marathon was in Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2008 (SCMS). It was a torture! I got cramps just at the 15km mark because I lacked sleep the night before. Aside from that, I underestimated the marathon. :)

I walked the last 27km. :) The only thing that kept me moving was the finisher tee. :)

4. Do you think everyone (or maybe just runners) should complete at least one or two marathons in their lifetime?

Yes I think so. Running a marathon always is about conquering yourself and knowing your limits.

at the recent PJ Half Marathon.

5. What is the best and worst thing(s) about running?

Best thing in running: Running gives you the sense of peacefulness. It's also the best way to meet and socialize with other people.

Worse thing in running: It makes most of my toe nails ugly and they look awful. :D

6. When you're not running, do you play any other sports?

Yes I do. I swim, bike or play badminton.

7. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? (No, you can't say "I want to be a faster runner!")

How come it's like you've read my mind on being a faster runner? :) OK, Since you mentioned that as an exception, I'll go for being taller. LOL. I always feel having longer legs are always an advantage in most sports.

8. Do you have any favourite carbo loading food?

Hell yeah! :) I love a very good fried rice! Well, I know pastas are the best source of carbs compared to rice, but I still feel rice powers me up or gives me enough stored energy.

I actually eat anything before the race except spicy foods. I've had an experience of eating spicy food a day before the race. Race day comes and you're running faster to the toilets instead of towards the finish line! That sucked!

9. Are there any events you're looking forward to in 2012?

Nothing specific yet in mind but I want to run more in overseas if the budget permits :) I also want to know how fast I can finish a marathon in cold weather.

with wifey at the Newton Run 2010.

p.s. What's his daytime job, you ask? A design consultant.

It's Friday!

2011-12-09T21:30:00.000+08:00

I am sleep indebted.

I wish I had the weekend to pay it off but no, not this weekend or the one after.

Maybe Christmas or the New Year, perhaps. But I highly doubt it.

I've been nodding off at work for the past few days, I guess spirulina isn't working for me anymore.

If you've been seeing photos of a ginger cat uploaded daily on my Facebook page, well, Kitty is always snoozing on the stairs leading out of the parking lot. And she's always sleeping in such funny positions that I just couldn't resist snapping pictures of her. =)

Check out those pinky paws!! *melt*

She really isn't bothered with people walking by her, she just remains in her position, not giving a damn.

Sometimes I recall my drinking days and cringe. There I was, a blubbery person. *shudder* And all I wanted to do was down 10 pints in one night.

That was my target, you know? A target I never achieved!

I think I only hit 9 pints and that was it.

A few weeks ago when I was suffering from a bad cough which I feared was the worst (asthma or pneumonia), MIL (mother-in-law) steamed some oranges stuffed with a bit of salt or honey for me. It was said it could cure bad coughs.

The first time I tried it, it was OK. I felt there was a wee bit of improvement in my cough. The second time, however, which was a week later, was a total reverse.

My phlegm and cough came back, which was a real bummer, but I didn't dare to tell them that perhaps this so-called cure wasn't a real remedy after all.

*Yawns*

You're not going to think that I'm really lame to crawl into bed this early on a Friday night, are you?

Klue, Doh!

2011-12-08T23:42:00.001+08:00

Looks like The Star beat me to it!

But then again, I am rather late in writing this entry. (Why oh why don't I have enough time in a day?)

Last Friday evening (3rd December), my youngest sister and I joined Nur and her sister to catch the preview of Klue, Doh! ... how can one resist a show priced only at RM25 (online), you tell me? But that was only for the preview, mind you! ;)

It was so quiet in the Publika and we almost got lost! I had to ask for directions from the security guard at the lobby.

Mercedes-Benz was having an event at the White Box and from afar, we thought hey, awesome! Klue, Doh!'s pretty happening but only to find ourselves at Black Box where everything was quiet.

The ticketing people weren't there yet (stuck in traffic) and the early comers including ourselves hovered around the corridor, surreptitiously casting glances to White Box where the glamourous August Man event was going on.

Anyway, at 830pm, one of the crew members asked everyone to show us our tickets before deciding whether we'd be suspects or witnesses. The four of us were made witnesses.

We got him to lend us an arm for this picture. ;D

We were wondering what would happen if we were made suspects. Part of the show, perhaps? Hehe.

But no. After a warm welcome from Geordie , he told us that the Suspects and Witnesses would be split up - witnesses go to right, and suspects go to left.

It's like entering a night club with a rubber stamp pass, but way cooler. ;D

This was the scene that greeted us when we entered through a dark passage and into the theatre. Most of the audience sat there giggling at the poor fella, and you could tell that everyone was just excited for the show to begin. Soon you'll notice Gangbang Sukajolo Suprianto the Indonesian maid (played by Nabihan Yusof) sitting on the left side of what appears to the study room, observing the body before the lights come on.

Then the show began. It was very entertaining and the audience couldn't stop laughing. When I recall that night, well, I can't stop giggling to myself all over again.

Then came the short interval, and the witnesses and suspects swapped places. This time, we were in the living room, taking in what had taken place while we were in the study room, which was beside the living room.

During the time when you were in the study room, you'd hear a lot of commotion from the other room, which was actually another scene going on in the living room.

So when you're watching the second part, things start falling into place and you'll finally see a 'clearer' picture, if that's what you'd like to think. ;)

There were some more hilarious scenes that to one extent, both my sister and I were clutching each other's arms to stifle our giggles.

I got home that night and raved about the show to YB and insisted he just had to watch it or he'll never know what I'm talking about. The next day when we visited Nur's family, her sister insisted that YB watch it, too ... so that we could all discuss the show!

I can't decide which character I liked best. Nabihan was superb with her Indonesian accent and all, but ASP Hamzah (played by Iqmal Shafiq) got the audience cracking up most of the time. Nur's sister thinks he's the funniest. The brother-in-law, Alan (played by JD Menon) made me laugh, too. He was always calling Gangbang as in 'gang bang'!

My sister likes Abraham, son of Jackson Mo, who was always traveling around to save the world.

Anyway, I'm not going to write much here. It's very hard to explain it with my atrocious grammar and vocabulary so you'll just have to watch it for yourself!

Watch it with an open mind and be prepared to smile all the way. I wasn't expecting much at first, to be honest (as I didn't know most of the cast) but I read the review and the synopsis of the show and couldn't wait to watch it.

I was reminded how much I enjoyed The Actors' Studio's The Importance of Being Earnest with Jit Murad and Gavin Yap, and Taylor's College' The Mousetrap years ago.

More info / other reviews:
Klue
Cinematic Concerns

Perspiration of a Group Exercise Instructor

Notes of a Song

Playing from 2nd December to 17th December 2011.
Tickets are priced RM38 for students/concession and RM68 for adults.
You can buy your tickets online at http://www.tix.my/.
Venue: Black Box, MAPS @ Publika, Solaris Dutamas.

Ran Out of the Terry Fox Run

2011-12-06T09:50:00.000+08:00

13th November 2011, Sunday.
We were there bright and early just before 7am and the crowd was just arriving at Padang Merbok. We were puzzled as the run starts at 9am and the volunteers were supposed to be there by 7am.

We hung around near the stage, listening to the guy (with the irritating voice) on the microphone, trying to gather the volunteers around. Out of the blue, a lady got the guys to help out with boxes of food.

Alicia and I hung around, feeling like fools. The guy was seriously getting on our nerves, not knowing how to gather the volunteers together. He accused the students of wasting time when they had been standing at the stage all along, waiting for instructions! The way he spoke was very impatient and belittling, as if the college students were unworthy of his respect.

Please, the volunteers were lending a helping hand for free because we believe in a good cause (for cancer research). If you cannot even treat your volunteers right and with due respect, it is no wonder you are desperate for volunteers every year!

After a while, my blood was boiling and he was really hopeless as a leader, Alicia and I rounded up the guys and asked whether we should just head out for breakfast. We stood at the field a little longer, and then we couldn’t take it anymore. (Please, can they have someone else in charge of the volunteers next time? Someone with more direction and a pleasant voice.)

We left shortly before the flag off, to the bewilderment of some college volunteers waiting at the junction to direct the Terry Fox runners the right direction.

Another event was happening at Dataran Merdeka, it was a 10km run in support of the spastic association or something. Had we known, we would have been there to support the event as well.

Anyway, don’t get me wrong. I think CARIF should own the show and that the organizing committee needs to be well organized for a successful event.

My 2 cents worth:

1. Have a game plan for the volunteers. Gather them around the day before and brief them on their duties. Divide them into teams immediately so that on Event day, team leaders can get their team to work immediately at the designated areas.

2. With that sorted out, the big guy in charge of volunteers need not hog the microphone on Event day. Early birds who are supporting the event need not listen to the organizing committee shouting out instructions. They want a host to get the crowd pumping or brief us on CARIF’s importance and work and more about Terry Fox, things like that. That’s the whole purpose of the event, isn't it?

[I observed the Nike We Run KL event on 27th November 2011 and that’s how it should have been – only the host hogs the microphone.]

3. How do you differentiate the volunteers from the crowd? You make the volunteers purchase the current year’s T-shirt without giving them for free. I understand if it’s too much but let them have a cap or something? Everyone looks the same!

4. Once details are changed, like the starting time of the run – you must come up with new posters to highlight the change of time. Many were there early because the old poster stated that the run starts at 730am. Seriously. From 730am to 9.00am is a lot of difference!

5. 9.00am is ridiculously too late to start a run event. It is VERY HOT. 8.00am at the latest, please. There are people bringing their kids out, too!

Despite the disorganisation of the event, there were still plenty of supporters in attendance. I sincerely hope they had fun and enjoyed themselves.

Me? Us? We had fun goofing around ... somewhere else.

We ran to Petaling Street to have beef noodles for breakfast instead.

14 Days To Go!

2011-12-01T12:09:00.001+08:00

[Warning: picture heavy post!]

OK, ok, I am hopelessly slow at times, because as you know, I'm a procrastinator, and even my senses tend to procrastinate as well.

I only just realised *fidgety & excited* that my holiday is AROUND THE CORNER!!! Woo hoo!!

*fidgets around some more*

Me to YB: HOLY
COW!!! Next week's
our last chance to finish up work before our
holiday!!

YB: Ya. (Ish. Such lacklustre response from a busy man
at work!)
Me: I'm checking out places for beef noodles now!
*drool emoticon*
Me: Oh, our last training run will be on the 12th Dec
k.

We were supposed to discuss our budget for the trip last Friday but a yumcha session got in the way. It was nice to meet up with friends after a long tiring week, anyway.

We have also been ridiculously knackered from our runs and socialising. A 25km run last Saturday and a 10km on Sunday wore us down. I honestly thought Nike's We Run KL 2011 on Sunday was going to be a recovery run for the both of us, but once you're in a crowd, well, it's very hard to slow down. Nevertheless my legs were sore and I didn't do as well as I wanted to.

Looking back, November was an extremely busy month for the both of us, with weekends of traveling, if not running. The first weekend in November (5th - 7th), we were back in KK to visit my family, attend a friend's wedding and conquered the Padas River Rapids.

Before we left on Saturday, we were invited out for drinks at the last minute on Friday night. We were supposed to be resting at home and packing for our trip back to KK!

Even Lynn dropped by to say hi right after she landed in KL. ;D

YH's wedding reception was lunch at Promenade Hotel. We met up with our old friends; YB and his university mates (and my college friends) and I with my schoolmates.

We were lucky to be seated at a table with 2 darling kids. They were both so excited to be part of the toasting ceremony, one with a glass of water and the other with his milk bottle. SO CUTE!!!!!!!!

There was so much food that we weren't able to finish. Such a waste.

YB has ALWAYS wanted to take on the Padas river while I have always resisted it. In the end, after years of resisting, I thought ah what the heck, I have to be adventurous some day!

We went with Riverbug. They picked us up from their office at 540am to drive us to Beaufort train station. We rode on the old locomotive train to our destination which took about 2 hours. It was fun but long. On our way back, the journey was stuffy and uncomfortable due to the humid afternoon air.

I could have peed in my pants, I'm not sure but I was terrified.
I am NOT an adrenaline junkie nor do I love water sports. I'm so glad I didn't fall into the water. You can tell I chose to fall INTO the raft instead. =P

However, my senses left me for a teensy bit and I took a leap of faith and jumped into the water to body raft.

It was scary shit when I submerged but fun when the waters were calm.

(Then I felt a bit fluey.)

The second weekend in November (12th & 13th) was the Terry Fox Run as well as the Tom, Dick & Harry's Still Mou Man Tai 2.0 run. That was a crazy fun weekend!

We were supposed to lend a hand at the Terry Fox event but after listening to the voice of the person in charge of volunteers, we were put off. And since we weren't planning on running, anyway, we decided to run OUT of the event instead. We headed to Petaling Street for beef noodles instead. ;D

Poor Gilbert must have been wondering how he succumbed to playing truant...

The same evening, most of us met up again at Taman Tun Ismail's Tom, Dick & Harry for their 2nd installation of the Mou Man Tai run.

RM30 registration fee for a 5km run and free flow of beer right after the run - how much better can this deal get? But the run to the park and back was no easy feat, especially when there are hills in the way. And I was, erm, feeling a bit fluey, remember? Ah, I shouldn't have ran.

I'm not sure whether we drank our fill but we couldn't stay too long as Dr OKT was hungry. We had to proceed to dinner after 3 jugs (and more) of beer.

We were high and happy!

Then I felt sick and miserable that week. It was very very frustrating, but you know that already.

Came Friday, I had to meet up with my old friends from school for dinner. By this time, I wasn't able to taste my food so urgh, it was a real bummer! But I could tell that the food at Basil Thai, Bangsar Village was not very good. Their pad thai was a lump of noodles stuck together!

The 3rd weekend (19th & 20th) saw Dutamas Runners making a road trip up to Ipoh and Penang for the Penang Bridge International Marathon (PBIM). I shouldn't have ran since I was still sick but I did. It was a baaaad run, but the view from the bridge was breathtaking in the wee hours of the morning.

I think we had enough of hawker fare by the time we were ready to go. I still wasn't able to taste my food, you know, so I honestly didn't know whether they were yummy or not. But the price of char kuey teow for the big prawns is honestly not justified. *shakes head*

Geoff and YB made their PB in the 10km and half marathon respectively. It was a miserable LSD for me but somehow I managed to complete the 21km within 2:24. Argh.

Took time off from work to recover. Was worried by then that perhaps I had caught pneumonia on the bridge ... *touch wood*

The last weekend (26th & 27th) was our time for running and visiting friends. We made a trip up to Ipoh to surprise YB's dad for his birthday. I baked him a banana walnut cake which wasn't rich nor sweet, thankfully it was too his liking. =)

Visited our friends who were back from Perth for a while. Darling Ryu Iskandar is 3 going on 4. He's a big boy now, and is still his hyperactive self. YB played the role of the manny while we chatted.

Miya Suraya is round as ever (look at those cheeks) and has just started to walk.

Why are babies just so adorable???

It was our first Nike We Run KL event and man, it was crazy crowded! Some of the guys were at Desapark City Run while most of us were in KL.

It was a very good event, I must say, and perhaps it's all part of the branding. RM40 registration for a buddy sign up (2 pax) is very cheap, especially when you get a free dry-fit tee for the run.

Free massage and ice cream. Free concert from Mizz Nina and Joe Flizzow ... not to say I was listening to them as I was busy chatting away.

It was a recovery run for both YB and I but somehow he managed to maintain a very good pace while I had a difficult time trying to keep on going. I walked a lot!

But I'll take the 57:07, thank you very much.

We couldn't hang around too long with the gang for breakfast as we had to finish decorating the cake before driving up to Ipoh immediately.

Note that the icing sugar completely disappeared by the time evening came!

The Parents-in-law ("PIL") weren't expecting us that weekend as we thought we'd keep it a surprise. We called home as we were outside the house, "Please open the gate, we're outside!"

Dad asked us why weren't they informed of this trip. YB and I both looked at each other and grinned ruefully, "Uhmmm, surrrrprise!!"

We returned to KL on Monday afternoon, just in time for me to rush out to meet Steph and Dot for tea. Dot brought baby Zoeyy along and she was such a delight to our tea party!

We did our best to squeeze in as much catching up as we could in that short allotted time, but awww, Zoeyy proved too much of a lovely distraction for us to exchange enough gossip in our lives. =)

The rest of Monday night was spent snuggling up in the sofa watching Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides and Horrible Bosses.

I am also in charge of my department/floor's Year End Gift Exchange via Secret Santa Programme and cross fingers it will be fun and successful. We have up to 12th December for everyone to fill up the designated Drop Off area and we'll open up our presents the following day. The gift must cost at least RM15 and above.

I wonder who got my name? I gave hints that I adore Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh and I needed gloves for my cold hands!

The last day of November saw dinner at Rakuzen, Hartamas Shopping Centre with my old friends. It is always the same as before, some catching up and gazillion of laughs. I have never known it any other way since our high school days. *wipes a tear*

This picture is actually dedicated to our dear VK in Perth, who's busy making big bucks.

And last but not least, November brought my sister her darling daughter into the world, making YB and I officially an uncle and aunt!!

Woohoo! I wish I could go back soon to swoon over her chubby cheeks but sadly, I will only be home in February before Chinese New Year ends.

Call me a procrastinator (again and again), but I am checking out our flight tickets to KK this instant!

Sneak Peak Of The Publika

2011-11-30T09:00:00.000+08:00

You must have heard of the new playground, I mean, place in town, haven't you? I'm talking about the Publika.

It boasts of a food court equivalent to the one in Lot 10's basement, though I'm afraid it's just not as packed and tightly squeezed as the latter.

The entrance leading to the food court.

Our first visit was early sometime in October.

YK ordered chicken in claypot, and YB and I went for the stall selling yam rice. Meals are mostly priced between RM7.50 to RM10.90, depending on your order.

The porky goodness was lovely, and the yam rice was not too bad. (Instinctively I felt like I had to cook this some time soon ... =P)

YB and I went there another time as he was craving for pan mee.

Initially we thought we'd boycott the cranky fat bugger who runs Kin Kin Pan Mee (since he's a nasty boss, always hitting his foreign workers!) but argh, the tummy rules.

We compromised, of course. We ordered only a bowl to share. RM7.50 per bowl.

And I saw someone eating hokkien mee and insisted I'd have that, only to be disappointed.

Queuing up for pan mee.

Have you tried? We haven't.

The ever so popular bubble tea place is located right at the entrance to the food court.

YB was kind enough to order one (to share!) and let me have a slurp or two. I think it's only the 2nd time in my whole entire life ever tasting bubble tea! =P

The ground floor (or G2) interior is vast and wide, and still a bit empty. Not many stores are open.

Walk around outside in the evening and you'll feel as if you've been transported to some place foreign. The cool breeze after the rain will enhance that feeling. ;)

Tiles on the floor.

Graffiti construction boards at the entrance of stores undergoing some works.

I was just at the Publika on Monday for tea with some girlfriends. This time, we were at wondermilk+, it's beside MPH on G2.

I was disappointed with the cupcakes, lacking in oomph. For RM4.50 each, I was expecting them to be as delicious as the ones I had at their shop at Damansara Utama. Hmmm. Or has my taste buds changed? Anyway, the hot chocolate wasn't hot enough and was merely lukewarm. Boo.

Other reviews on the E.A.T Food Village:
Eat Drink KL
kampungboycitygal

SS2 Murni's

2011-11-29T13:01:00.000+08:00

I'm absolutely gutted!
I was looking for an old post (The Same Ankle) to refresh my memory and then Blogger completely wiped it out! Argh!
~*~*~

It's been years since I last ate at this place. Last Saturday served Ken, YB and I an opportunity to visit the place as we drove to SS2, not knowing what to have for dinner.

We were lucky enough to get a table along the corridor. =)

YB had a rainbow-y drink and I chose a Milo Dinosaur. It was my first time EVER and I was excited to try out this popular drink. I mean, what's with the loads of milo powder, eh?

I was extremely disappointed that mine wasn't a Milo explosion as I would have expected. Boo.

For food, Ken tried the Claypot Loh Shee Fun, YB had the Mee Raja and I had the Roti Hawaii. I liked the Mee Raja. The loh she fun wasn't great and the Roti Hawaii reminded me of a murtabak, to be honest.

You know what?

I don't think I'm going back there again.
I'll stick to Nasi Kandar Bestari, thank you.

First Attempt At Focaccia

2011-11-18T14:02:00.000+08:00

I've always wanted to try my hand at making bread but the thought of using yeast was always rather daunting. I mean, instructions were always telling me to leave the bowl of dough in a dark and damp place for the dough to rise and the only dark and damp place I have in the kitchen is under the sink.

Which sounds like a cockroach's favourite place to hang out. *shudder*

Anyway, I decided that making focaccia was a fairly simple recipe that surely I could follow.

I must confess that I adapted my own recipe from this one, using whatever ingredients I have at home. =D

Focaccia Ingredients:
2 - 2 1/2 cups of bread flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp white sugar
1 tbsp instant active yeast
1 tsp mixed herbs
1/2 tsp parsley
1/2 tsp coarse black pepper

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup water

2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
sprigs of rosemary

1. In bowl, stir together the first 7 ingredients (use 2 cups of flour first). Mix in vegetable oil and water. Add 2 tbsp of flour as you go along, to get a less sticky dough.

2. Knead dough on lightly floured surface, until smooth and elastic.
3. Lightly oil a large bowl. Place dough ball in the bowl and turn it to coat with oil. Cover with cling film, let it rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes. It should double in size.

4. Preheat oven to 230 C. Punch dough down and place it on greased baking sheet on baking tray.

5. Pat it into half an inch thick rectangle. Cover with damp tea towel for about 5minutes.
6. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with rosemary and parmesan cheese.
7. Bake for 15minutes, or until golden brown.

Well, I was looking at the recipe on BBC Food and it told me to insert rosemary into the dough. =P My poor focaccia, although not very yummy looking, was fondly named the 'giant tick' on Facebook - turned out pretty tasty.

I honestly thought I would be a genius for coming up with pumpkin pesto, but I think it turned out to be some sort of chunky pumpkin spread.

Chunky Pumpkin Spread

Ingredients
1 - 1 1/2 cup of mashed pumpkin (steamed)
1/2 cup olive oil (eventually I added another 1/2)
1/3 cup pine nuts (roasted over low fire)
1/3 Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp chopped garlic (2-3 cloves)

Mix them well in a blender. Though I would suggest blending the garlic and pine nuts first, before adding everything together.

Our dinner that night.
It was pretty filling, I must say.

I brought 1/3 of the bread to work the next day and my colleagues loved it, and requested for more.

The same week, I baked it again for my parents to try and they said it was not too bad. My sister's in-laws thoroughly enjoyed it too.

This one turned out to be lighter as the dough rose beautifully. I used all purpose flour instead of bread flour and cling wrap instead of a damp towel (as suggested by the recipe) while letting the dough rise in the bowl.

But it wasn't as aromatic as the first one!

Hmmmm.

~
I seem to be having trouble looking for bread flour, you know. Do let me know if you see it somewhere!

Wan Tan Mee at Taman Sri Sinar

2011-11-16T20:29:00.001+08:00

Well, this is a follow up to the earlier post and I took the opportunity to snap some shots of the place and food. Please forgive me, however, as I don't recall what road it's situated at.

If you turn left at the KFC and turn around to the back towards the housing area, look out for the blue and white awning.

Wan tan noodle soup and dry wan tan noodles, both large. They are both no doubt OK, especially if you're around the area and craving for some wan tan noodles.

I opted for the curry wan tan noodles this time and I must say that it tastes much better than the noodles above. It's all in the curry. ;D

I am told that curry noodles are not served everyday, so I count myself lucky I was there on a Wednesday night.

The stall is only open from 6pm onwards.

At The Mercy of The Germs

2011-11-15T20:05:00.004+08:00

As I drove my car into our allotted parking space this afternoon, I finally succumbed to the frustration which I have been trying to overcome. I bawled my eyes out, due to pent up frustration or self-pity (what's the difference?) that no one I know will understand. ~~Not even the husband.~~

Here I am, with my sinuses blocked and on my second round of antibiotics - I can't fekking breathe.

I didn't want to cry but I couldn't help myself, because ...

It's a few days to the Penang Bridge International Marathon (PBIM) and about a month to the Fubon Taipei International Marathon. It's my last chance to strike off one of my new year's resolution to complete the (PBIM) half marathon in 2 hours but it's clearly not going to happen.

Not in this condition I can.

I'm far behind my full marathon training and everything doesn't seem to be going my way - my body wants to run but the system rebels, the rainy evenings, a running buddy who's no longer sharing the same running frequency as I do, and the bloody weekends packed with social activities and short runs.

Oh my gawd I could just scream my head off but you'll just think I'm overreacting and there's always next year blah blah blah.

But I have my reasons.

Just think about something you worked so hard to achieve but only to have shit thrown your way and boom! there goes the goal.

I'm not even sure whether I can trust the doctor. She told me that if I don't get better tomorrow, she'll give me a jab AND possibly refer me to an ENT specialist.

WTF.

And don't tell me that there are others out there who are worst off than I am because now is NOT the time.

Breakfast Quesadilla

2011-11-12T20:53:00.000+08:00

The first week of October was a pretty crazy one - I was on a roll with my baking and cooking: on Thursday (6th Oct), I baked Butter Kaya Muffins and Carrot Hummus, on Friday (7th Oct) I tried Hawaiian BBQ Pulled Chicken and on Sunday (9th Oct) I made these babies.

If you've had quesadilla at TGIF or chilli's, you would have more or less figured out what breakfast quesadilla would be.

Check the sites out and you'll see how beautiful they look - you'd want them for breakfast or lunch!

Ladies Who Brunch
Food.com - Fast Breakfast Quesadilla
Taste of Home - Breakfast Quesadilla

Truth to be told, I adore Eat Live Run's site very much and it was her post that inspired me to make use of my leftover tortilla wraps!

I used: 2 tortilla wraps, carrot hummus, rocket leaves, tomato, sliced hotdog / sausages, and failed scrambled eggs. Failed, because they looked more like scrambled fried eggs. *heehee*

With all that on the saucepan, sprinkle a generous amount of mozzarella cheese.

Put the other wrap on top. Press down with your spatula.
Put a plate over the saucepan and turn the pan over carefully, so that you'll have the wrap onto your plate.

Then use your spatula to manoeuvre the wrap back onto the pan, with the top side now on the bottom. Press down with your spatula.

Count up to 10. Or 20. Or 30. Depends how crisp you want your quesadilla to be. ;)

Remove from saucepan and put it on the chopping board.
Eat the stray sliced hotdog. It's not helping with the presentation.
(Well, I kindly shoved it back into the wrap.)

Cut into 6 pieces.

Admire your masterpiece.

Best served with a side of salad, which I only added on to the plate after the picture was taken.

It was a very satisfying Sunday breakfast indeed.
Noms!

Then we had to rush off to the Bride's Run at Doubletree KL.

A Hand At Muay Thai

2011-11-11T14:20:00.001+08:00

I've always wanted to do some form of martial arts (or combat sports) but never had the chance to fully do so.

I did hapkido when I was 12 and fractured my right knee. I was attempting a flying kick with the left leg, so I landed wrongly on my right. It turned out to be a minor fracture. But if you observe my right knee very carefully, you'll see that the bone juts out when I bend my knee. ;)

So when there was an offer on Milkadeal for 4 beginner's lessons at Merican Muay Thai at Solaris Mont Kiara, I was interested. RM40 for 4 classes is a good bargain, don't you think? PROVIDED that the vendor is of reputable status.

I bought YB and I a voucher each but with the past busy weekends of traveling and running around, we finally managed to attend only ONE class last Thursday.

We arrived for our 930pm class and the first thing we were asked was to skip for 2 sets of 3minutes.

And boy, it wasn't easy.

That was just the warm up!

We had our hands wrapped and were taught a few moves such as, left/right punch/jab, left/right hook, left/right elbow, uppercut, front kick push, kick. All we had to do was listen to the instructions and you moved accordingly.

Then we got to put on the gloves, wheeeee that was fun!

We practised our moves on the punching bags and oh how I wish I had one at home! I have told YB several times already (since years ago) that we MUST have one at home! It's such a good stress reliever, I tell you!

Next, we got into the ring and YB partnered our instructor, Jerry while Khairul was mine. Once again, we moved according to the instructions like, "1,2, right kick push!" "1,2, right uppercut!" etc.

That was one heck of a workout and I had FUN!
I was told that I have a mean punch. ;)
(Or he could be flirting, hehe.)

But it probably only applied to my right because my left side is SO so so weak! I couldn't even kick the bag properly! Jerry and YB were aghast.

Lastly, we had to do 2 sets of sit ups and push ups.
Really.
I can't do push ups for nuts.
Well, maybe just 5.

Overall it was a fab workout for me because I needed to vent my ... er ...frustrations and I felt good after the class.

The hand wraps were kinda stinky and I really hope they wash the damn things. Holding my fists up on guard was torture to my nose. Ugh.

And I can't imagine our sweat inside the gloves!
I really hope they do clean their gear properly for the next person to use. *shudder*

For now, I should just try to shadow box more often.

Eating Around Segambut

2011-11-09T14:56:00.001+08:00

Note: This list is not exhaustive.

It used to be a chore for both YB and I to decide where to go for breakfast during the weekends as we weren't familiar with Segambut. Either that or we just preferred to waste petrol by driving so far into Petaling Jaya or KL to eat!

Search for "food in Segambut" in the Google search engine and you will note that the seafood noodles at Yu Ai tops the list. How boring. Who wants to eat a bowl of seafood for Rm17?

Nevertheless, let's start with that area itself.

1. Restoran Hoi Kee

This caught my eye and I told the DR fellas about it as we kinda love pork (you can probably tell).

Captain, YB and I once made a trip there on a Sunday, only to find the coffee shop closed. We ended up some place in Jalan Ipoh ... and that was bad.

Another time on Saturday somewhere in August, Paul, YB and I did a LSD and we thought we deserved some good food right after. So we tried our luck and hurray, it was open.

RM7.30 for this plate of nasi lemak with pork. Pricey, I'd say.
Verdict: It was OK. If I had nowhere else in mind to go for lunch, I could go back there.

Curry mee for RM4. Price wise, no one could complain.
Verdict: Hmmmmm.

Other reviews:
hApPy HaPpY & their revisit
Bangsar Babe & her revisit

2. Tai Shue Tao (Big Tree)
Not far from Restoran Hoi Kee is another popular eating place known as the Segambut Chicken Rice. At the intersection of Persiaran Segambut Tengah and Jalan Segambut Hilir is a stall beneath a big tree.

A very unassuming place, you would have driven by without giving it a second thought.

This is your landmark. It's right across from the stall.

You'll see its banner hanging outside the stall.

We were there on a late SATURDAY afternoon. (Sorry, I'm really confused these days. I have too many food pictures in my phone!)

We asked the uncle whether they still had chicken and he said he did. So we proceeded with the biggest order - a whole chicken leg.

Our chicken and rice came. The fried chicken was aromatic ... mmmm.

A close up for you peeps to drool!

The chilli to accompany it was hot and the rice was very nice (according to YB). I felt guilty as I slowly proceeded to finish my rice and chicken ... I think I could eat the chicken on its own.

Our meal cost us RM18.00, including 2 glasses of herbal tea. It should be RM7.50 for our food.

Verdict: Most likely will go there again!

Other reviews:
Malaysia Food, Travel and Tourism Blog
Sexy Beast

3. Tomato Kuey Teow stall
Situated at Jalan Sri Segambut, I honestly have no idea how to give you directions to this place. It was introduced to us by Kenny to YK and Geoff, the two ever loyal Kuching-ites who loved their tomato kuey teow.

We tried it, too, and found the tomato kuey teow to be pretty good. Even Raymond agrees.

Besides the tomato kuey teow, they serve a variety of fried noodles and rice. We tried this stewed pork meehoon which YK said was pretty good.

We tasted it and found it to be sinfully good.
Really good.

But please don't have this BEFORE your tomato kuey teow is served. We found the tomato kuey teow to be sadly lacking then as the stewed pork meehoon was just too tasty - it killed our taste buds for the kuey teow thereafter.

Priced at ~~RM12~~ RM7, I think.

This is found to be yummy on a nice rainy night. If you think a hot bowl of soup is lovely on a rainy night, consider the tomato kuey teow instead.

The kuey teow is nicely fried before the gravy tops it off. You can see tomato pieces, fish cake and some pork in it, and the dish is garnished with pork lard.

Priced at RM5.50.

Just recently, we tried two different dishes and found them to be just so-so. The fried hor fun was really greasy.

Priced at RM5.50 each.

4. Wan Tan Mee Stall
If you know where Taman Sri Sinar's KFC outlet is, you will be able to find this stall somewhere behind it. Most probably it opens only at night. We once went there one morning after our run but found it closed.

OK, I've only been there once, to be honest. And the wan tan mee was not too bad, but not superbly fantastic. Somehow I don't have a picture of it, oops.

OKT says the curry chicken mee is pretty good, and the rest of the guys seem to think so, too. I must try it the next time I go there.

We also had a bowl of assam laksa to share, and it was not too bad. It was sour enough. ;)

This wasn't too fab, I was told, so don't bother ordering this.

You can also opt for crunchy fried wan tan for starters while waiting for your noodles to come.

~
Yeah, I think my last two posts weren't convincing enough for you to come and try the food over there. I'll try and take a picture of the stalls for your easy reference the next time I visit!

Without Expectations - PJ Half Marathon

2011-11-03T09:01:00.002+08:00

It's interesting to know that for once, I am not devastatingly disappointed with my time / performance. Normally I would be mentally beating myself up for not pushing hard enough!

I couldn't and didn't expect myself to be in tip top condition since I was kinda sick for the past 10 days or so, but not entirely 100% so. Not forgetting the low mileage for the past week due to many rainy evenings.

I was instead, quite amazed that I was running a sub 6min pace for about 16km before I slowed down due to tiredness and thirst, no thanks to the blazing sun. I was so demotivated that I wanted to give up.

Of course, I had to mentally berate myself for being such a quitter, "Why must you always give up without a fight?"

I did stop to walk a while whenever I could but also did my best to keep my feet moving.

Nevertheless, I managed to shave off 5mins off my last half marathon time, which makes it a personal best but I honestly didn't feel like it was my best! The route was under distance by 300-400m.

So there goes my 2nd last chance for a 2 hour half marathon time. Argh! *pulls hair*

almost didn't recognise myself here. check out my gnarly hands! ugh.

But thank you to those who were kind enough to say that my 2:04:4x was a good enough achievement. I have the PBIM as my last attempt for the year and I really do hope that I'll be able to train hard to achieve it. =)

*frowns*

Unfortunately, my running buddy is a bit of a tired fella these days. All he can ask me is, "What's for dinner?"

He cringes whenever I pounce on him the minute he steps in the house with a "Are we RUNNING tonight??"

My comments on the event:

1. 630am is too late to start-

a. especially when the route uses major roads like the Federal Highway and Jalan Lapangan Subang. There were a lot of unhappy motorists and you honestly can't blame them - they might have had a flight to catch at Subang Airport.

b. because the route is not very shady, all the runners were exposed to the blazing sun for a very long stretch. I swear my face is 2 shades darker now. And we could have collapsed from heat stroke!

2. It was a boring route - I didn't enjoy listening to the sound of car/lorry/motorcycle engines go by while I was running. And we also had to run on the motorcycle lane along Federal Highway. Seriously.

3. The water stations were too sparse - I think it should have been situated at every 3km. I was pretty much dying of thirst after the Ara Damansara! There was a sponge station at 18km, and YB and I had the same idea - we contemplated drinking the cool water from the sponge. Ughhh. I think there should have been a water station, too.

4. The 16km marker after the u-turn at Terminal 3 was very misleading. It was only 14.5km into the run, if I'm not mistaken.

5. The 3 sponge stations were a good idea.
6. So were the Milo and 100plus stalls.7. It was nice to see family with kids participating.

German Soft Style Pretzels

2011-11-03T07:29:00.000+08:00

Deepavali (26th October) was a great midweek break from work. We ran with the gang in the morning, headed out for breakfast and then a long snooze for me after we got home.

Come mid afternoon, we were both hungry. Since making pretzels take almost forever, I had to curb our hunger pangs with a green smoothie first.

Pretzels ... I decided to go with this recipe, who in turn, followed The Fresh Loaf's. ;)

Ingredients in hand:
1 tsp instant yeast
1 tbsp white sugar (I couldn't find my brown sugar ... it appeared later!)
2 to 3 cups of all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup warm milk (I boiled it in a small saucepan)
4 tsp baking soda
1 quart of warm water

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Use 2 cups of flour first. Then slowly add 2 tablespoons each time until it becomes a thick batter but can be kneaded by hand.

Knead for 5 to 10 minutes until dough becomes smooth and almost shiny. (Shame I had to stop, I had too much fun kneading it!)

Leave ball of dough in a greased bowl. Cover it with cling wrap and set it aside in a corner for about an hour or so.

It rose. =)
Can you tell?

Cut the ball into 6 pieces and roll them into short logs.
Then cover with a towel and let it rest for 5 to 10minutes.

I decided that I wanted 12 small pieces instead of 6 big ones. It's that childish mentality of mine, thinking that with quantity, we'd have more to eat.

Roll a piece of dough and slightly stretch it while you're doing so.

Make sure you're also preheating the oven at 205 C.

Heat up the saucepan of water and add the baking soda into it. Once the water is a bit hot, carefully dunk a shaped pretzel in, submerging it for at least 5 seconds.

When it floats, pick it out and lay it on the greased parchment paper on your baking tray.

Ready for the oven.
Pop them in for about 12-15mins.

Ready to eat.
Best served with honey mustard!

YB and I sat at the table admiring the pretzels. Once they had cooled down a little, we took an apprehensive bite into our pretzel.

YB wants me to figure out where to get the sour cream & onion powder (just like Auntie Anne's) for my next batch of pretzels.

And I need to find a way to make sure the parmesan and sesame seeds stick to the pretzels.

~
Overnight pretzels are too hard to chew. If possible, I think the pretzels MUST be finished on the same day itself.

~
p.s. Right after the pretzels were baked, I proceeded to prepare the ingredients for dinner, the Chicken Vindaloo. Boy, I was on my feet for about 4 hours in total.

I Miss Crochet

2011-11-01T22:53:00.000+08:00

I miss the colours!

[the photo above belongs to Genuine Mudpie]

Isn't that cute? *gush*

I came across her blog and the minute I saw that itty bitty slice of cake, my mind immediately said,"I WANNA MAKE ONE, TOO!!"

Before that, I came across a pair of colourful stripey gloves which I really, REALLY want to make, too!

I've been wanting a pair of gloves for a loooooong time as I really cannot tolerate the air-conditioning in the office - it's just ridiculously chilly!

Instead, as we all know, I have been spending too much time baking. I normally bake only once a week but sometimes I can go crazy and bake as much as three times in a day.

Hmmm, that has happened about twice so far.

I have 2 unfinished projects which I started between mid-August and early September and I'm honestly sure when will I come back to them again.

Soon, I hope.
Soon, I say, because baking is too fattening for the body, although I think I'm just getting the hang of making muffins. ;)

I started on this in September. If you must know, it is a camera lens beanie.

With popcorn stitches.

I started on this lens beanie in August but never got around to completing it. I use it, anyway!

If I had continued with it, I could probably make a striped snake for ...

a pillow?

And the reason why I'm making a new beanie (with popcorn stitches) is because the one I've used to envelope my lens is a wee bit tight. I got my calculations wrong as I didn't realise my lens was so fat!

Thought I'd show you something else with colourful stripes. ;)

Geoff kindly brought this from Kuching for us and the colours pretty much terrified YB. He said it felt really weird eating something with so much colouring.

More for me, then!

Ga Xao Sa

2011-10-30T20:55:00.000+08:00

Which simply means Lemongrass Chicken in Vietnamese. ;)

I was missing the taste of lemongrass so I browsed the Internet for something simple to cook. Laksa sounded too tedious for a weekday's dinner so obviously I went for something as easy as a stir fry.

Came across a recipe for Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken and decided that this was the least complicated one to follow.

(Yes, you caught me. I normally search high and low for a particular recipe and I'd chose the one with the least ingredients and most straightforward of instructions. ;))

We enjoyed this dish with noodles.

Now I need to find some more decent looking lemongrass. The ones sold at the supermarkets are very old and sad!

~
p.s. Hope you had a great Sunday!

Chicken Vindaloo

2011-10-27T09:20:00.003+08:00

Happy Deepavali / Diwali!

In conjunction with Deepavali, I thought I'd cook up some Indian dishes for last night's dinner. Well, that was the plan, anyway. Since Tuesday. =P

But searching through the Internet proved too fruitful, as there are many Indian dishes from either India or Sri Lanka or even Goa.

Chicken Vindaloo is apparently a Goan dish, by the way. Did you know? ;)

Honestly, I couldn't find the recipe I really wanted to try (I forgot to bookmark it) but I came across the one which I have been keeping for so long. It's this recipe but honestly, you know how hopeless as I am with my ingredients, I only made do with what I had at home.

The outcome? It was really good. But I think the spices would have tasted much better with beef.

And you know the chopped long bean dish you normally see at mamak restaurants? Yeah, I cooked that as well. I'm not sure why it's labeled as curry, though.

Only two dishes, you say?
And not even photogenic!

Well, I was hoping I had some papadum to go with my dishes but I had to chuck my packet of papadum away. Argh.

Paired with a bottle of Terra Andina's Cabernet Sauvignon 2009, the wine enhanced the intensity of the spices from the vindaloo. Completely blew us away!

(Yes, that's a fried egg on YB's plate. We ran out of eggs, or I'd have one on mine, too! =S)

My shortcut-

Ingredients
4 chicken thighs, deboned and diced
1 potato, chopped into small pieces (I didn't have yellow onions)

A
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cardamom seeds
1 tsp black pepper seeds
1 tsp chilli powder (oops, I just noticed it was supposed to be 1 tbsp)
1 inch of young ginger, chopped finely
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 small bird eye chilli, deseeded and chopped (I will add 2 the next time as 1 is not enough)

B
2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp salt
3 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
1/2 cup of water (I forgot to buy vinegar! I did contemplate fish sauce, though)

C
4-6 tbsp oil
1 potato, diced
1-2 cups water

1. Gently roast A above for about 5 minutes on low heat.

2. Put A into the blender along with B. Add a bit of water, if necessary. Say, half a cup, bit by bit.

3. Marinate the chicken with the sauce in a bowl. Cover and leave it in the freezer for an hour or more, if in a rush. If not, leave it in the fridge for at least 4 hours.

4. Heat oil and saute potato.
5. Add chicken and stir fry a while, adding oil if necessary.
6. Add water (1 cup max) and stir occasionally. Add salt or chilli, according to taste.
7. Leave it covered to simmer for a few minutes.
8. Garnish with fresh coriander and served with rice.

Hawaiian BBQ Pulled Chicken Burger

2011-10-25T07:15:00.000+08:00

I never knew what was 'pulled' meat until I decided to check it out on the Internet. (Isn't the Internet a glorious thing??)

I've always wanted to try Betty's Midwest Kitchen at Aman Suria but to date, I haven't had the chance to dine there. I heard the pulled pork burger over there is pretty yummy.

I decided to take things into my own hands - cook this pulled whatever meat I had in my fridge. I went with this recipe because it had the least ingredients. ;D

I'll summarise the steps for you.

1. Put deboned chicken into the crockpot.

2. Put in the chopped/diced yellow onion next.

3. Then in goes the diced pineapple.

4. Add dollops of barbeque sauce, up to 1/3 of the bottle. It's the size of a small bottle of Maggi's ketchup/chilli sauce.

5. Cook on high for 2 hours.

6. Remove chicken and shred them up. Put them back in and stir the ingredients. Continue to cook.

7. Two hours later, ready to serve.

Verdict: Good.

During the time it was stewing in the crockpot, the aromatic scent of the barbeque sauce almost killed YB and I both. It was close to midnight by the time it was cooked!

The next day I heated it up just a bit and served it on burger buns for dinner.

Please don't be like me, I had so little chicken but so much pineapple. And don't be deceived - it was so filling that we regretted making a 3rd burger for both of us to share. We were stuffed!

p.s. This was Friday or Saturday night's dinner, just a few days after the Butter Kaya Muffins were made.

My First Full Marathon - TRJM 2011

2011-10-20T23:25:00.002+08:00

It has been a while, isn’t it?

3 weeks has gone by and I’ve only done 2 LSD since then.

And this report is slowly collecting dust.

4th October 2011
Has it really been a week and a half, since I completed my first full marathon? Goodness. It felt so long ago! So what if it wasn't a real marathon with timing chips, placing and prize monies for the top 3 winners. But it was a real marathon distance with finisher medals and finisher Tshirts!

I’ve tried a couple of times to sit down and write my race report on The River Jungle Marathon 2011 (“the RJM”). But every time I conjure up those feelings and thoughts I had experienced during the RJM, they would flutter around in my head like restless butterflies. My heart would beat faster as I recall the run, and I am once again lost in it. To be honest, words fail to describe it all and I’m tempted to skip this report and tell you in a nutshell.

415am

We arrived at Choon Hwa School in Pekan Batu 18 in time for the briefing to begin. First things first, we queued up for the mobile toilets. As a newcomer, I paid close attention to James’ briefing. He looked kinda cute, though. =P

Thanks for the pic, Jamie!

Seng Chor arrived and the five of us, including Bench and Paul, waited near the starting line, to be part of the flurry of photographers.

Jeff Ooi came around and started distributing paper with his and his wife’s name with a big red heart printed on it and asked us to hold it up for the photo session. We then stood at the start line, gripping on to the paper and waiting for our claim to fame.

I decided later on that I’d rather hide behind the guys than be caught standing right in front. Too shy la.

The Run
With the sound of the horn and the toots from a car, the runners headed off into the darkness. Most runners had their headlights on and as some parts of the route had street lights, it was enough for some runners to run without headlights.

The first 5km
The route required runners to make a U-turn at 2.5km. On the way back, we had a chance to wave at the other runners heading our direction.

The first water station was at the school where the starting line was. Every subsequent 3km after was a water or Gatorade station, so runners were always well hydrated.

We ran about 32mins for the first 5km which, according to my plan, was too fast. Never mind, we thought. We’ll just continue running anyway, since the road was nice and flat.

The second 5km
As runners slowly dispersed, the route became quiet. The stillness of the wee hours of the morning were a welcome sound, but YB and I continued chatting about goodness knows what.

It felt like our usual LSD where we’d make small talk while clocking the mileage. =)

Jamie caught up with us and we made small talk about possible photo opportunities we had seen along the way. Unfortunately, with just a compact camera in the dark, we were handicapped.

Past the second water station, YB and I were running our own pace until we had to overtake a runner in front of us. Just as we passed him, he’d speed up to overtake us, and then slowed down, getting in our way.

You know how you’re doing your own pace and there are times your body just propels forward and you are therefore obliged to run past runners ahead of you?

It became like some dance routine between us as the same thing repeated twice. We’d overtake him with our current pace, and then he’d speed up to overtake us, just so he could remain ahead of us.

We figured it could be a male ego thing because when Jamie ran past him, the runner gave him no heed. When YB overtook him and stayed ahead, he remained contented behind YB.

Eventually, we overtook him and kept some distance between us. The dancing had to stop sometime, right? *grin*

At the 10km mark, I checked my watch and saw that it was 1:07. OK, still bit too fast.

10km – 15km
Out of the blue, Jamie came from behind and told me to watch out, the slopes are coming. I distinctively remember exclaiming, “What?? I thought it’s halfway…?”

“Yes, the gradual slope starts now!”

As he sped off, I quickly caught up with YB and passed on the message. We decided we might as well keep it easy (we could see Jamie up ahead) and crossed our fingers we’d survive this mountain of a slope.

We caught up with Seng Chor and chatted for a while. Paul and Bench caught up with us too.

15km – 20km

As the skies gradually became light, we could see some runners ahead road gently sloping up and winding into the corner. It is at the 17km when the steep climb began.

YB and Bench continued on a steady pace while Paul, Seng Chor and I half ran and half walked up the hill. Either one of us would run up ahead while the other two straggled behind. When the person ahead eventually gives up to walk, the two would catch up and do their best to trudge on but only to give up a few metres later. By then, everyone was immersed with their own thoughts.

After spending so much time battling with the so called Spirit Breaker hill, we could see the top of the hill, with PT Lim waiting to catch action shots of the survivors.

I made sure I straightened myself and looked energized. =P

The top of the slope was a relief. Timing wise, it was a pretty bad one.

20km – 25km

The first 2 km downhill was so much better but tough on the knees. Through the mist, we caught glimpses of the dam and enjoyed the welcomed distraction.

Upon reaching the foot of the hill, we had to turn right on the route, only to make a U-turn to head back to the left of the junction. Most of us found it quite unnecessary for the u-turn but I guess they needed to chalk up the mileage?

Seng Chor helped us snap a pic.

I saw a cyclist stop to snap pictures of the runners. I waved at him. Wasn’t sure who was he waiting for or whether he was one of the photographers. He took plenty of me *cough* but I haven’t come across them in Facebook.

25km – 30km

It was pretty uneventful.

There were groups of cyclists along the way and a girl cheered us on.

“Well done! Keep it up!” she said.

It’s such a delightful moment when strangers cheer you on. You tend to pull yourself up, put your chin forward and keep your legs moving.

Started to get a bit of cramps on my right thigh. Dang. Got me worried.

It was already 4 hours.

30km – 35km

Every now and then, my right thigh would harden up and I would have to stop for to stretch. I really didn’t want to stop but I had to. It was bloody frustrating but there was nothing I could do.

A group of cyclist went by and one guy in pink caught our attention. Wished I had my camera in hand!

Come 33km, YB and I silently congratulated each other.

It was the longest distance we’ve had to cover so far and I couldn’t help but to break into a smile.

“Yay!” I enthused. “Awesome! This is amazing!”

YB admonished me for celebrating so soon. Boo.

Then I recalled Melvin who asked us once, “What is this ‘wall’? How does it feel like?”

I laughed.

Damn the guy for not knowing what a wall is!

35km – 39km
I hate this part. I hated this part.

Every time I recall this part, waves of disappointment would come crashing down on me again. (Like right now, as I write this.)

The cramp in my right thigh was more frequent than before. Then it would alternate between my left thigh and my left calf as well. Soon, I was walking more than I was running and I was really, really, really frustrated.

C’mon, I begged legs. “Just a bit more and we’re home free! Please, please, PLEASE!”

But they refused to listen and so YB made us walk from 37km to 38km.

I hated it. I didn’t like seeing other runners past me by but what could I do?

I think somewhere along the way we bumped into Gila Bola Karim who was enjoying his ice-cream. We eyed it hungrily, and told him that was definitely a good find.

“No choice,” He shrugged. “I needed it.”

Lucky fellow.

It started to drizzle. I stretched some more and put my cap on. Told YB that I was ready for the final onslaught.

“Let’s do this,” he said.

39km – 40km
I tried not to look at my watch because there was no way in hell I could make it in sub-5 hours. Yes, I was sorely disappointed.

As the rain came down on us, we ran in silence. My legs slowly eased up and I was pleased.

Slowly, but surely.

The last 2km
As the rain continued, we started speeding up, knowing that the finish line was near.

So many thoughts and images came into mind. My mind was abuzz.

Only crazy people love marathons. I’m not one of them.
The amount of commitment and dedication required for just one marathon is insane!
I can’t believe I’m doing this, I’m completing my first marathon!
I need to train more, I hate cramps!
Why, WHY didn’t I get a sub-5? Stupid cramps!

The finish line is near. YAY!
Kenny, I know how he felt when he completed his first full marathon ...

I finally understood what Kenny said about the sudden grip of emotions.

I couldn’t believe that my fat legs managed to carry myself through 40km on the road. I couldn’t believe I had come that far.

It was very hard. Who ever said a marathon was easy without adequate training needs to be slapped.

Not only was I running for myself but I wanted to run for a cause. But I have no cause to run for, except for my family. My parents, perhaps? My sisters, too.

I want them to continue persevering and fighting, to overcome obstacles that come their way. It’s the determination of not giving up that really matters, and I understood that then.

Just keep on running. Life’s all about the journey and how you perceive it to be – never give up.

A sob or two escaped me. YB turned back to check on me but I had already composed myself.

With 700m to go, we sped up. We could see runners ahead of us speeding up as well. We could hear a faint cheer somewhere ahead. That meant the school was near.

We sprinted towards the finish line and familiar faces (Yin Yin and Gilbert). We made sure we smiled for the cameras although we definitely felt like crumpling to the ground.

42.2km done!
In 5:18!

Gawd, that was freaking painful!

Next up, everyone was eager to get out of there and devour a meal fit for a king!

Conclusion

Respect the distance. Train if you want to do a marathon and don't do it if you cannot commit the time to train.

Being supportive is very important.

What I'm saying is, always congratulate someone who just completed their running event, regardless of the time and distance. It is an achievement to them, be it big or small. Do not belittle them.

I was lucky to have YB run alongside me all the way. Thanks a bunch. =)

I don't want to run another marathon, but I have to. One more and that's it, I'm retiring. But apparently that's what people always say.

And it's true. Two years ago when YB and I started running, we made a pinky promise that we would never be crazy enough to run a marathon.

Look where we are now? Pinky promise broken!

Loved the pink bib!

The 'What if's
As human nature would have it, we would always wonder about the 'what if's.

What if I had no cramps? Would I have done a sub-5?

What if I had done more LSDs, would I have avoided the cramps?

What if I hadn't stopped to walk or take pictures, would I have saved a few minutes?

What if I had eaten a proper breakfast?

What if I had worn shorts instead of tights?
What if I had this and that?
What if ...

YK says that's the way it goes, we'll always be wondering bout the 'what if's after every race.

Other reports:
Jamie
CP Tan

Butter Kaya Muffins

2011-10-19T12:23:00.000+08:00

Two weeks ago, I came across a small tub of kaya in the fridge which was nearing its best before date that I knew I had to do something.

Surely not, you say?

Trust me. Take a bite into it an hour after they are done and you wouldn't know what hit you. They taste a bit like kaya balls.

Andrew (a "DRGP" member) said it was pretty good. So I gave him two. =P

Anyway, while the cupcakes were baking, I was preparing some carrot hummus for dinner.

But we only managed to sit down for dinner at 11pm, after our run with YK and Andrew.

Hmmmm. The carrots were overwhelmed by the chickpeas so I think I'll have to add another carrot the next time I make this again.

You know what my problem was?

I still had some kaya left.

I contemplated eating it with bread but I decided heck, I was going to bake a cake this time.

With a hint of lemon, that is.
A tablespoon of lemon zest and 2 teaspoons of lemon juice was all I added so it wasn't overpowering, but you could still taste traces of lemon in it. ;)

And I loved it!
I think I'm in love with lemons. But it sounds quite sad if I was the only person in love with my own baking. *bows head down in shame*

I wanted to share it with the ~~world~~ DRGP but no one seemed available to try it out that Friday. Boo.

But my boss said it was nice. =)

~
p.s. I lied! They're cupcakes, not muffins.

A Race To The Guinness

2011-10-18T00:14:00.002+08:00

Get it? Heehee!

A few of us decided to go for a quick short run around Bukit Tunku yesterday evening (Sunday). The plan was to complete a 6km run before we proceeded to glug a pint of Guinness. Woohoo, happy hours indeed! ;)

With OKT setting the pace, we were huffing and puffing up Jalan Bukit Tunku and wondering why on earth were we subjecting ourselves to this torture. The boys glared at me (bet they thought I wouldn’t notice!) as we completed the first km uphill but I quickly denied any liability of setting the route.

“It was Captain’s suggestion!” I wheezed.

Thankfully, we reached the mini roundabout in front of the Belvedere residences and I knew it was another km or so to the traffic lights at Jabatan Kerja Raya (“JKR”). Everyone began speeding up.

At the traffic lights, we u-turned and traced our steps back towards Jalan Langgak Tunku. It was just starting to drizzle so everyone began to hurry to get back to Selangor Properties before it poured. I couldn’t see OKT or YB ahead of me, but occasionally I would catch a glimpse of YL’s back.

OKT’s average pace was 5:30, and mine was 5:50. It sounds pretty far off from his! I did my best to sprint during the final km, but it was only a poor 5:00 at best. Boo. (My legs were still tired from Saturday morning’s LSD. Can I use that excuse? ;D)

The crowd at Sid’s Pub cleared out considerably after the rugby finals so we managed to grab some seats.

Oh, that’s YL’s baby boy in, Andrew’s arms. ;D
Captain and Geoff came and join us later for a drink.

Cheers to running!
And fatherhood! =P

All in all, it was a good workout. This quick session is a first of Dutamas Runners’ Run & Glug series, which I think can only happen every now and then or it would burn a hole in our wallets.

Perhaps next time it would be wise to proceed to a coffee shop which serves bottled Carlsberg, Heineken or Tiger. Heehee.

p.s. Our route can be found here.

New Laligurash

2011-10-17T07:38:00.000+08:00

Two weeks ago a colleague suggested we try out a Nepalese restaurant for lunch. Three of us went along with her, not knowing where exactly was this place.

We walked along Jalan Tun H.S. Lee and there I was having a conversation with one of them when we abruptly came to a stop.

To a hole in the wall, I'd say.

"This is the place?" JA asked, as we both peered in cautiously.

"Yep", YP answered.

We sat down at a table and asked for a menu but we were told that there was no menu. A guy directed us to the menu on the wall outside.

"Okayyyyy," Everyone thought to themselves.

This is the menu on your left at the door. I wanted to try the dumplings but somehow everyone else was keen to order their individual meal.

The menu on the right side of the door. At the far top right is a picture of fried noodles which JA and YP proceeded to order.

Well, I ordered the fried rice because I didn't know what else to order. ;)

The four of us quietly sat at our table, observing our surroundings. The Nepalese who frequented the place were clearly regulars, who either held jobs as security guards or labourers some place nearby.

One of the customers (perhaps on lunch break) actually came to assist the guy in explaining to us what was on the menu.

First to come was the appetiser, which JA initially ordered but canceled it.

We tried it, anyway and was pleasantly surprised. Crunchy soybeans tossed with noodle crumbs, cili padi, shredded carrots and cucumber, and sawi (otherwise known as Mustard Greens in English??). It was a bit spicy but it was pretty good.

Where was the fried noodles, we all asked!

We didn't dare to clarify with them since language was already a problem. So JA and YP both tasted their soup and decided that it was most probably instant noodles.

RT had the plate of chicken rice which looked surprisingly good. He said it was alright, and not spicy at all.

My order of very greasy fried rice. I only managed to eat half without gagging. I mean, seriously, it was just too oily. If not for the oiliness of it, the dish would have been OK.

It was an interesting outing, that's for sure. Judging by the bill, we clearly stumbled upon a Nepalese establishment catering for their people. =)

After that,we headed to another Nepalese restaurant for tea.

Naan Pizzas

2011-10-12T13:33:00.002+08:00

By the time dinner was ready, we ended up having supper on Monday night just because I could finally make pizza with naan bread. ;D

Ingredients:
A can of tuna chunks in olive oil
A can of corn kernel
Some chicken fillet, diced
Barbecue sauce
2 small tomatoes, sliced
Sliced button mushrooms
Mozzarella
Naan bread

We only made 3 pizzas and with plenty of leftovers, the remaining tuna, mushroom and mozzarella were used in last night's baked stir fried pasta.

Ah yes, you will note that I did not use a sauce for the base before putting the ingredients onto the bread.

Just pop them into the oven at 200 C for 10-15 minutes, depending on how crusty you want your bread to be.

The barbecue sauce saved the day! That goes onto the pizza (chicken) when it's out.

Anyway, I was just too lazy and hungry to prepare everything carefully. Don't be like me, ok? Do it properly!

Because we also had some soup, we were pretty stuffed when the last pizza was out. I took it to work the next day and it was still yummy ... to me, that is.

First Attempt At Cupcakes

2011-10-11T13:20:00.001+08:00

I was about to post up my Butter Kaya Muffins but then I realised that my first attempt at cupcakes, a batch each of Plain Butter and Coffee didn't get some limelight it kind of deserves. =P

The problem with me these days is that I hoard recipes.

Yep, who ever heard of people hoarding recipes? Or maybe there is such a thing?

Two weeks ago, I was torn between making the lemon butter cake and the plain butter cake so I decided I'd go with plain butter AND lemon frosting. At least I've tried both recipes, sorta. No? ;)

I honestly never thought I would venture far into the world of icing, but please bear with me, I'm still a newbie and it was my first attempt.

And honestly? I loved the lemon frosting! Sure it was a tad bit too sweet, but it was really delicious! Who wouldn't love the refreshing scent and taste of lemon? (Is 'scent' the right word? Ha! My English fails me at this point. No way anyone would hire me as a food review writer, that's for sure!)

Oh, yes, the plain butter was superb.

As for the coffee, I added 3 teaspoons of instant coffee granules this time, compared to the 2 teaspoons I used for the coffee muffin. With half a cup of chopped walnuts, it tasted much better than the muffin.

And then I added some frosting on it. I mean, why not? The lemon frosting is just so amazinggggg, it's a pity YB found it too sweet for his liking.

And because I was afraid everyone would complain about how sweet it was, you can see how I put very little of it on some of the cupcakes I brought to work.

The feedback from my colleagues as follows:
One loved the butter with plenty frosting, she asked me for the recipe.
One loved the coffee with little frosting, and the crunch from the walnuts.
Two liked the coffee with the small dollop of frosting.
One said the butter was hard on the outside but OK in the inside.
One said it was hard. (What??)
The rest just ate them without any feedback. =(

I brought the leftovers home, 4 unfrosted butter ones. I was frustrated to know that it was deemed hard and not moist. Seriously!

So I bit into one, and found out that yes, at the first bite, it seems a bit tough but it was still nice and soft on the inside. I added a dollop of frosting to the rest of my cupcake and found it too die for. (Ok fine, I liked it anyway! I wished it was light and fluffy but I don't have a mixer. =P)

I slathered the remaining 3 cupcakes with the lemon frosting and proceeded to let my DRGP's test it. It stands for Dutamas Runners' Guinea Pigs, heehee, I just made it up!

The verdict?
One had no comment, but he never says anything, anyway. He enjoyed it, I bet.
One enjoyed it so much that he didn't really say it, but I could tell he was enjoying it.
One was completely bowled over that he proceeded to order 2 cakes from me.

Which is, quite scary, I must say.
Either his standards are a bit wonky (I will not be rude and say perhaps it's "low") or he has too much faith in me. ;)

p.s. I still haven't got around to buying myself a hand mixer!

First Weekend in October

2011-10-04T07:50:00.006+08:00

The first 2 days of October were spent in Universiti Pertanian Malaysia ("UPM") and I'm not joking. Serious. We drove to and fro on Saturday morning, and the same thing on Sunday morning.

On Saturday, YB and I were there to participate in the Malakoff Uuniversity Duathlon Series ("MUDS") together with a friend of mine who wanted to do the cycling bit. At the last minute, we named our team 'Kopi Power' because we weren't creative enough. ;D

I ran the first 3km leg and well, I'm not sure why I didn't run fast enough but I guess I felt like I was already running fast. I keep forgetting that my target pace for a 10km must not be used for a shorter distance run, but time and again, I always do. Argh.

YB did his best to speed up on his leg, but it was tough for him as well. The UPNM teams are just crazy fast. As usual, they grabbed the top 3 positions for the UPNM and UPM events, practically for almost all categories.

My friend pretty much went flat at the final slope, the one that kills most people during the Mizuno Wave Run. Remember that slope? I'm not sure whether it's tougher when you're cycling or on your feet.

Anyway, the duathlon was something new for both YB and I. This year, it has been our objective to try and do different things or events, instead of the same old signing up and run the route kind of thing.

The ice cream man is the most popular man on campus.

I told him, however, to stop me in future from participating in short distances (5km and below) as it's a pain to maintain a fast pace. I'm panting like a dog each time I run and I tend to receive strange looks from the runners I pass by. I know it's not ladylike but I can't help it!

Not sure if we'll be doing the UM one, though.

While most of the runners flocked the New Pantai Expressway ("NPE") for the Adidas King of the Road ("AKOTR") event on Sunday, YB and I headed back to UPM for the annual Dogathon event.

We attended last year's Dogathon and enjoyed being surrounded by the dogs that we vowed to return to this year's event. I made sure our diaries were free. ;D

We arrived just in time for the start of the run, where owners and dogs race on a 3km route.

Besides the 3km race, there were other activities such as the Fastest Eating Duo, Fetch, etc.

This year, we saw a weary looking St Bernard, who was probably suffering from heat stroke. If you think he's big, his owner doesn't think so because his parents were much bigger.

And the poor fella is shy - no petting allowed. Until later, when he was much more weary! =)

We saw plenty of Golden Retrievers this year, and I must say their golden colours and smiling faces seemed to dominate the scene. They're so gorgeous and smiley!

Meet 2 year old River, who won a dog dancing competition before. He's a restless little boy! (pic below)

He was pretty exhausted.

I adored Jaja, a 4 year old African Mastiff who is as sturdy as rock and was very calm and collected. I initially mistook her as a 'he'.

I want a bull mastiff!

I also adored the Rottweilers and well, it's hard to take picture of them because they're pretty restless!

Larkie is turning 1 in a few days. =)

4 month old baby Carlo(s) was checked out by a 5 month old German Shepherd. Poor darling!

"Doggies in Wonderland" was the theme for this year's Dogathon, with Alice in Wonderland in mind. I didn't see many dogs dressed up in their costumes but there were some little ones decked up for the Mad Hatter's tea party. Awwwww~

You know I could probably go on and on but I'll leave it as that. I need to redo the photos for the Facebook album. Sigh.

The Surprise Parties

2011-09-30T01:29:00.002+08:00

I've been planning my revenge for months now *evil cackle* ever since YB threw a surprise birthday get together for me this year. [For the record, I demand a re-party, because the cake was bleurgh.]

Anyway, the night before we were going off to Redang, I got the guys to gather in YK's place on the pretext that we were needed to help him finish up some mooncakes.

I reminded him again, when he got home but he said no, he wanted to RUN. What, I freaked out in mind. Run??

I asked, surely we could just drop by before our run. He said no, he was adamant that we had to complete our run FIRST before dropping by to eat mooncakes.

Crappity crap, I thought.

His conference call to the States took forever. The guys were already starving but eventually they started with the satay.

That was 930pm.

Come 1030pm, his conference call was finally over. YB immediately prepared for our run.

Before he could even put on his socks, I heard the rain.

I rejoiced in my head, woohoo!

So I cajoled him into going down to YK's place instead for food. I warned the guys via whatsapp, to get ready.

Not caught on camera: YK, KFC, satay and pistachio ice cream. We were starving from the waiting!

SURPRISE!
Everyone was so happy to finally be able dig in. I was especially happy to be able to eat KFC after so long.

Later on, I asked him if he was surprised. He said he was. Are you sure, I asked. He said yes, he didn't expect the guys to pull something like this off.

*huffs*
He clearly doesn't know who the mastermind behind it all!

~
The following day was our trip to Redang. Firstly, however, we got our 10km run out of the way. Then it was prepping up for our road trip with the rest of the boys.

Joanna was in touch with me all the way, discussing what cake to get for YB. Since she bought it the night before we arrived at Redang, I figured we would have to celebrate his birthday, once again, early.

Everyone was knackered by dinner time and we still had to wait til 9pm for the surprise party. WK decided to retire early, despite AC reminding him we had to meet up for a briefing at 9pm.

WK told us to go ahead without us. AC had to whatsapp him to remind him, hellooooo, it's going to be YB's surprise birthday party!

We trudged to Coral Redang Island Resort where our dive instructors were staying. The guys nursed a glass of beer while YB proceeded to sit down and dozed off.

Joanna and I had the cake laid out in front of him before I prodded him awake. We sang Happy Birthday as enthusiastically as we could, in our tired state, but it was pretty lacklustre. =P

Gotcha! The birthday boy awoke from his slumber.

It was probably one of the most sombre birthday party I've ever attended. =P It was a quick gobble of a slice of the birthday cake (YB and I shared a slice) before everyone retired. The cake was surprisingly good!

Make a wish, make a wish!

As you should know by now, YB's birthday wish was to see the whale shark during one of our dives. We were told that some divers recently spotted it somewhere around the area.

Blondies & Brownies

2011-09-28T07:58:00.001+08:00

Last Thursday morning, I decided to bake some coffee muffins. I laid out all the ingredients on the table the night before so I would save some time.

Looks alright, eh?

The recipe needs to be tweaked just a little. Another teaspoon of coffee and a cup of chopped walnuts, the muffins would be awesome!

That evening, I tried 2 other recipes, Chocolate Chip Blondies and Peanut Butter Nutella Brownies.

What I didn't know was that it was the cake version of brownies. Which, you know, didn't gather much enthusiasm with everyone. =(

Despite the cakey texture, this was a hit among the colleagues as it wasn't too sweet. They liked the burst of chocolate chips.

This however, was a disaster. Apparently it was too sweet. And what is WITH the freaking cakey texture?

OK, I imagined that was what went through their minds. =P

p.s. I zapped a few pieces of the peanut butter nutella brownies and they turned out crispier, like biscuits. Tasted much better that way.

So Many Things To Do But

2011-09-28T00:47:00.000+08:00

So little time and always so tired.

I crawled into the couch at 9pm just for a quick shut eye but when I opened my eyes to YB nudging me, it was 1130pm.

There went my Tuesday evening.

Gawdammit, I have to concede defeat.

Another unproductive evening. I've been wanting to edit some pictures and blog about so many things and reply some emails but noooo there is no time no energy left to do so much.

G'night or good morning.

AOW - Sorted!

2011-09-20T15:11:00.000+08:00

(written yesterday)

WE DID IT!
We finally got our Advanced Open Water licence, just to allow us to dive down to a maximum depth of 40m. *all smiles*

I must say it was a tiring holiday and we definitely need another holiday to recover from this one.

My head is still woozy and I feel as if my brains are rocking to and fro, as if its still on board the speed boat. Oww.

Just like a hangover.

For our five Adventure dives, we did the following:
Underwater Navigation, Deep Dive, Drift Dive, Night Dive and Wreck Dive.

To tell you the honest truth, I didn't enjoy the night dive. The light from the torchlight was limited and not widely angled (can't complain much about a rented torch, ya?), and my mask kept fogging, which was pretty annoying. I kept bumping into the rocks, and then there was a part where I became to buoyant and floated up.

I was stuck. I couldn't descend anymore. I waved my torch from left to right several times (that is the distress signal, by the way) but no one saw me! They were busy watching a squid approaching a fish for noms. Sheesh.

It was a very uneventful dive for me. I struggled with my ever so foggy mask and buoyancy in the dark. Sure I saw a flounder, some crabs, puffer fishes, a sleeping parrot fish ... hmmm, that's about it, I guess.

On the last evening at Redang, we took park in a some beach games with another group of people which consisted of a large number of snorkelers and only 3 divers.

Divided into 3 teams of 6, YB and I joined 4 others to form a team. We won both games!

Every evening, the beach is filled with people and the house reef with snorkelers. We sat by the beach and watched the people, while 2 of our friends went snorkeling.

We witnessed a girl trying to force her toy poodle into the water. She tugged her dog's leash but the dog resisted. She carried the dog into the water and the dog struggled out of her arms, wanting to get her feet back onto the shore.

We were blessed with clear sunny skies, did you know? We heard that it was always raining in KL during the evenings.

I wouldn't mind another holiday, you know.

Diving was pretty good.
Food was OK.
The company was great. ;)

Kedai Kopi Hai Peng

2011-09-17T08:33:00.000+08:00

I knew of this coffee shop from some blog reviews and when we were on our way to Redang last year, we made our first visit.

I didn't think we'd have a chance during our trip this time but the minute I saw it, I knew I HAD to drop by.

The bread oh I enjoyed the bread! I can't describe it, besides the fact that its texture reminds me of English muffin, but YB says it reminds him of crumpets. (I don't fancy crumpets ;P)

This time, I tried the cham (coffee + tea) instead of coffee as it was late evening. I didn't want to end up awake for the night. ;)

I guess the coffee was 'that' strong because my friend tossed and turned the whole night!

If you have the time, do stop by Chukai / Kemaman and visit Kedai Kopi Hai Peng.

Cranberry Scones

2011-09-12T07:33:00.002+08:00

Two weeks ago, I flipped through my printed recipes (I've been collected recipes for months now, but have yet to try them all!) and decided that it was time for scones.

The recipe is from Joy of Baking.com. I also wanted to make cream to go with them, but resorted to making cream cheese frosting instead.

I made small pieces instead of 8 triangles, as I thought it would be easier for my guinea pigs to consume. I didn't want them to be forced to finish a bigger piece if they turned out blah.

Best served warm and with cream. Sadly, cream cheese frosting had to do.

My grief:
The scones had a citrus-y scent as mixed peels was added to the batter. The next time, however, I'll probably have to chop the mixed peels into smaller pieces.

They were kinda hard. =( I need to make them more moist, but YB wanted them hard. Hmmfh.

p.s. Did I tell you that my dad really liked my pumpkin carrot cake? =))

Dutamas Runners: The Porklings

2011-09-08T00:08:00.001+08:00

Lynn & Bin make up two thirds (2/3) of 'The Porklings', with myself being the 3rd lil piggy. We made our debut at the Pacemakers' 7th Anniversary Relay held at Kepong Metropolitan Park on August 14th, 2011. Did you see our curly green tails?

1. You have just completed your first team relay event! Was it hard?
Lynn: It was definitely more stressful than running my first marathon. The pressure! The last minute attempts at hill-training and speed work!

Bin: it was certainly no walk in the park! ..... geddit?? coz we were running weren't we.. funny huh, that's me. but yea.. dam hard trying to run fast & maintain poise for camera towards the end

2. How long have you been running?
Lynn: Running is a bit of an overstatement. I think “jogger” or “brisk walker” are better word choices. I was never particularly sporty but would run in school sports day and cross country when forced. I also used to go to the gym with my mother when I was in my teens and she used to scold me for being lackadaisical on the treadmill with “Is this how you study for exams? How will you succeed in life!”. An auspicious start! My first real run was the half marathon in the 2009 KL Standard Chartered Marathon. I was very busy at work and did not manage to do much training, and some friends from outstation were in town so I ended up spending the night before having a couple of drinks at Sky Bar. I finished in 2:46 (I think) in so much pain, you wouldn’t believe it.

Bin: long time lor.. just wasn't any good only ma. haha.. i guess this is about running competitively - joining events etc.. in which case first event same as Lynn 2009 SCKLM, but our running prep for that was seriously funny la looking back.. and how we nearly died during our 10k run. great memories...

3. You run because …

Lynn: … I am very vain and I would like to eat all my favourite foods without getting so fat that I have to be airlifted out of my apartment!

Bin: ... I married my agent! :D i'd be happily playing my racket sports oblivious to the running world if it wasn't for vonsy teo.. having said that no regrets now that i've started running, my stamina has improved dramatically due to running & it is helping me in my other sports & running has certainly brought us fantastic new friends.

4. Why did you call yourselves ‘The Porklings’?
Lynn: I don’t know how it came about. As far as I can remember Yvonne was chatting online with me about potential names while signing up for PAR 7 and throwing suggestions at a distracted Bin- she’s a multi-tasker, that one is. A mutual lifelong undying passion for all foods porky really helped.

Bin: i guess we're not exactly 'The Gazelles' are we :P + we definitely belong more to the cute & lazy & annoying & cuddly type gwa + our love for bakuteh + i guess it sounded more sophisticated than 'The Suckling Pigs'?

[YT: The other name we had in mind was "The Porky Pies".]

5. What is the best and worst thing about running?
Lynn: The best is being able to eat anything while training for the FM without putting on an ounce. Why are all my answers food-centric? Try again- The best is hanging out with all the cool people of Dutamas Runners, checking out the cute super fast running guys on the BA-Hartamas-BA route, the natural high after every run, amassing a huge running skirt collection, the fantastic bak kut teh and kau yoke mai fun everyone bribed me with (food again!), and feeling strong! The worst was when my toenails fell out after doing the half marathon in the 2010 Singapore Standard Chartered Marathon and my feet and toes got so ugly that they could ward off would-be rapists. The nails have only just grown back and I have just had my first pedicure of 2011!

Bin: BEST thing is what running is bringing us - weight control ahem, maybe i should write 'what running should be bringing us' :D + the new found wonderful friends & the overall social scene, it really is a great sport. We can now watch marathon or track & field events on sports channel & truly appreciate what the runners are going through...! WORST thing is showing up for a race/event very ill-prepared - and suffering at the final few km to show for it! and i guess all the related injuries - the sore muscles, the joints start to ache etc.

6. Do you have any running goals?
Lynn: Refer to above- I would like to stay slim enough not to have to be airlifted out of my apartment.

Bin: already attaining the mini short-term ones - eg. clocking new PBs etc.& i guess ultimate goal is to be able to stay strong & fit & run with vonsy teo for a very long time more, i've got a FB running memoirs album to upkeep!

7. What is your favourite pre-race carbo loading food?
Lynn: Once upon a time, I would have said KFC but I have been advised that KFC does not qualify as a carbohydrate and is actually mostly fat and protein. I am also partial to a good banana leaf rice.

Bin: don't have leh... but for some reason i can't stop thinking about double GCB right now donno why

8. Your next running event would be …
Lynn: Yellow Ribbon Prison Run in Singapore with Yvonne’s cousin Jeannie, and Penang Bridge International Marathon with the the Porklings and my little sister. I am eagerly anticipating the asam laksa and char kueh teow already!

[YT: Er ... we MAY be running in another theme for PBIM!]

Bin: should be river jungle marathon. unless agent booked something earlier.

9. Will you run as ‘The Porklings’ again?

Lynn: For sure! As Captain (Khoo Yit Kiat of Dutamas Runners) told me (in jest) – “Gaya mesti ada, kalah tidak apa”. And the Porklings are definitely gaya!

Bin: once a porkling, forever a porkling.

10. You completed your first FM this year. what was it like?
Lynn: I turn 30 at the end of this year. The FM was a way to show myself that I may be hitting the big three oh but I can darn well run 42km! A slightly premature mid-life crisis of sorts. It was a great experience, fantastic fun, I trained with 2 other FMV’s Melvin and Kenny. That said, the next time I have a mid-life crisis, I am buying a sportscar and getting myself a 21 year old toyboy. Much less painful!

Bin: NA. ask me again after September!

There you go. If you see someone running by with a crocheted green curly tail on his or her behind, it could probably be one of us!

The props for The Porklings include snouts, green tails, moustaches and a bright yellow crown. The snouts were store bought (via Ebay!) and the rest were crocheted by me.

Thanks for the pictures I nicked from our friends. =)

Fish Farm Thai Restaurant

2011-09-07T07:26:00.001+08:00

During the 3 day holiday, YB and I went to the Fish Farm for dinner with some friends.

We were told that we need not reserve a table but lo and behold, when we arrived there at 7pm (some of them were there early while the rest of us arrived 30 minutes later), the place was full to the brim!

That made us worry about their service for the night.

Ooh grilled crabs greeted us near the entrance!

There's about 65 tables.

Some of the dishes arrived first without the rice. So YB and OK went off to get the rice bucket themselves and proceeded to serve us.

There was a temporary blackout but it didn't stop the rice from coming. ;D

The crabs were RM55 for 2 pieces, so we had 4 crabs in two types of gravy.

The fish and the prawns were the last to arrive. Check out the prawns! It was basically one per person.

Sure the food was tasty but the portion did not justify the price for it. They were pretty small, when in fact we requested for a large portion.

The desserts were actually ordered first while our friends were waiting for us to arrive. But they were served only AFTER our meal.

Perhaps you needed to inform them whether you wanted them served before or after a meal? I don't know.

The bill came up to RM304 for 9 pax.

Would we go back there again? I don't know. I'm sure there's some place else with the same price but with bigger servings!

Other reviews:
taufulou
kyspeaks

Cakes To Bake

2011-09-05T13:01:00.003+08:00

Too many ideas and too many recipes to try!

I really want to attempt the following:

Carrot cake
Coffee flavoured cake
Fruit cocktail cake
Red Velvet
cake - ooooh, ambitious!
Pineapple rolls - ambitious, indeed!

Tsk tsk. I have yet to master the art of making perfect butter cake, to be honest.

Tui Na Massage

2011-09-02T16:05:00.005+08:00

Oh. My. Goodness.

I could have screeched at the top of my lungs but I bore the agony of it all. 60mins of pure torture on the top of my back and 30mins of calm (lower back and legs).

For a steal at RM99.50.

You see, I've never heard of "tui na" before until Lynn mentioned it (I honestly thought she was speaking gibberish or she was just too poncy with all these fancy schmancy massage names). And since YB and I were looking around for places to go for deep tissue massage, we settled with the tui na massage as the rest of the places couldn't accommodate the both of us.

Check out "tui na" on the Internet and you'll find that they describe it in such soothing and flowing terms, like this, "Tui Na uses rhythmic compression along energy channels of the body, as well as a variety of technique that manipulate and lubricate the joints." (source)

Sniff.

And then I asked Lynn whether it hurt and she immediately replied, "Like a bitch."

Right.

So I was warned, but we went ahead anyway.

Never again!

We wanted more focus on the lower back and the legs (our legs were tired from hill training on Wednesday and a 12km run yesterday morning) but sadly this was not the case. We should have mentioned it, I supposed.

Today, both my legs and the top of my back are sore - for different reasons.

Please, can anyone recommend us a place for good massage (for sore muscles, like deep tissue massage) and a good price, where the therapist/masseuse will focus on where you tell them to?

Picnic at Sg Kanching Waterfalls

2011-09-01T15:35:00.000+08:00

Sunday - 7th August, 2011.

We decided to take a break from running that weekend and hence planned for a picnic with our partners to join us for the event. I'm sure some of them have been wondering about the people behind Dutamas Runners' who have been taking up so much of their partner's time.

Sungai Kanching is accessible from Jalan Kuching - Jalan Ipoh - Rawang Highway and is located after Templer's Park.

We were there early at 8am and true enough, it was quiet with only a few couple of people here and there.

We made our way up to Level 7, only to decide that perhaps we'd stay at Level 5. Some of us had opined that the picnic are at Level 7 wasn't wide enough to accommodate all of us.

Everyone brought some food to share. From baby burgers (Kenny), to quiche (Yin Yin), to fried chicken nuggets (Alicia, Paul & Michelle), to canned food and bread (Captain, MY, Geoff & Joyce), to hotdogs, bread, junk food and others (YB and myself), bottles of Revive (Andrew) and bags of pistachio (OKT), there was simply too much food for everyone!

YB brought his mini cooking camping set to grill the dogs AND boil some water for cups of tea all around. That probably kept everyone happy in anticipation of warm food and drinks!

We were also surrounded by macaques (monkeys) which were clearly eyeing our food and bags. Paul was our guardian for that day.

All in all, it was a fun getaway and looks like there's more to come!

Our next proposed outing will be to Skytrex in November.

A Splash Of Sunshine

2011-08-29T12:42:00.000+08:00

Things are much better now. We just have to focus on recovery and make sure the diet is under control.

I am back to the grindstone but I hope that with the Raya holidays, I will finally get some rest.

The weather in KK was extremely hot and as of yesterday, it was very humid and hazy. Thank goodness my flight back was not turbulent, unlike my flight to KK where I hung on to my seat very dearly.

The little girl who comes with her mum every morning spends her time playing with her toys at the back of ourhouse. Each time she saw me, she would ask where YB was. I'm sure she was just trying to make conversation to engage me. =) I don't think she really wanted to see YB, because as my sister and mum explained it, she just wanted to use the word "Mana" ("Where is") in her sentence/question.

This trip back, I didn't have enough time to sit and play with her.

Many people have expressed surprise or intrigue that I can crochet. You can imagine them raising their eyebrow in their minds when they coo,"Oh, you're so clever! You can knit!"

Many a times I had to correct them that I was not knitting. ;)

Like knitting (I presume), crochet is something I find therapeutic. My hands can move in rhythm and automatically in rows while my mind is free to wander until I reach the end of each row. Then it starts all over again.

Generally, I have never been a fan of bright red or orange colours but this time, I found myself in secret delight to see the splashes of colours in my work. Don't you just adore the colours? (Yes, I know I'm sounding like an aunty, but I can't help it!)

I'll need to buy more of these coloured yarns as I'm running low on the brightly coloured ones!

Dutamas Runners : Seng Chor

2011-08-26T08:12:00.001+08:00

Seng Chor is an IT Security Professional, where part of his job includes doing analysis on security requirements of critical systems, processes, products and services in order to maintain the most cost effective way to ensure information security. In his words, he is "the security guard".

1 How long have you been a regular Dutamas Runner?
One day some time in the beginning of the year (2011), Yin invited me to run with her and her mum. It was then that I was introduced to Dutamas Runner's Captain Khoo Yit Kiat. Since then, I join Dutamas Runner whenever I can. Not sure if I can be considered a regular in Dutamas Runner.

2 Have you been running for long? Do you enjoy running?
I used to run on a daily basis many donkey years ago. Somehow I stopped for no apparent reason some time in 1997, probably something else more interesting came along. I started running again in last year Rat Race after my long time friend (from school days) invited me to join the company training. Since then, I have been running regularly and joining races. I definitely enjoy running, still wondering why I stopped years ago. I enjoy meeting fun people like the Dutamas Runner's gang and of course not forgetting the food I get to enjoy after each of the running session.

At this year's Standard Chartered KL Marathon.

3 This year alone, you have completed two (2) full marathons. Congrats, by the way! I don’t think I am as brave as you are. How did you feel after each marathon?
I always wanted to run in a marathon as I believe that is the one thing (many others) I need to do before I die. I was quite surprise myself that I actually ran 2 full marathons within a month. I don't think I am as brave also, just that I have this crazy attitude, the Nike attitude ("Just Do It"). How did I feel after each marathon? Well, I felt that I have finally accomplished one of my dreams after so many years. I was just happy and felt liberated after I finished my first marathon. In my mind, just knew that another dream finally achieved.

4 Was that your happy running moment? =D
If you are referring to the 2 marathons, I must say it is not the happiest running moment. I feel that my happiest running moment was the Men's Health and Shape Run as I did not expect to get the medal due to the limited number. I was so happy at the finished line when I was given the medal.

5 Can you sum up the best and worst things about running?
Best things - Able to connect back to some of the old friends and of course knowing all the nice new friends. Ahh, not forgetting the food, wondering why all runners have the same thought. :-)
Worst things - Can't think of any, don't think I have any bad experience from running.

6 Do you have any ongoing running objectives?
I do, I have set a goal for myself to finish in 10 half marathons and 10 full marathons races within 3 years.

(YT: Impressive. But why 10 Full Marathons and 10 Half Marathons? And how many more to go?
Seng Chor: Ahh, just wanna to collect 10 FM and 10 HM medals within a certain time frame. I set the goal this year. So far, I have 2 FM and 2 HM in the bag already. Will be doing another 2 FM and 2 HM by end of the year.)

7 What is your favourite pre-race carbo loading food?
I like spaghetti, potatoes salad and.... I actually eat anything that is nice.

BHP Orange Run 2011

8 Your next running event would be ...
Salomon Trail Run and River Jungle Marathon. Yes, another full marathon coming up. I told you so, I have this crazy attitude.

In case you didn't know, Seng Chor is also an avid scuba diver!

Give Me Strength

2011-08-24T08:29:00.004+08:00

At the Sabah Medical Centre.

A few years back when I was visiting YB in London, I fell really ill. I thought I was just battling a normal flu bug, with fever, hot and cold sweat and at times I would be shivering like crazy.

When I think about The Lion King musical, I remember dressed up in my jacket and shivering in my seat. The guy seated on my other side must have been really puzzled. Then halfway through the show, when I stopped shivering, I got warm and took off my jacket.

It wasn't until that night that despite being bundled up in sweaters and a jacket and 2 pairs of socks, that YB decided that he had to bring me to the nearest emergency ward in Kingston Hospital.

With an extremely high temperature, they warded me and stripped me into just a gown. They said they had to bring my temperature down and the layers of clothing wasn't helping at all. A fan was put by my side, constantly blowing at me, and I was refused a blanket despite my request for it.

That was probably our saddest New Year countdown. YB wasn't allowed to spend the night by my side, so he had to go home. I was pretty much half blind as I had forgotten my glasses for this UK trip and I couldn't even watch TV properly.

They took my blood sample for a culture in order to determine what was wrong with me.

Two days later, I insisted on a self-discharge because I needed to get on my flight back to KL. I had to sign a disclaimer and indemnity form as I was discharging against the doctor's wishes. The doctor was very kind to give me a copy of his notes so I could hand it to my doctor.

I was pretty thankful that during my flight back, I had the entire row of seats with me. I shivered occasionally but it was bearable.

When I got back, I couldn't report to work, and I went straight to my doctor, who said that by the looks of it, I should be admitted straight into the hospital.

I'm not sure whether at that juncture, YB had already informed me that the results of the culture came back, and I had e.coli.

I had WC accompany me for my admission to Pantai Medical Centre and well, I didn't like it but I had to call to tell my mum what was going on. She flew in that evening, I think.

My mum was by my side most of the time. She had my aunts and uncles and cousins for company, so that was good. I just felt hopeless, lying in bed, attached to drip.

Only a colleague came to visit, and my then boss visited the day I was discharged from the hospital.

Hospitals. The smell of disinfectant occasionally jolts me into that time I was in Kingston Hospital.

Prayers. If you could float through the hospital rooms and listen carefully to the minds and heartbeats of the people, you'd hear their silent prayers.

Strength. Through the years, I have only prayed and asked for God to give me strength to deal with anything and everything that comes my way. I don't ask for miracles or cures, is that silly of me? I do give thanks first, however, before beginning my prayers. *shrug* I don't have a long list of requests, that's for sure.

Everyone is secretly terrified right now, but I have told them that all of us would need to stay strong. There is no point in being hysterical, because that could open the floodgates of tears and well, we need to focus on positive thinking and energy.

The road to recovery will be hard, but we will get through it.

The Day After Circuit Training

2011-08-23T23:44:00.000+08:00

Last Thursday, I had a tough time waddling around in a tight skirt and high heels at work. My muscles were sore or tired from circuit training the night before.

Oh gawd.

It's no wonder I don't fancy floor exercises at all because I don't have the discipline. But throw me into a room full of people, I'd have to follow suit. That's probably the reason why I prefer joining aerobic classes than work out in the gym on my own.

Everybody warming up before the torture began.

There were 10 of us working out like madmen at our condo car park that night. It was a shame it had rained earlier or we would have used the tennis court instead.

We were given 30 seconds for each workout, and there were 10 workouts to complete for each round. We only did 2 reps but it was enough to see the relief on everyone's faces at the end of the session!

One of the workouts included 'burpees'. My first encounter with burpees was during my Original Boot Camp trial about a year or two ago. Bleurgh.

I still don't fancy burpees, but I have no qualms in believing that it could make me a stronger runner. =P

Anyway, it was tiring for me to walk around at work on Thursday and Friday. Oh my.

I clearly have very weak muscles. =D

Be that as it may, I am trying (not) hard (enough) to be more disciplined (think about the abs, Von!!) with floor exercises just so I'll achieve my 2011 target half marathon target before the year ends!

Gotta work it!
There is no shortcut!

Baked Eggplant Patties

2011-08-18T23:41:00.000+08:00

Since I had some aubergine or eggplant at home, I decided to search for some baked eggplant recipes. I was intrigued by this recipe since the photos looked sooooo good.

I used what ingredients I had:

1 long eggplant, sliced
1/2 yellow onion, diced
3/4 cup of canned chickpeas (drained)
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon of pine nuts
1 1/2 tablespoon of dried parsley
1 teaspoon of cumin powder
1/2 or 1 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of breadcrumbs*
2 tablespoon of olive oil

Since I didn't have breadcrumbs, I used the next best thing: cornflakes! Just put it into the blender and voila, you will get your breadcrumbs.

Once the eggplant is roasted, mixed the ingredients together.

Throw it into the blender.

Use your hands to make the patties.

And then bake.

Greens are good for you, so be sure to have a side of greens. =D

My own version of open sandwiches.

Instead of tahini sauce for accompaniment, I thought I'd make my own honey mustard mayo. I used this recipe, because it only required 3 ingredients as per name: honey, mustard and mayo.

Easy, right?

But the brand of mustard I bought wasn't strong enough to my liking. I can't wait to finish it up so I can buy another brand!

So much work and preparation, and only 4 patties between YB and I.

Paired with white wine, of course! =D

~*~*~*~
Spicy Eggplant Hummus.

Since I had half a loaf of bread, a medium eggplant and some chickpeas left, I thought I'd make some hummus the next day.

Just add the eggplant. And chilli!

Well, that's what I gathered from the recipes on the Internet. It sounded terribly easy.

http://vegetarian.about.com/od/saucesdipsspreads/r/babaganoush.htm
http://mideastfood.about.com/od/hummusrecipes/r/eggplant_hummus.htm

Come on, you have to admit that it's a good idea for date night at home, right?

It was awesome.
I loved it!
YB loved it!
In fact, he had some for breakfast the following morning too.

Except that I'll need to use less a clove of garlic the next time - I couldn't stand the smell of my own breath. =D

Random Blah Blah

2011-08-15T07:45:00.000+08:00

It's Monday again.

Does time fly by so quickly now that we're older or what?
It just feels that way, you know.

I don't remember having to decide what ONE thing I can do in the evenings after work. I distinctively recall that I could do THREE different things, like go for drinks, do a bit of work, watch some TV or do some ironing, reading, watch a dvd...

Or is it with running/exercise in the routine, there's nothing much you can do?

I know that despite wanting to do a lot of things in the evenings after work, come midnight after my run on weeknights, I'd have to crawl into bed immediately because my body would slowly shut down, my eyelids would refuse to keep open and I'll have to drag myself out of bed the next morning.

It's so frustrating!

Anyway, I'm clearing up my phone picture gallery. =D

These bars of Reese's Sweet & Salty were given to me by the BFF, whom I coincidentally dreamt of last Thursday night. She found these during her trip to Shanghai.

I haven't seen these around the shores of Malaysia. In fact, I think the chocolate selection in Malaysia is just OK. Even if they had a wide variety, I doubt that most people would be able to afford the price of imported chocolates.

My favourite aisle in supermarkets and departmental stores are always the chocolate and biscuit aisles. I can spend hours, just studying the choices and deciding which one would be best to part my money with.

Even if it was just a bar of chocolate that cost 39p in London. =P

Click to view the larger pic.

This was written on a huge grandfather's clock sitting in the top floor of my office building, still in working condition. Check out the date, 1973. It's older than I am, and still looking mighty grand.

On the rare occasion when YB and I *must* order dessert, we opted for the erm... something parfait from Sushi Zanmai. You know which one I'm talking about, right? The one with macha ice cream, whipped cream, cornflakes ...

On the way back from Bukit Jalil station after picking up the SCKLM 11 race packs. If only all our public transportation looked this pristine all the time.

The other day my bosses and colleagues took the same train down to Salak South for lunch. Not sure why I am mentioning this but I get pretty uncomfortable trying to make small talk with bosses while traveling because the conversation will usually be about work or food. But mostly work!

Starbucks' banana chocolate chip muffin. Have you tried it? It's our absolute fave. It now costs RM5.90 for this huge baby.

I was studying it and eating it so slowly, trying to remember every single taste and detail, hoping that maybe one day I can make these. While searching for the best banana chocolate chip muffin recipe online, I noted that some people commented that the traditional size of muffins are the best, "not like the oversized Starbucks' ones!"

Interesting.

I didn't make anything last weekend.
I was too busy. =P

Dutamas Runners : Melvin Lim

2011-08-12T23:40:00.002+08:00

I’m sure you’ve seen Melvin Lim on the road and at most of the major events. When he isn’t running, he is a vocational training consultant as well as a wonderful & cute baby products supplier by day.

1. How long have you been running?
Started my 1st Field & Track run - Form 6@1993 (400m only) but no prior run at all in my life except 1-2 Malay Mail Big Walk!

Then my room mate @ UPM, Patrick Choo Yong Chek invited me to run with him around the Uni and it was really fun because UPM is surrounded by lots of greenery (those days). It was actually addictive and I ran or played squash almost every day if there was no exam looming or I was not going back home in Segambut on weekends. I was absorbed into the college's (University residence) team relay as a reserve on my 2nd year of studies and I got a 1st runner-up medal, without a single sweat. :-) My only individual podium achievement was coming in 6th for 5km field & track.

Just right before & after graduation, I raced in 2 road races, the Larian Merdeka & PJ Half (21km) but I told myself never to run such a long distance again as it was damn painful & suffering after the run (whole body ache, bruised toes). I also had a taste of running up the 60++ Floors Empire Tower (next to Plaza Yow Chuan) & KL Towerthon, all in 1999.

Thereafter, it was a total break from running for the next 11 years till I participated in a CNY 2010 Tiger Beer Run, invited by Eugene Chan June Yew. I was actually attracted by the prizes, RM8,888 cash + air ticket or something else !!! Too bad both Eugene & the "not so feeling well but still great" Captain KYK spoilt my day, or else I may have a chance to taste the $$ (if I'm not mistaken, haha perasan kan?).

[YT: *cough cough cough* Be careful, Captain!]

Seriously speaking, if I was as fit as I'm now, I was probably 1st runner up. :-) Anyway, it has been destined not to be mine but for Captain to enjoy his trip to Berlin and he was and is still a faster runner (even when he's not so fit!). Since then, I was very motivated to pick up running again, preparing for the next cash winning chances... am I dreaming???

I can't remember how I got to know about Adination (Adidas Running Community) but the next next person that I need to thank is Ronnie See for his inspiration & motivation at KLCC park every Thursday evening. He's really passionate and hardworking about his training, and till today I still can't follow but his hard trainings has made me a better runner. Then only I joined DR group upon Captain's invitation and he's another person that I'm looking at in catching up though I know the day may never come till he retires or injured. :-)

Think got to stop here, too long already right?

[YT: Hehehe. ;)]

Photo credit to Steve Yap.

2. You recently completed your first full marathon at the SCKLM 2011. Was it a very happy moment for you? Did you celebrate with the family?
Yes, I was damn happy and it was my dream & #1 of my life's goal since 2000 after a goal setting session. Celebration with family? Not really coz my wife not very enthusiastic with my involvement in running but to me, as long as no objections, that's good enough. :-)

Hope some DR ladies can encourage her do more physical exercise...

[YT: So who's going to babysit the kiddies while she comes out and run? ;)]

3. How long did you prepare for your full marathon?
Not enough according to the season runners. :-(

I only managed two (2) 30km runs and a max of 70km/week in the 3rd last week prior to the run. Only picked up my mileage after mid May due to hectic work commitment since beginning mid April.

Diet wise, I really planned my carbo loading properly (Tues-Fri of the SCKLM week), i.e. about 6g of complex carbohydrate/day for every kg of my weight and I think it worked coz don't think I cramped during the run (initially I thought it was cramp). It was due to low mileage & perhaps ran too fast earlier part of my race that my muscles/ligament/tendon (whatever you call it) around the knee could not take it and I felt intense pain from 25km onwards. Nevertheless, after some running, walking & limping for bout 7km and with lots of massage oils on my knees, I just persevered to finish the race from 33km onwards without much stopping.

4. What is the best and worst thing about running?
Best - Knowing new friends & being exposed to new makan places by running friends. :-)

Worst - Injuries (it kept me out for a full 3 over months after my SCKLM 10' half marathon ("HM") - I actually asked for it coz my ankle injury from squash did not heal completely even after 2 months & I went ahead with running a HM without enough mileage also)

5. What is your next running objective?
Podium in a relay & individual again (have not tasted that since my Uni years) and a sub 4 in FM!

Photo credit to Yum Kim Kok.

6. Any major events coming up before the year ends?
Nothing firm yet in my calendar as there are quite a number of events that actually clash with my weekend work, either seminars or parenthood/baby expos.

Personal important event - PAR 7 (coz this could possibly be my 1st taste of podium again after such a long dry spell!)

7. Why do you keep on running?
Get to meet new friends, try new food & improve my timing!

8. If you are not running, what other sports/exercise do you do?
Personally I do not have any other hobbies except playing sports and right now running is my one and only sports. I will go back to playing squash after PAR 7 coz my close school mates complained about abandoning them after my injury last year! I can also play badminton, table-tennis, basketball, volleyball, fencing, swimming but only so so in all these sports. Guess I have better record at running after all. :-)

Thanks for sharing with us so much about your running background. I'm sure the Captain will now have to be on his toes, in case you come catching up from behind!

See you at the Pacemakers' 7th Anniversary Run on August 14th, 2011 at the Kepong Metropolitan Park!

Indian Okra

2011-08-09T00:03:00.002+08:00

My second Indian dish was cooked the day after I tried making Bhaingan Bharta.

I can't remember the website for the recipe I followed, but this recipe involved tomatoes, onions, okra, paprika, coriander powder ... i forgot the rest. (The printed recipe is on the fridge door at this moment.)

Yes, I've been distracted with baking cakes. =D

Don't you just love the colours?

A small bowl of roasted vegetable to feed YB while I prepared and cooked Indian Okra. A good way to eat your vege, as you can taste the sweetness. ;D

Hey hey. It looks like this one here!

And I really like this dish alhough I haven't cooked it again. Nice and spicy!

~*~*~
p.s. Looking back at my Cooking Experiments posts, I realise I haven't seen my bottle of basil powder lately. Crap! Where has it gone??

Destressing With Baking

2011-08-08T07:44:00.000+08:00

No, I don't mean to say that I was (am) stressed out but haha, I hate *cooking* up good blog post titles, ok! (was that a pun i just made?? no? maybe not then.)

My batches of cookie didn't turn out great, although I really liked the ones with M & M pieces in them (note the colourful ones) as well as the one with chunks of bittersweet chocolate and nuts (top right).

So, anyway, why is baking so therapeutic to some? Is it the process of making something from scratch to seeing something being created with just heat, and the end result of something aromatic and edible? =D

Two weeks ago, before the Segambut Charity Run, I decided to try out a Pumpkin Carrot Cake recipe. It looked pretty simple, and it was.

I liked what I tasted at the first bite. And that got me worried.

Because when I tasted my Banana Walnut bread this time round, I was torn. I liked them both equally!

For the Pumpkin Carrot Cake, I reduced the eggs to just 3.
For the Banana Walnut Cake, I used yoghurt instead of milk.

Yin Yin kindly posed with my cakes at the Segambut Charity Run. =D

I took some for my colleagues to try and they enjoyed the Pumpkin Carrot one as well. The taste of pumpkin is so subtle, you wouldn't even know that it's there.

YB, as usual, prefers the Banana Walnut.

Segambut Charity Run 2011

2011-08-06T23:27:00.002+08:00

Some of the Dutamas Runners attended the event which was held at Desa Park City last Sunday. As the organizers informed the crowd that the flag off was postponed to 8am. Lynn and I did a 2km warm up to kill some time before the start of the race. One of the VIPs was late.

Photo credit goes to Tey Eng Tiong.
Not really sure why in the second pic we looked like we were doing a choreographed dance.

We were probably the rowdiest group there, to the amusement and horror to the crowd. We took SO many photos (because we had too many photographers around), laughed so loud and we didn’t know how else to kill time besides being clowns.

Come 8am and it was race time.

The route was pretty easy with a flat terrain. I was worried about starting too fast, and tried to slow down by keeping Paul withinin sight. I think he was keeping a 5min pace whereas I wanted to maintain a 5:10 - 5:15 min pace.

As I was running towards the first checkpoint for a ribbon, I saw Melvin, the Captain, Jeff and Sue pretty much leading the pack when they made a u-turn back. When I was going up, I saw Yin Yin, her mum, Lynn and Geoff making their way down.

We were giving each other the thumbs up sign to encourage each other to keep going.

With 3km into the race, I think I did pretty well in keeping my pace consistent but it was time to speed up. I ran past so many photographers and tried to smile but to be honest, I didn’t want to slow down to pose because, er, I’ve got a time to beat. So yeah, I always end up looking like crap in candid running photos.

Photo credit to Andrew Choa.

Nearing the start line, I saw Melvin gesturing madly at me, and I tried my bestt o understand what he was saying. I saw the finish line ahead on the left and I gestured to him whether I had to go straight ahead first before turning back to the finish line. He kept pointing to the finish line furiously and it dawned to me that the race was at its end!

I sped up like mad, probably sprinting my way through whoever else was ahead of me. Thankfully, no little kiddies were harmed in the process. =)

Upon crossing the finish line, they gave me a card for the number 1 position for my category. Gosh!

Cool.
Awesome.
Wow.

WOW.

I was too stunned for words as I was only aiming for the top 10 position. None of the elite runners where there, I suppose, or I wouldn’t have had a chance in hell. ;)

Photo credit to Tey Eng Tiong.
Finisher medals and goody bags for all!

The Captain was 1st runner up for his category, Lynn came in behind me 3 minutes later. Yin Yin was 6th for the women’s veteran category and as expected, Sue was 1st.

Photo credit to Tey Eng Tiong.
We did a lot of jumping photos, but I just nicked these two. They are too hilarious for words!

And you know what? According to our Garmin, we only ran 3.7km and not the 5.5km as informed.

All of us were horrified, as we were pacing for a 5km run. Had we known, we would have paced properly! Ack! We were really frustrated.

Photo credit to Andrew.
The full group photo, with our photographers for the day, Seng Chor and Andrew.

“What? Why is it 3.7km?”
“I could have ran faster!”

I know all of us didn’t do our homework and that was our biggest mistake. But were we really supposed to be so concerned for a 5.5km race when it was supposed to be an easy run anyway? Should we have bothered? Wasn’t it enough that I told myself that I was going to run a 5 min pace, at my fastest?

*huffs*

Photo credits to Andrew.
The girls at the prize giving ceremony.

In keeping up with the spirits, we cheered all our members who got on stage for their medals and prizes. The crowd must have hated us, or something, because we were seriously rowdy!

Photo credits to Tey Eng Tiong and Andrew.
Captain and I were "interviewed" in Mandarin by Bernama.

Halfway through the prize giving ceremony, one of the VIPs had to leave. Come to the Women's Veteran category, they were reading only the bib numbers of the winners without announcing their names. Boo!

Photo credits to Andrew. And maybe Kenny.

Photo credit to Tey Eng Tiong.
Enough with the photo taking! Embarrassed to the max.

Breakfast was dim sum at Bandar Menjalara.

We waited for Yin Yin, mum and Gilbert to join us as they had to rush off to pick up Gilbert's birthday cake. The cake, we all agree, was awesome. Macadamia Salter Caramel Tart, I think.

See the paparazzi at work!

We waited quite a while for one of the waiters to bring us a knife to cut the cake. 20 minutes later, he actually came with a chopping knife and a cutting knife and asked Captain which one he wanted.

We all laughed.

~*~*~
Since it was supposed to be a LSD weekend, Paul and I went for a 11.5km run in the evening to make up for the morning’s run. It was a pretty slow run, as there were times during the run that I felt pretty lazy and I had to force my heavy legs to move.

It was a tiring weekend indeed.

I almost skipped my run on Monday but I preservered at the gym. Almost got into a fight with a foreign couple who wanted the aircon in full blast, but they chose the treadmills far from the aircon and since I was stuck with the treadmill directly underneath the treadmill, I lowered the fan and increased the temperature by just a bit. (I wanted to switch it off, honestly!)

Another event coming up next weekend, so I can’t really slack off training. *big sigh*

Such is life of an aspiring runner, no?

Dutamas Runners : Chin Ann

2011-08-04T00:53:00.009+08:00

Chin Ann of http://www.vinann.com recently completed the Sundown Ultra Marathon 2011 (100km) in Singapore on 25th June this year.

When I first met him, I found him shy and quiet but follow him on Twitter, and you will see his chatty side!

I thought I'd ask him a few questions so that we could get to know him a little bit better.

1. How long have you been running?
I started my running in August 2008 when I brought my 1st pair of running shoe Saucony Triumph 5. It's coming to 3 years in August.

2. Why do you run?
I started to run as I know running is the easiest way to achieve a healthy lifestyle and importantly to slim down :)

3. Since you're still running regularly, I guess that means you really enjoy it, right? Or do you consider it as something you "must" do?
Yes, I'm still enjoy running. It's have become part of my life. Saturday and Sunday morning, my mind and body will auto wake up for running!

4. What is the best and worst thing about running?
Best thing was just happened recently that I completed 100km without any muscles cramps problems! I even can sprint in the last 2km from 98th km mark!

Worst thing - cramp in the marathon race. I have few times cramp in the races and i wish i can end my race immediately and go back home rest.

5. Name a happy running moment/event and why.
The happy running event was my Virgin 42KM Marathon in Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2009. As that was my first 42KM marathon, I really follow my Sifu Terrence advice. I still can remember clearly how I achieved my sub-5 timing. With Sifu advise and encouragement during race, I remember Sifu Terrence asked me to speed up at 30KM point else, I would not able to hit sub-5. Eventually at last I managed to complete my 1st ever personal best timing which was 4 hours 57 minutes, which is now still my 42KM personal best timing. haha Since then, for the rest of my marathons timing from second until 10th, my timing was over 5 hours. I wonder how I did it back then. :)

Ultra Buddies Group Photo before the start of Sundown Ultra 100KM

6. Can you tell us how you felt while running the Sundown Ultra Marathon 100km?

Run...Run...Run... and keep running... the word was running up and down in my mind. I'm lucky I have many different companions to run with during my 1st 50KM. After 50KM, I only had 3 companions to run with. It was really a fight against body not to fall asleep. We brought Coke from petrol station to keep us awake. It feel good when you have someone to pace with. It keeps my motivation going and to keep running at 3AM.

7. Would you recommend the 100km to anyone? If yes, what would your advice be?
Go run a few 42KM marathons then only consider 100KM. Part of the quality you need to sign up 100KM is "insanity" and guts too!

(YT: Yep. I don't think I'll ever sign up for it!)

I would only advise you to join 100KM when you have a big bunch of "ultra buddies" training together and supporting each other during training. We had our most wonderful lunch ( it was just plain rice and an egg) in one of our 9 hours training.

8. What is your next running objective?
To achieve sub-5 marathon target in 2012 and to run Ultra marathons. Other than that, I'm always out to improve my condition to run injury free !

9. I forgot to ask, what do you do for a living? =D
I'm working as a Finance Executive at one of the Government Linked companies.

At the recent BHP Orange Run 2011 on 17th July 2011

10. What is your next event?
My next races are The River Jungle Marathon on Sept 25 and Putrajaya Night Marathon on 15 Oct, but these are just part of my training for my major race in November which is Malaysia 1st Ultra "The Most Beautiful Thing" : Sabah Adventure Challenge 100KM Trail Ultra Marathon.

(YT: That sounds scary yet awesome... yikes!)

All the best, Chin Ann, and keep on running!

Glutinous Rice With Chicken

2011-08-01T13:11:00.000+08:00

See, my mum makes fabulous glutinous rice ("lo mai fan") and we enjoy it so much that I thought I'd try making it, too.

Instead of asking her for the recipe, I thought I'd be clever and do my own research online instead.

ingredients:
2 cups of glutinous rice - soaked for 8 hours
chinese mushroom - soaked in hot water for 30 minutes
garlic, shallots, 2 chicken thighs - chopped
1 chinese sausage - sliced
1 tbsp of light soya sauce
1 tbsp of dark soya sauce
2 tbsp of oyster sauce
pepper and salt to taste

for garnish:
fried shallots
chopped spring onion
1 red chilli, sliced

cooking time: 45mins - 1 hour

It was missing something, and I couldn't put my finger to it. Dried shrimps? Dried cuttlefish? Perhaps caramel sauce?

Nevertheless, it went well with some chilli sauce to make up for the lost 'oomph'. =S

Oh, I'll definitely cook it again the next time. YB has requested perhaps I cook this dish for his parents the next time they come to visit. Hmm.

Maybe once I've perfected it.

Running Off The Frustrations

2011-07-29T14:18:00.006+08:00

I’m not a good badminton player – I’m not good enough to play with the men and have them smash here and there, but I also do not have the patience to play with the girls who don’t have the strength to hit far. Can I say that I’m merely an average player?

This is the 2nd time I’ve played for my company’s inter department games. I played women’s doubles last year, and my partner was pretty good as she was strong. Before that, I was supposed to play mixed doubles, but they realized I would be better off playing women’s double. We won then.

This year, I was paired with WYC for mixed doubles and we won our first game 2 weeks ago. I have a pretty simple job, I must say, by just staying in front of the net and he covers the rest of the court. Poor guy, right??

Last night was our 2nd game and we lost in the rubber set. We could have won! But he was all jitters, and the support for the opponent was just rowdy (they acted like they were in a football stadium and refused to pipe down despite our support people telling them to do so. The umpire should have said something!!! Wait, did I just spell umpire correctly? You’re not supposed to cheer until your team scores a point, no?)

WYC is a great partner. For every mistake we made, we’d laugh it off and smile, and tell each other to take it easy, let’s not be so nervous. After the game, I just wanted to give him a big hug (but we semi-hugged, anyway!) because whatever it is, it was a good game and we had fun together.

When 9pm came, a few of us Dutamas Runners' did an easy speed interval training. I think that helped a bit, but it was not enough.

I was supposed to keep a pace of 5:20 – 5:30 but ended up doing a 4:46 and 4:49. Argh. The guys were supposed to do 5:00 or 5:40 as well but all of us ended up doing a sub 5min pace. The Captain said, hmmmm, perhaps we are not doing our best during our 10km events then. Uh-oh. I don't think I can even keep a 5min pace for 10km!

But it was a good laugh.

It’s been a tiring week and I can’t wait to catch up on some rest this weekend. We've got an event this Sunday which I hope I will do well. Fingers crossed.

p.s. I AM however, itching for a run this Saturday, but I'll save it for Sunday evening's LSD instead. *fidgets*

p.p.s. So, you know ... since I did really well for BHP Orange Run (11km), does it mean I have achieved my new year's resolution for a sub-60 for 10km? Does it count? Can I strike it off my list already? Help, anyone?

BHP Orange Run 2011

2011-07-24T22:31:00.001+08:00

After spending Saturday evening watching Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in 3D, I didn't get into bed until 1230pm. Now that got me worried, because if you don't sleep well the night before a run, you could just ruin your race, you know?

We were early and bumped into some of the DR gang before the start of the race. The women started at 7am while the men started 10 minutes later. Well, I thought I was early, but I only warmed up for 10 minutes!

The first km is always a challenge, fighting for a spot ahead of someone whose pace is slower than yours. I had to maneuver my way out of the crowd and monitored my pace all the way.

The Kenyan male runners began to run past us when I was at 3.3km. Fuh. Crazy shite.

Met up with Joline at about 4km and made some small talk before I headed off. I didn't remember that running within Mutiara Damansara ("MD") itself would take that long! By the time we came out from MD to the main road leading us from The Curve to Sunway Damansara / Kota Damansara, we were in our 5th km.

I said hi to Jason when he ran past me.

The slopes began at 5.5km and well, they didn't feel *that* bad, although I must say that my pace began to dwindle a bit. We're talking about the road (Jalan PJU 3/22) from Sunway Damansara junction heading towards Sony at Bandar Utama. Blech.

I was gradually passing by some runners and honestly, I was unsure about overtaking them when we were running uphill. Unsure because it would be silly if I ended up stopping at the top of the slope, gasping for air and they'd run pass me with a smirk on their face. I'm just saying!

To cut a long story short, come 8.5km, Melvin passed me by and said something. Come the 9th km, I was hesitant - do I start to speed up NOW or at the 10th km? I was seriously unsure, because I was starting to feel a little bit tired. I wanted to stop and walk a little but I had to trudge on. (Checked my Garmin and yep, I was slowing down just a little between the 9 and 10km.)

Jamie passed me by at 10km (somewhere near the junction leading towards 1Utama's new wing parking) and I knew I had to buck up immediately. He said something, but I can't remember - I know I told him to save some 100plus for me once he reached the finish line.

That's when I knew I had to speed up and forced me tired legs to continue on. Screw shitty candid photos of me (if any) because I had to race against time and hit my target!!

Chehhhhh.
No sub 1 but was so close!
If I had, like, sped up at 9km and wasn't tired, perhaps?
Hmmfh.

Never mind.
(Yah, I secretly mind!)

A picture series with Jamie. You can read his BHP Orange Run report here.

With Jamie and Jessica. Jessica's a colleague whom I've never had a photo taken together before. Adam and the other guy in orange are colleagues, too!

Chilling out with the Dutamas Runners. First time had a photo with Chin Ann and Andrew. Haven't seen Yin Yin for ages, too! And Sze was desperately keen for breakfast immediately! =D

The obligatory couple pic, though this is at first for the year! YB wasn't feeling too good but you know me, always the slave master - I told him that he'd better keep to his last year's time at the very least! =P

The incomplete group photo, but looking good. =)

The ciplak bib on my back. =P

We then headed towards Damansara Perdana for breakfast and a chill out session.

And then we proceeded to Desa Park City for lunch at noon. Food's the only way to keep everyone happy and together!

Next Sunday, the gang will be at the Segambut Welfare Run held at Desa Park City. See you there!

A Baking Frenzy Doesn't Make Me A Good Baker!

2011-07-23T18:01:00.000+08:00

Like I said, baking gives you instant satisfaction. You prepare the ingredients and mix mix mix, and an hour later, you get your finished product. Voila~

I desperately wanted to try to make basic butter cake and succeed.

I say succeed because somehow, I think my baking skills are bordering hopeless. keh keh keh.

Too sweet or too dry.

I used the wrong tray. I should have used something smaller! I added some chopped almonds on the top, which provided a nice crunch to it.

HOWEVER, these recipes need to reduce the amount of sugar they use. I need to reduce them either by 1/3 cup or 1/2 cup. Phhhhbt. So yes, this one turned out a bit too sweet.

I've been baking almost every weekend. The oven is clearly being used very well, Lynn. *sniggers*

But I must start looking out for dinner recipes instead of sweets. After I lamented to my colleague that YB and I are puzzled with our difficulty in shedding off a bit of weight, she remarked that my baking is probably the reason why YB and I aren't losing weight.

"I bring most of them to work!" I stuttered defensively.

ANYWAY, I'll probably stick to improving my banana walnut bread.

Banana Walnut Loaf 2

2011-07-17T21:05:00.004+08:00

Attempted it the first time here, and I found that it wasn't moist enough. But the hubby liked it, anyway so he requested me to make it again, but please can we make it a bit more moist?

I contemplated trying another recipe but in the end I used the same one, but added 1/4 cup of milk.

I really MUST use the loaf pan the next time. Tsk tsk.

This time I was brave enough to serve some people with it, without fear of killing them with dry bread. Phew.

I'll probably try with 1/2 cup of milk the next time.

Oh no, sorry. I told myself I shall stop baking the sweet stuff and concentrate on the healthy instead.

But I have so many ingredients waiting for meeeeeee ...

Hmmm

2011-07-16T11:08:00.003+08:00

I'm parking myself in Starbucks while my car is undergoing service. *checks watch* Another two hours to go ...

I'm bored with Facebook (it's usually pretty quiet on Saturday, did you notice? and I'm not sure what other recipes I should look for (I honestly MUST stop find recipes one after another when I can't do them all at once) and therefore, what else can I do online?

I miss the guys in Australia, I really do. I haven't heard from them since my wedding. Everyone is busy getting on with their lives, taking care of their adorable kiddies and basking in the park somewhere. Sniff. I wish I could play the role of Aunty Von with them!!

Hmmm, everyone who enters the cafe is shooting me dirty looks because I'm hogging the armchair(s) section. TOO BAD, GIRLS! I was here first!

Hey, no fair. They got a drink on the house! *narrow eyes*

YB is off playing in the company's badminton tourney and I hope he beats them the pulp! He's playing singles - I wish I was there to watch but I've delayed my car service for a while now, so there was no way I could get delay any further. AND they're playing all the way in Puchong, which is ridiculously far, if you ask me.

I just got off the phone with my sister. (I'm hopeless, you know. I hardly call home, my bad. But the reception where I stay is reeeeeeallllly bad.) We were talking about pregnancy and delivery issues. She doesn't know the sex of the little bun yet. I'm going to be an aunt, a real one! *excited*

I also spoke to my mum just now and she told me to stop my acne medication so I can focus on family planning. Er ... thanks for the advice, mum, but we're not ready yet. Honestly.

And then she goes on about investment and shit, which puts me on the edge so I had to change to topic by asking her how do I make good Lo Mai Fan (glutinous rice) and curry from scratch.

Phew.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I'm playing badminton for my 'department' too. Although they say it's an inter-department tournament, it's actually a mixture of sorts. My department and another forms a team, probably because we're both small, and there is another team which is a combination of two departments.

Basically there are four different teams and 5 games namely badminton, bowling, futsal, carrom and table tennis.

Last Thursday, we won the badminton against another team with 3-2, the points were scored by one men's double, one women's double and the mixed double. Yay! I'm in the mixed double team, by the way, and my partner is 52 years old. Shocked? I was. Wait til you see a picture of him and you would NOT believe he's 52!!!!

And he played table tennis yesterday but probably lost. I think our team lost because the other team was really good. Really.

ANYWAY, I'm not sure whether I should be flattered and terrified that a lot of colleagues know my name. I walked into the badminton hall on Thursday night, and several people greeted me by name.

And I don't even know theirs! I've seen them around but I don't think I've ever spoken to them before.

I suspect it was because of our Sports Day last year when I played badminton for the team as well. Perhaps.

Then I walked into the lounge yesterday evening where the table tennis matches were held and again, people greeted me by name.

This is BAD. I need to make an effort to know these people and remember their names. But isn't it too late or too rude to now ask them, "Eh, what's your name, by the way? I forgot."

Or maybe my badminton skills are too fab. Keh keh keh. *perasan*

But it's not, to be honest. YB ALWAYS shakes his head while playing with me. He said the other day, "I gotta train you up, you know. You have several weaknesses."

Hmmfh.

Oh wow, see, this is what happens when I have time to myself and I start rambling on and not knowing whether my thoughts are even worth your penny. Apologies, you know. I don't have anyone to talk to right now, so I have to blog. =D

You know what?
I'm just going to stop here right now and take my yarn out so I can crochet. I miss crocheting too, you know.

But I can understand why people enjoy baking - it's gratifying to see results after an hour or so!

C'mon, this crocheting takes FOREVER. I've got tons of unfinished projects lying about (oh, YB HATES to see my stuff lying bout the house, by the way. I detest seeing HIS stuff lying about too - we're both very messy people, to be honest. But shhhh, I don't think I was supposed to tell any of you this.) and then I start a new one.

And they say 'Yvonne' means she is finishes the job she started. *Wahahahaha*

The Running Revolution

2011-07-14T23:13:00.007+08:00

I was nodding off when I uploaded the photos to this post, and well, if you came by last night, you would have seen that this post was published twice - one with a title and one without. I WAS that sleepy!

I still am.

Last Saturday saw a small group of us doing an easy 7km run. (You must remember the date, it was 9th July - the Bersih rally day!) YB and I were supposed to do one round earlier before joining the rest, but we only managed 5km.

If you know Solaris Dutamas well enough, you will know where the photos were taken.

Mucking about while waiting for Captain to do his extra loop and for Geoff and I to arrive.

Checking out the new kid on the block.

The new kid was dragged in.

The group picture.

We had to interrupt a runner's run so he could help us take the group photo. We couldn't help laughing to ourselves after that because the guy must have been annoyed with the interruption!

~*~*~
I remember my first experience with bagel years ago wasn't very enjoyable. It was tough and hard to chew.

But after reading some blogs where some of them could have a bagel thin with anything (savoury or sweet) almost everyday, I was tempted to try them again.

So I decided to buy one packet to try. Cold Storage is selling these for RM11.99 but I found them cheaper at Village Grocer by RM2. I'm not sure if these prices are up to date, because recently there seems to be a price revision at these places!

I didn't realise the spelling error until I took this picture!

There are 4 bagels sliced into half in each bag. Imported from New York, apparently!

It was really yummy.
Seriously.

It was still a bit chewy but it wasn't hard or tough.

YB and I had half a bagel each, toasted and covered with roasted vegetables and nuts, and mustard mayo sauce.

It was very nice.
I think the nuts did it.

And the mustard mayo.

Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies

2011-07-10T15:00:00.003+08:00

I've been meaning to try making cookies, well, with rolled oats, I mean.

Since it looked pretty hazy outside today, I thought I might as well do some baking. (Gosh, I honestly sound so domesticated these days. =P)

I decided to use this recipe.

And pictures of cookies in the making have always looked so enticing.

They look alright.
OK, I lied. This is the first batch, which I overcooked them a bit. The subsequent batches were watched properly and turned out much better.

I must have done something wrong because I ended up with 104 bite sized pieces. Ooops. =D

Falafel Patties with Tahini Sauce

2011-07-06T07:25:00.002+08:00

I never knew what falafel was until I searched the Internet for chick pea recipes. Yeah, I'm pretty hopeless, you know. It did cross my mind to make hummus but I thought falafel sounded much more interesting.

And to be honest, ever since I bought that one can of chick peas, I've been wondering what to do with it!

Mash it up.
Mix the onions and spices in.

Instead of balls, I thought I'd make patties instead.

Most recipes call for tahini sauce to go with falafel. Again I had to find out what on earth was 'tahini sauce'.

Sesame paste and olive oil.
But first, I had to make the sesame paste.

From paste to sauce.

Add in the olive oil.

The recipe called for parsley flakes but I had none. So I substituted it with mixed spices. =P

Baked falafels!

Looks authentic enough, don't you think? ;)

Well, I didn't have pita bread so I made very thin omelette wraps instead.

I can't wait to make some more!

But this time, I have dry chickpeas instead, which will require soaking. =S

Recipes I followed:
http://www.simplylifeblog.com/2011/04/baked-falafel-pitas.html
http://veganchickie.com/2010/03/28/oven-baked-falafels/
http://mideastfood.about.com/od/maindishes/r/bakedfalafel.htm

When We're Not Comparing Injured Toes

2011-07-04T23:12:00.001+08:00

Or running, we'd be busy stuffing our face with food because er, we view eating as a very serious matter.

Last Sunday was supposed to be a brunch gathering to celebrate our 3 FMV's (Full Marathon Virgin) success in crossing the finish line after a grueling 42.195km run and welcome a new beginner runner to the running scene.

Somehow or rather, we could only talk about running and more running, which must have bored our partners to tears, YB excluded. =D

You know like how soldiers braved and survived the war together and it brings them closer? It feels like that, too, for us with our 3 friends who completed their first ever marathon. OK ok, I know we can't take credit for it but hey, we trained with them, so we can imagine how tough it would be, both physically and mentally. *cringe*

We're also making sure that our new running friend, GY, will continue to keep fit and keep on running!

~*~*~
We had brunch at Oriental Cravings, One Utama. We were there as early as 10am but their kitchen wasn't ready for our orders. They only took our orders at 1030am and well, the laksa took 20 minutes to arrive.

I think some of the waiters didn't like serving us because we were too busy yakking away to realise that they were standing behind some of us, wanting to put food down on the table. I noticed one waiter with a glass of chinese tea and warm water standing behind Kenny for a while and because no one acknowledged his presence, he walked back to the drinks counter and plonked the glasses on the counter in a huff.

Surely he could have said something to catch our attention? Tsk tsk.

And this is tagged under 'Cheery Stuff' because hanging out with friends IS a happy thing! =)

Banana Walnut Loaf

2011-07-03T16:44:00.002+08:00

I think I'm hopeless when it comes to baking.

I'm terrified by the amount of sugar used, that I'd swap half a cup of white sugar with brown, so it reduces the sweetness. I'm fine with that. So is YB.

Since I had bananas and walnuts at home, I thought I'd try my luck with baking a banana walnut loaf with this recipe. Yeah, I happily added a cup of chopped walnuts to it. =P

Well, it was not moist enough. Did I overcook it? Not enough butter? Not enough banana?

*huffs*

It's OK, it's still edible. Phew!
But I wouldn't serve this to my pro-baking friends, that's for sure!

p.s. I should stop buying baking equipments until I improve my baking skills!