Happy New Year to all!!!!

would like to wish everybody a Happy New Year!!!

woot! woot! woot!

new stuff installed yesterday

an APP slotted front rotors to replace the worn stock rotors. the circular lines are not scourings and hope they'll stay that way and survive a few track days. the blue housing bell really suits the car's paintwork and elevates the car's 'fast looking' factor a few notches up ahahahaha

later at home, found out the stock rotors were at the minimum thickness already. phew, luckily nothing bad happened when using them. but boy, those rotors are damn heavy! i'm not kidding!

Last one, enough already

The last track session in 2008, well for me at least. On last Sunday 21 Dec. Enough already! Was it 5 or 6 times this year? Wow!

Tracking is a load of fun, but this is what it'll do to your car.

Bad 'graining' on the tyres, and,

Bad scouring on the brake discs. *ouch*

Setelah 8 1/2 tahun bekerja...

... akhirnya aku ambik MC buat pertama kalinya

Semalam kene cirit-birit yang teruk sampai totally dehydrated. Masa pegi klinik dah terlampau teruk dehydration sampai dah tak larat nak berjalan & naik tangga. Baring pun badan menggigil, even aku tak demam.

Hari ni pun still sakit perut lagi sikit² now & then.

Not your average Sunday 3!!!

What? Sepang again? Hehehe yes.

Received an SMS on Saturday of the open track day and since I didn't drive last week, and was so itchy seeing my friends enjoying the wet session, decided to go. Again, went with Fahrein. Arrived a bit late at 2:30PM. Managed to do 3 laps before the session was red-flagged. Then all of us had to endure this:

It was raining cats and dogs. And it did not stop for more than an hour. The track was only opened again around 4:20PM. Even then, we had water running across the track at a few spots. But how enjoyable it was! In trying to keep my post short, I'll put in highlight points form.

- 1st spin at the high speed downhill T5. Tried to take it in 4th gear. Big spin, almost into the gravel.

- 2nd time off at the same T5. Managed to catch it but still skidded to the run-off area

- Spun at T14 while exiting under power

- Spun at T10 under braking (!)

- Almost lost it a few times while exiting T4, but managed to keep it under control

- Surprising amount of grip available under braking to T1 and T15...

- ... but kicked off the ABS many times under braking to T7

- four wheel drifting around T3 and T8 was huge fun!

- Absolutely zero front-end grip around T1 & T2

It was great fun & a good learning experience. Still not brave enough to press the throttle earlier. Have to learn to catch oversteer. The tyres are quite bad in the wet, thinking of different brand for my next set.

Welcome to Negeri Sembilan

Last Saturday, for the first time, cycled up Genting Peres. Actually, it's kind of ironic since this route is very popular among cyclists, but after close to 3 years, I have never done it. Went with 3 other JomKayuh friends, Faris, Ajoo & Abang Zack.

After a short 'detour' (read: lost), I reached the RV point at Bt.14 Langat around 8:15AM. Quite late already. Planned to start by 7:30AM. The first few kilometers of the ride was quite dangerous. There were many earth movers (read: lori hantu) on their way to the nearby quarry. And knowing these group of drivers, they're among the most reckless drivers you can find on the road. So we had to be really careful.

After 5 km, things changed. We have passed the quarry and traffic was getting really sparse. The climb have begun. It started off just like that. The road suddenly turned sharply skywards and did not let off a single bit for the next 3 km or so. Underestimating the climb, I charged way too fast and had to stop twice on the way to the peak. Silly me.

But the downhil was just superb! An average of 60km/h to the bottom. A car who was trailing us also did not manage to keep up. At the bottom, met a few other cyclists passing by the area. Later I learnt that I just climbed the dreaded Bukit Hantu which is famous among cyclists for it's hard climb.

After a few more kilometers, stopped for about half an hour to fix my rear tyre puncture. Damn! I think it was the 3rd or 4th time I had a puncture on the same tyre. Need to send it to the shop for checking.

Then on to the next climb. A 10km climb to Genting Peres. Actually, it was really similar to Genting Sempah. With the Orang Asli village along the way, the road snaking around the hillside with long and steep drop on one side. But, this route is a bit more open and exposed to the sun i.e. hot & warm. The climb is gentler compared to Bukit Hantu so we did not take any stop along the way.

At the top, I saw the famous 'UMNO Jelebu' signboard which marks the end of the climb. We stopped there for rest and of course, took photos.

Then it was another superb downhill to the bottom back to Bt. 14 Langat. But the only thing is, from the bottom of the climb to the RV point, we had to endure about 10-15km of laborious and boring rolling hills. It was not fun. And it was already getting very hot. Made worse when you have a ride buddy who doesn't want to share the work and let you stay in front & pull all the way. All when the body has already shut down after the downhill and the long-ish rest stop.

All in all, I would rather do Genting Sempah. Similar, longer climb. Cooler. Have the option of going to Janda Baik or all the way to Bentong. No need for a boring rolling hills on the way back. And it's easier to get to as well. I actually had to endure a 2 hours traffic jam going back from Langat since I had to go through the bloody congested Ampang area. Not fun when you have spent a few hours on the bike saddle, in a bad need for food and rest.

But anyway, we made it back in one piece.

In the mail yesterday

... was this

Actually, I have forgotten that I'll get a certificate for the race. It's now posted on the notice board at my cubicle hehehe

Not your average Aidiladha

... as you guessed it, another Sepang tack story. But this time, I did not drive my car. I am not 100% confident of the puncture repair with one of my tyre.

Went with a close friend, Fahrein, a motorsport enthusiast, and a few of his cousins who are also into motorsport! He was driving his wife's Swift Sport to Sepang for the first time. BTW, his wife is also into motorsport. Well, now you know why we're close hehehe

Suzuki Swift Sport

It was raining heavily and very slippery. On the way from my house to Sepang, already seen a few cars had an encounter with the guard railings/divider. Mmm.. maybe it's a wise decision to leave my car at Fahrein's house.

At Sepang, met with Fahrein's cousins in a Toyota Levin AE111 and a new-ish Honda Civic Type R a.k.a. FD2R. Quite many cars were there actually, even though it was Aidiladha. Well, mostly are Chinese. So many different type of cars this time around. What I noticed (and remembered) are a pair of Mitsubishi Airtrek, Toyota Caldina GT4, Mini Cooper JCW & a sweet Mini Cooper track car, BMW E46 325i & M3, BMW E60 530i, 530d & M5 (great car, 'poyo' driver though), Toyota Vios (!) & Altis (!), Audi A4, Merc C200K, a howling Toyota Supra, Fiat Coupe Turbo, etc.. etc.. Not to mention the usual suspects i.e. the various Evos, Rexes and FD2Rs. But the star of the day was this:

Yes, the awesome (and bloody expensive) Godzilla a.k.a. GTR35. In equally awesome matte-black colour. Lucky sod.

Yummy! Mini Cooper Challenge car, driven by drift star, Tengku Djan

So many fellow scoobies

1st outing - Suzuki Swift Sport (Driver: Fahrein)
Since I was not driving, all I can do was tag along on the cars. Well, that's why I brought my helmet along hehehe He was taking it carefully. Just checking grip level. From the looks of it, it was bloody slippery. The proof? The session was red-flagged after just 2 minutes being started, someone already went off-track.

The lap was mostly un-eventful as the slippery condition did not permit hard driving.

That's a genuine E60 M5 and a Mini JCW beside it

2nd outing - Toyota Levin AE111 (Driver: Mu'amil)
I have timed this car & driver. He was doing 3:09 laps in such condition, on wet racing tyres. Nevertheless, the time is sensational anyway, considering the car is more or less stock!
When I was in the car, the first corner was kind scary. He was late-braking like mad, but then I found out, the car has very good brakes and grip level from the wet tyres are just superb. Almost unbelieveable amount of grip was available from the tyres.

Being a race driver, he was super-brave in his driving. Getting very close to the car in front and overtaking people left & right. I would never do that on track, for the sake of avoiding a collision. And he also have very little mechanical sympathy. His driving style is quite brutal. But I guess, that's just his style.

But the laps were really enjoyable. He did overtook so many cars, FD2Rs, Evos, S2000s, etc.. etc.. Impressive stuff

3rd outing - Civic FD2R (Driver: Hichame)
I timed the car to be around 3:12 in the condition. So it's a bit slower than the Levin. But the ride is totally different. It was very comfortable. Almost too comfortable to be on a track hehehe Well, it's a brand new car anyway. And surprising amount of grip available from the semi-slick RE-070 tyres.

When I was driving behind this car in Sepang, it was super-fast, but when I was inside, it didn't feel as fast as I thought. The push-in-the-back feeling is not clearly felt. Acceleration felt a bit blunt and ordinary. But the engine just pulled cleanly all the way to the redline. It's advantage is it's gearing which suits the track very well.

The FD2R that I get to ride on. The one on the left

Overall it was a fun outing, even I was not driving. A different perspective. The star of the session to me was this white Subaru Impreza RA-R which was putting in 2:54 wet laps. Which was just a second off of the vastly more powerful GTR35. Thinking of it, I did 2:53, in the dry. Ouch!

Damn, I need more practice.

A very nice Evo 6. The car that hooked me on to Jap rally reps

Cars lining up on pit lane

Salam Aidiladha

... kepada semua umat Islam. Semoga membawa keberkatan & keinsafan dalam diri masing-masing.

Selamat Hari Raya Aidiladha

To budding artists...

Hari ni kat ofis, using our internal chat:

>>
Kawan X/... elo Fren
Hanafi Mohd Na... yes
Kawan X/... bz ker?
Kawan X/... ko masuk treasure hunt?
Hanafi Mohd Na... x masuk
Kawan X/... alamak
Kawan X/... aku nak ajak ko perform ni
Kawan X/... http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2z928_jason-mraz-im-yours-acoustic_music
Hanafi Mohd Na... ko nak main berapa org ni?
Kawan X/... kalau dpt 3 udah la
Kawan X/... ko bleh lead
Kawan X/... kuang bleh ikut
Kawan X/... sorang lagi
Kawan X/... any idea
Kawan X/... minggu depan prektis
Kawan X/... khamis, dan jumaat
Kawan X/... camana?
Hanafi Mohd Na... laaa baru nak carik kuorum ke?
Hanafi Mohd Na... then tak nak
Hanafi Mohd Na... too short time
Kawan X/... ko kan tererrr
Hanafi Mohd Na... this is not individual performance
Hanafi Mohd Na... it's band
Kawan X... yo la
Hanafi Mohd Na... everybody needs to work together
Kawan X/... khamis kita test la
Kawan X... amacam?
Hanafi Mohd Na... sorry too short notice
Hanafi Mohd Na... nak advise la kan
Hanafi Mohd Na... this kind of things is performed by a band
Hanafi Mohd Na... each one of u need to feel connected as one band
Hanafi Mohd Na... all needs to have the same interest & the same idea & the same target
Hanafi Mohd Na... it's not easy
Hanafi Mohd Na... it's not like u just call up someone and he will just agree to what you want to do
Hanafi Mohd Na... well unless he's a paid professional
Hanafi Mohd Na... then it's another matter
Hanafi Mohd Na... if not
Hanafi Mohd Na... willingness is the key word
Hanafi Mohd Na... next time kalau betul nak peform mcm ni
Hanafi Mohd Na... plan awal²
Hanafi Mohd Na... talk with the people
Hanafi Mohd Na... let them voice their opinion & discuss first
Hanafi Mohd Na... u may need to accomodate to that as well
Hanafi Mohd Na... not just simply call up someone
Hanafi Mohd Na... and expect them to willingly do as to how u want it to be
Kawan X... ermmm
Hanafi Mohd Na... it's not gonna happen bro
Hanafi Mohd Na... this is my advice from my experience
Hanafi Mohd Na... putting together a band yg dah main for 5 years
Hanafi Mohd Na... & futsal yg dah main for more than 2 years
Kawan X... ermmm
Kawan X... payah ni
Hanafi Mohd Na... who said it's easy?
Hanafi Mohd Na... unless kalau ko nak perform on your own
Hanafi Mohd Na... then no problem
Hanafi Mohd Na... or u pay for your own musicians lah
Kawan X/... ni free
Kawan X/... mana ader payment
Kawan X/... hehehe
Hanafi Mohd Na... tu la
Hanafi Mohd Na... that's why u need to connect with the people first
<<

Actually, ni bukan first time dia ajak aku buat performance on stage. Tapi mcm ni jugak la. Dia dah decide & nak dictate everything. Then expect the musicians to just say 'OK' & play along. It's not that simple. It's not that easy to influence people to work as a team to achieve a common goal. Especially, when that goal is your self personal goal.

BTW, this friend, we hardly even talk. Just the occasional 'Hi' when we bump into each other during lunch. Which makes thing, even harder.

Satria Neo

For some reason, lately I have a 'thing' for Satria Neo. I think this is a very good looking hatch. Have seen some tastefully done-up Neos on the road and they really caught my eye. Not those beng-ish type with mega bodykits though. Just some subtle bodykit with front lip, side skirt & rear 'diffuser'. Nice.

Really wish Proton have the engine to back up that good looks. With the 1.6L Campro, it's a bit underpowered. Forget about the 1.3L version. The over-due Neo CPS should be better, but just. In reality, what it needs is a proper 2L engine with at least 180hp to be competitive with the likes of Renault Clio RS or VW Golf GTI. Just forget about the Renault R26, Civic Type R or the yet-to-be-released Focus RS for the moment. 180hp should be just enough for one fun hot hatch.

The car already has good handling. Proven umpteen times on the track. An almost stock engined Neo can easily harrass a Mini Cooper S around Sepang! And the Cooper S is not really a bad handling car to begin with.

Wish I have the capacity for a second car, then I can consider a Neo for 'general driving'. Nothing's wrong with my current car. I love it to death, but sometimes it asks a bit too much of commitment to drive. Requires full-concentration with throttle and steering. The ride is a bit harsh. Then have to always be careful of where I park it. And sometimes the unwanted attention and stares it attracts. Not mentioning that all kinds of drivers, in all kinds of cars, from Kancils to Evos would want to 'cucuk' me on the road. It's wonderful when I feel like 'driving it', but for some other times, a bit tiring.

A black Neo R3, yummy! (Asking price too expensive though, better off doing up the normal version)

And this is the MEM S2000 Rally version. 4WD with 280hp from 2L N/A engine. Sweet!

RM2k+ for a tyre puncture?

This bloody puncture almost costed me RM2k+ to repair

Actually, to my eyes it looked like a simple repair job actually. But yesterday, I brought it to a tyre shop near my house. I've used to go there for a few years when I was driving Proton car. So I went there again just since it's convenient.

They tried to fix it, the normal way using that rubber plug thingy. But it didn't fix it well. Air was leaking, slowly. Then they started to offer me to replace the tyres. They showed me a pair of used tyres, which I'm really not keen of, but still looked just to be polite. They also recommended me their Goodyear tyres, which I had to pass, since I don't want to mix tyres. It'll wreak havoc with the car's balance and the drivetrain. And they don't have the correct size for my car anyway. Also I didn't want to blow RM2k+ just because I have one punctured tyre since I will need to change all four tyres! So I paid them RM5 and left with my spare tyre still on.

Then I remember my friend have fixed a 1" long tear on his tyre before. At a shop somewhere in USJ. So today I planned to go there. But on the way, stopped at another tyre shop to try again. Like asking for second opinion. They just put another rubber plug and the leak was OK! And the good thing is, it just costed me another RM5. Damn! That was easy.

Luckily I didn't have the urge (or financial capacity) to splurge RM2k+ on a new set of tyres. If I had the cash, probably I would've. They would buy my tyres, cheaply as trade-in, repair the puncture and make money re-selling it.

That's why, always be wary when you send your car for repairs. It's really hard to find a trustworthy mechanic. And if you find one, please stick with him.

Nostalgia

isnin & selasa lepas, aku pegi course kat kitorangnya training center. dah lain dah HCDC (dulunya HRDC - Human Resource Development Center. tukar jadik Human Capital Development Center, ceh tu pun sibuk nak tukar).

interior dah renovate, cantik dah. tapi bila pegi toilet dia, taadaa!

ada lagi pintu koboi ni! masa toilet ni style bangunan 80's dulu mmg dah ada, tapi bila dah renovate, ingatkan dah buang, tapi ada lagi hehehe aku notice, actually dinding tu semua dah re-tile, tapi diorang pasang balik pintu koboi ni

caya lah!

Pure ranting only

Something's are better left untouched. For me at the moment, that is relevant for handphone form factor. Less than 2 months ago, I bought a Nokia 5610 XM phone. Costed me close to RM1k. I know some people blow much more money on their phone, but for me, it's the most expensive phone that I've ever purchased, PDA phones not counting.

I bought it mainly for it's 3.2 megapixel auto-focus camera. But it also happens to be a slide phone, which I'm not really keen of in the first place. But had to buy it anyway since the N73ME is just so much bulkier than I though it was. Less than 48 hours using it, the LCD screen went dead, when I was sliding it open. The repairs took 3 days to complete. It meant I only get to use it less than the time it was in for repairs.

And yesterday, the slide mechanism is acting up. It's kind of stuck and really difficult to slide. I really hate to need to send if for repairs, again. And I didn't drop it or bang it or anything, it just happened.

It's a stiff reminder that I should stick with candy bar phone form factor from now on. No slide, no flip, no twist phone for me. They're all just not reliable enough. Not that I'm a careless person, in fact I'm probably the most careful person with things that you'll ever find, seriously.

Now hope I'll get some extra year end bonus to replace this phone. *sigh*

Petang Jumaat lepas...

(Handphone aku berbunyik)

Kawan aku: Assalamualaikum. Napee, esok ko ada apa² plan tak?
Aku: Walaikumsalam. Esok? Pagi ada go-kart.

Kawan aku: Malam?
Aku: Malam setakat ni takde plan lagi.

Kawan aku: Aku nak jemput ko, aku buat doa selamat sikit. Kat masjid biru, Taipan Subang
Aku: (Eh, doa selamat? Dia baru dapat anak sorang lagi ke) Errrm... masjid biru? OK rasanya

Kawan aku: Aku buat sbb nak pegi haji next week! Datang tau
Aku: Ummm... errrr... wah! Bagus la ko, muda² dah gi haji


Ish... tak sangka betul lah. Ni housemate aku dulu masa study kat UKM. Since matriks lagi kitorang duduk sama². Dia la byk ajar aku main gitar, gi jamming sama², layan test power motor sama², layan Playstation sampai tak pegi kelas, layan on-line chatting IRC sampai pagi... tapi skrg dia dah bagus dah settle down dgn family. Nak pegi haji dah pun. Masa aku jumpa dia kat masjid tu pun dia nampak tenang je.

Tiba² aku rasa macam hidup aku ni tak tentu hala pulak. Ntah lah. Selama ni aku rasa hidup aku OK, tapi lepas tu aku rasa lain macam pulak.

Selfish!

kat basement parking ofis aku hari ni:

nampak tak apa yg tak kene?

kan ke parking MOTOR TUUUU!!!! yg pergi parking kereta tu kenapa? tak paham bahasa ke?

mmg la parking kereta kat bank negara ni limited, tapi sapa kata kereta boleh parking kat parking motor? kitorang pun nak parking jugak la. kitorang pun parking limited jugak la. kalau tak, takkan la kadang² sampai terkeluar kotak

kalau dah takde sgt parking kat basement tu, pegi la parking kat open air parking tu. ada otak tak nak pakai. patut la kat tepi pintu kereta tu tgk ada 2 garis calar panjang. ni sure dah biasa buat perangai mcm ni.

sorry for the harsh words, but i have no respect at all with this kind of people

Congrats to my Boss!

... hehehe

In thestar.com.my today: http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/11/16/business/20081116165559&sec=business

Dr. Zeti selected to be part of a reform committee at UN. She's my big, big, big boss (now you all know where I work).

But she's a really nice boss & very, very knowledgeable in what she's doing.

Hope she can influence some changes to the global economic situation now.

Powerman Malaysia 2008: Part 4

Results Analysis

This time the result was out very quick. Normally we have to wait a few days before we can see the results, but this time, we can already see it on Monday. For full results: http://bluechip.racetectiming.com/default.aspx My race number is 156 in the 30-39 category. Check out the winner. He did the race in 2:43!! Super.

11km run
Time: 1:03:46
Position: 306
Pace: 5:47/km

I was running all the way through the 11km. I was targeting a 6:00/km pace, but I bettered it a bit, which is surprising. Normally 5:47/km pace would not be very easy for me.

But obviously, I'm still far down the field. My position 306 is among the individual male participants only, for ease of comparison. Of course, there were many female participants who finished much faster than me.


64 km bike
Time: 2:02:15
Position: 209
Average speed: 31.4km/h

My favourite of the two. Actually by the time leaving transition, I overtook another 5 people, just by changing my shoes and getting out as quick as possible. My plan worked.

And by the end of the ride, I overtook 92 male long distance competitors. If counting those doing the team event, the female participants and those doing sprint, it was well above 100 people! Great.

Partly because I did not cramp up this time and also managed to stay in aero position like 90% of the time. Only had to get up when climbing the bridge, at the U-turn and sometimes while drinking. And also, thank God no puncture. A puncture would've ruined everything.


10km run
Time: 1:18:59
Position: 223
Pace: 7:53/km

The dreaded discipline for most. During transition overtook another 5 people. But being so slow in this run, errr... more like a walk actually, 19 participants overtook me. But that was quite surprising actually since I thought there was like a million who overtook me hehehe So my final placing is 223 among the male competitors. And also, there were quite a number of disqualifications this time. Not sure why, but I would guess many must be due to drafting.


Final result
Time: 4:28:54 (just 2 seconds off my own hand timing)
Position: 223 (out of 356 classified finisher)


Things to improve for next race
- have to run fassstttteeerrr. Simple as that, No two ways about it
- increase a bit more effort on bike. I'm sure I still have spare capacity to average 33km/h that day. Was taking it too carefully
- need hot weather training. Have to train later in the morning to get accustomed to the heat


For all the effort, this is the medal that I got

Powerman Malaysia 2008: Part 3

The feed station is right after transition exit. Just stopped for some drink and for energy boost, downed a packet of Powergel. My first packet of the day. Then I was off!

I was already doing 30+km/h in the early stages even I was not really hammering it. Wanted to save my legs. Still a long way to go. Even then, I was overtaking quite a number of people already. That gave me a lof of motivation.

But by that, also had a few people trying to hide from the strong headwind by drafting me. Had to turn around a few times and gave them a stern look. It was a non-drafting race and I don't want to get disqualified just because someone doesn't want to play by the rules!

After 13 km, came the big, steep bridge that I was so worried off. From teh distance, the bridge look so intimidating. A lot of cyclist were struggling on their way up to the top. To my surprise, when I was climbing it, it didn't feel as hard as I thought! I was doing high 20s all the way to the top, overtaking many others in the process! Good job Hanafi!

Climbing the bridge. Check out the gradient of the climb and the competitors' suffering

Another few kilometers, the U-turn & water station which I skipped. Stil had enough water supply on board. Don't want to end up with lots of spare water at the end later. On the way back, up the bridge, again I was averaging in the high 20s. It felt so great.

At the end of first lap, before the U-turn, something that made me so proud. There was an ambulance behind us, slowing down to our speed. But we all just indicated to each other to move out to one side, and let the ambulance past. It proved that we're all sensible people, even when we're all already oxygen deprived by then hehehe

2nd lap it was the same thing again. I was constantly passing others. "I let you guys leave me during the run, this is WHY! hehehe"

And then, at that bridge again, from far, I saw a cyclist wearing a familiar white Merida jersey. It was Rujhan! On his 3 weeks old bike & 1 night old aerobar. That gave me an instant boost! I just kept my head down and zoomed past him. "Come on Rujhan. Faster!" I said to him when I was beside him. I knew he wouldn't like that. Sure enough, he tried to overtake me on the way down. But only for a few seconds until I put my head down and hammered a constant 33-34km/h to the U-turn. He was nowhere to be seen from there on... That was a big motivation, since he's been very, very fast in the shorter Sprint distance.

Along the way, I saw people cheating on the course. Some were drafting. One had his own support car, handing him ice packs & water bottles. Some received external assistance for tyre puncture. But I just ignored them and just focused on my race. For info, in this race, you're on your own. No external help is allowed, failing which will result in disqualification.

Then towards the 2nd transition. Transition again went very smooth for me. Out of transition, downed another packet of Powergel, my 3rd of the race. Body still felt good. Legs were not cramping like previous races. Was running the first few hundred meters when the heat got into me and I started to walk. Of course others started to overtake me. Those that I have overtaken on the bike just now.

I tried run/walk, but whenever I run, I was going too fast and cannot sustain it. I changed strategy. Tried fast walking instead, ala Yuan Yu Fang. It worked. It felt faster and better. So just continued doing that. Actually, I was not really that tired. I was not hyperventilating, but it's just that my limbs felt like jelly. Too weak. The heat really affected me. At places where there are shades, I was quite OK and able to run, but other parts, just did that Yuan Yu Fang thing.

After 5 km, downed another packet of Powergel, but that didn't help much. From there on, I was worried Rujhan may caught up with me since he's a better runner than I am. So kept looking back once in a while. But the scary sight of him running past me didn't materialise.

At the last water station, downed another packet of Powergel and just drenched myself wet with the remaining water. I was dripping wet in the hot afternoon sun. But I suddenly felt very good and picked up speed. I started to run to the finish line. In fact I ran all the way to the finish!

By the finish line, I quickly glanced at my watch. Did I meet my goal of 4 hours & 40 minutes? Nope, I bettered it! By quite a margin. On my watch it was 4:28:52. I felt I was on top of the world! Even though obviously I didn't win it. The winner did it in under 3 hours.... Immediately received my finisher's medal and finisher's T-shirt. Only those who made it under 5 hours will receive these two. As a proof that we made it to become a Powerman!

Anyway, great job Hanafi! Great job! Mission accomplished

After the race at the awards lunch

Powerman Malaysia 2008: Part 2

I woke up wayyy early, at 2:30AM. Slept again. Then woke-up again at 3:30AM, again at 4:30AM. Damn! Finally at 5:30AM I woke up by myself before the 6 alarms I set earlier hahahaha

After a quick shower, had my breakfast i.e by then, a slightly-ant-infested BigMac from last night. The race start is less than 10 km away, but I drove there , to save energy mah... hahah Some were cycling from Lumut! Very strong people indeed. To my surprise, parking around MPM Stadium was still quite empty. No need to wake up so early then! Ceh!

Slowly rolled my bike into transition, parked it and arranged my things. Met Toing, my long lost way2ride buddy. Also met Apau in transition and another colleague, Rujhan, my so-called ‘arch rival’ at the office’s gym hehehe The others were just scary. Some were sporting disc wheels, Zipp high profile wheels, aero helmet, etc.. etc.. expensive & sexy carbon parts everywhere!

Slowly jogged around the running track to warm-up. In about 10 minutes, sweat was dripping from my forehead! Actually, I never do any warm-up in my previous races hehehe

At the start line, excitement, worry, proud, happy, anxious, all mixed at the same time. Then we were off! I just kept to my own pace, ignoring other people. Others started overatking left & right. Nevermind. It's still a long way to go. The first run alone is 2 laps around a 5.5km route.

I ran past the first water station at 2 km mark, not that early. Just continued running till the next one where I grabbed a cup & took only 2 gulps of water. Didn’t want to drink too much as I always did before. Body felt good. Then the start of the 2nd lap. But at the start of my 2nd lap, heard over the PA system, the Elites were already in for the bike transition!!!

“Sh*t! They’re on their bike transition already!” I spontaneously said to the person next to me, a lady who just nodded and smiled back to me. I think she agreed with me that the Elites are just damn, bloody fast!

The run was mostly uneventful. The only annoyance was the badly cambered road. Had to be careful at every step.

After 11km of non-stop running (great!), the transition area was within sight. Maybe due to overly relieved and oxygen deficient, I just walked past my bike! Except for that incidence, transition was smooth and I was on the way out. Also downed a packet of Powergel for some energy boost. Yeah, now it's time to make my charge throuugh the field!

Sorry no photos. How to take photo while running? hehehe

Off to Part 3.

Powerman Malaysia 2008: Part 1

There’s just so much to share about my Powerman Malaysia 2008 experience, so I’m splitting them in a few parts. I know I can be very long winded at times hehehe

I left Teluk Intan to Lumut quite late on Saturday, around 2:30PM. I stayed at my uncle’s house the night before, much to the delight of my two little cousins. Supposed to check-in at Blue Bay Resort, Lumut by 4:00PM and collect my race timing chip by 5:00PM. So it was quite a rush, but thankfully I made it to both places safely, on time.

During the timing chip collection & race briefing, felt a bit psyched up by the other competitors. Most were wearing past races T-shirt. Marathons, triathlons, duathlons, etc.. etc., you name it. A bit scared lah.

During the timing chip collection. People doing some last minute shopping. I also bought a new race belt here.

After took a tour of the bike route with Apau. Apau is my office colleague, he's doing the Sprint distance race. The route is mostly the same as Powerman 2006, which is good since it’s flat, except there’s a big, steep bridge before the U-turn which looked rather intimidating.

“That’ll gonna hurt tomorrow!”, we both thought.

Some were seen cycling on the bike route, trying it out before the race on the next day.

After dropping off Apau at his hotel, I went for dinner. What was for dinner on the night of a long distance duathlon race then? Take a guess... hehehe I had Big Mac + McChicken + large Iced Milo. Didn’t expect Manjung to have a 24 hours McD actually. So convenient. Also tapau-ed another Big Mac and McChicken for breakfast. McD powered duathlete!

After a quick stop at the local 7-11, head back straight to my hotel room. Did a last minute check-up & clean-up of my bike. After setting up 6 different alarms for the next morning (3 on my PDA, 2 on my watch and another on my phone. so over-prepared!) I dozed off really early. It was barely 11:00PM. I need it anyway.

My bike ready for action!

My stuff, all organized and ready. Not the time to mess around

3 hari je lagi!!!

... to Powerman Malaysia. Ish, rasa seram pulak. Bukan apa, risau tak dpt finish jek. bila dah training susah payah, then ni la masa nak tgk semua training tu berbaloi ke tak. biasa la mcm ni, dah training mcm mana pun, still rasa tak confident jugak. so next time kene training lebih lagi ni hehehe

Ni race kit: T-shirt, race number & race booklet

T-shirt tu material tak best sgt. design pun tak cantik sgt. Tapi OK la, masuk race bukan sbb nak T-shirt. nak t-shirt cantik, beli kat kedai la... muahahaha

kat belakang, sponsor ada satu je, Powerbar. dulu ada byk sponsor, maybe sbb keadaan ekonomi skrg, so sponsor tak byk. takpe lah, janji ada jugak race. anyway, thank you malakoff. kalau tak, langsung takde race.

dan jugak, sbb aku ni kiasu, ni supply Powerbar yg aku prepare:

muahahaha byk giler! mcm nak makan seminggu! last time aku makan 7 paket powergel masa race. actually tak perlu sampai 7 paket, tapi biasa lah, towards the end makan powergel ni utk psychology je. lepas makan tu rasa mcm kuat sikit hehehe

for those yg tak tau, powerbar & powergels ni makan utk dptkan tenaga. ye la, kalau dah buat aktiviti sukan yg berat sampai 4-5 jam, tenaga dalam badan pun abis dah. nak refill balik, makan powerbar/gel ni la. makan nasik pun boleh jugak dpt tenaga, tapi susah sikit la nak makan nasik sambil kayuh basikal... hahahaha

anyway, wish me luck. aku target 4:40, hopefully. sakit jugak tu nak dpt target time tu. last time pun dpt finish in 4:40 tapi distance pendek sikit, 10-60-10. this time 11-64-10.

yeah, yakin boleh! malaysia boleh! hehehe sorry semangat terlebih pulak

Bersepah nye

Meja aku




Bersepah sungguh la. Belum tgk laci & locker lagi tu. Pun byk barang. Byk sangat simpan barang, sayang nak buang. One of these days kene datang weekend buang semua benda tak pakai ni. Buat semak je.

6 days to go!!!

to Powerman Malaysia 2008!!! Risau siots.

Hari Sabtu dah pegi ambik race kit. Agak mengecewakan sbb T-shirt tak berapa lawa & material tak best.. Goodies pun takde. Tapi takpe, masuk race bukan sbb T-shirt & goodies.

Ahad pulak kayuh individual time-trial kat Putrajaya, tapi baru 5 minit kayuh tayar pancit pulak. Repair tepi jalan je dah 1/2 jam. Biasa la, time genting mcm ni masa tu la nak jadik cerita. Tapi semangat punya pasal, sambung jugak kayuh. Habis nak dekat tgh hari dah. Dapat jugak 48km. Average 31.5km/h! Perghhh!!! Tu jalan berbukit-bukau tu. Hopefully flat road kat Lumut nanti boleh average lagi laju.

Hotel pun dah book. Blue Bay Resort Lumut. Dok sorang jek. Takpe lah. Sure ada lagi competitor dok kat situ. Geng je lah ngan diorang. Hehehe

Satu malam di 7-11

Pukul 12:00 tgh malam semalam, kat 7-11 depan rumah aku. Pegi beli roti & air.

Cashier: Aik, makan malam² ke?
Aku: A'ah. Lapar pulak.
Cashier: Study lagi ke? Ke dah keje?
Aku: Eh dah keje la. Lama dah (sambil tersenyum sbb dia ingat aku study lagik)
Cashier: Adik keje kat mana?
Aku: (Eh, dia panggil aku adik? Biar benar dia ni heh heh) Bank Negara
Cashier: Abang nak cari keje permanent la, Bank Negara ada kosong tak?
Aku: Ada. Hantar je resume kat Bank Negara.
Cashier: Kalau abang pass kat adik je boleh ke?
Aku: (still menahan gelak) Boleh je. Nanti hari Rabu ye.
Cashier: Ni adik ambik no phone abang
Aku: Ye lah

Yang lawak tu, aku dah mention aku dah keje lama. Dia still panggil aku adik. Cashier tu, aku tgk, max umur 23-24. And dia jugak penah tanya aku kalau aku ada member nak beli kereta Myvi full loan, the sort of questions orang yg baru kerja akan tanya. And masa tu dia panggil aku abang. Maybe sbb dia nampak kereta aku park depan pintu 7-11 tu. Semalam parking jauh sikit.

Sebelum keluar pintu tu, rasa nak je tanya dia umur berapa. Kah kah kah dia sure tak expect aku ni dah 8 tahun keje. So agak² la umur aku berapa. Dah 30 dah dik oii... hehehe

Ni mesti sbb baru potong rambut pendek dia tgk mcm muda semacam hehehe takpe rabu nanti dia bagi resume aku bagitau jek lah kat dia

Yeah right!

In thestar.com.my today: http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/10/29/nation/2387778&sec=nation

An interesting excerp:

"All this while, we have been absorbing higher costs as we haven’t been increasing our food prices even after the price hikes. So I don’t see why we should lower our prices now,” he told The Star yesterday."

Absorbing higher costs? Haven't increased prices? My foot. The hawkers and restaurateurs are the FIRST to INCREASE their prices. Since:

1. Their prices are not officially controlled

2. They never actually calculate the ACTUAL COST of producing the food itself. They use the concept, 'main taram saja'. Cooking oil price increase by 50 sen per kg? Let's increase the price of roti canai by 10 sen each then. As if 1 kg of oil is just enough for just 5 roti canai! Same goes when milk price increased, flour price increased. All resulted in disproportionate price increase by them.

And yet they claim they've been absorbing? Again, my foot!

I'm not complaining about the high price. I think they have the right to sell at whatever price they want, and I in turn, have the right to choose to eat at their outlet or not. But to actually try to mislead people that they've been absorbing higher cost? That's like trying to hide an elephant in a refrigerator. You're just insulting the public's intelligence.

Not your average Sunday 2

Sunday, 26 October 2008. Woke up late, so missed my cycling at Putrajaya. Then out of nothing, just decided to go to Sepang track day, again. My fourth session this year.

This time went with Azam, my PMC friend. The usual thing, park outside first, see if there's many cars or not, only then decided to bring in my car. Cars were a bit more than the previous session in June, but manageable.

First outing was riding shotgun in Azam's Mini Cooper S. He's quite a handy driver. Slip sliding his way through some of the corners, especially T6 and T11. Agressive too, getting scarily close with other cars at T14. Worse still, his car didn't have grab handle on the passenger side... I timed his lap at 3:08, really not bad for a first timer around the full track. I'm sure he had a lot of fun too, well until he had a spin later in the session... hehehe normal lah tu Azam. Pegi track mesti spin punya lah...

Later with Azam on passenger seat, I managed only 2:58. But I had to yield at a few corners for traffic. Later when the track was clear & driving alone, managed to get an almost clean run for a time of 2:53. I'm satisfied for the moment, with what I have. My tyres are costing me a few seconds definitely. They're long lasting and already survived 4 track days, but not enough grip around the sweeping T5 & T11. With better tyres, I'm sure sub 2:50 is within reach. Top speed recorded was 194km/h. Not sure back or front straight. Up 9km/h from last session. Must be because I'm now 10 kilos lighter... hehehe owh, and this time I also removed the spare tyres. Also picked up new skill, trail braking, which I learned in Gran Turismo 4, translated to real-life hehehe

Above pic, our car in the pit. Taken with my new N5610 hehehe Sorry no action shots since we were busy enjoying ourselves on the track. Later at home discovered, my front brake pads and rotors are almost gone now. Only OK for street driving. No more track session with those. Ouch!

But that is nothing compared to this:

Yes, a Scooby caught fire!! Motorsport really is dangerous (and costly!)

Inactive Malaysians

Found this in thestar.com.my today: http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/10/24/nation/2362348&sec=nation

If you ask me, I wholeheartedly agree to it. I have a desk job that requires me to sit on a chair in front of a desk 8 hours of the day. At most, the work related physical activity I'm required to do is to walk to the next building to attend meetings. Even that also we normally take the elevator and escalator.

In my office, we have a gym. A complete one with all the nice equipments. Treadmills, cross-trainer, cycling machine, weights, etc... Even two badminton courts, two squash courts two more squash courts converted to become table tennis courts. And it's totally free for all the staff.

But, I would say, less than 20% actually frequent it. It's the same face day-in and day-out. But strangely, during the Open House, with the lavish food served, I see like 90% of the staff being there. And then people keep on complaining of their idle-related illness e.g. high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc.. etc.. They never take care of themselves in the first place.

So you out there, please take care of yourself. Our modern lifestyle, modern job & modern food is taking a toll on our body. We have to keep that in control. Please don't use the excuse that you don't have time & busy with your family. Or your job. Those are just excuses. If you really love your family, then take care of yourself. If not, it's them that needs to take care of you instead of the other way around. And if you got ill, you cannot efficiently do your job either.

So please, take note of that.

Apa ni?

Bukan mcm ni training nak race! Makin dekat race training makin tunggang langgang. Hari tu bulan puasa dah OK dah. Ish apa la...

Tgk graf last week, total running distance, 6 km aje! Adeh...

Rajin la sikit woi! Karang tak qualify kat powerman larat ke nak tadah telinga kene kutuk ngan kengkawan? Ahahahaha!

BTW, sesapa yg nak track running progress, boleh register kat nikerunning.com. Free ajek. Very useful tool. Full URL: http://insidenikerunning.nike.com/category/training/

Death Magnetic

I'm back. It's been quite some time that I have not posted. Been very, very busy with BNM's internal futsal tournament. As I'm a team manager/captain/player, so had lots of things to do. The short announcement did not help either. More on that later.

This post is dedicated to all Metallica fans out there. I'm one, has been one since mid 90's when I was in uni and started learning the guitar. I guess, anybody who started playing guitar around that time just have to learn at least one Metallica song. It's compulsory I guess hehehe

For those who missed the release, they have a new album out! It's titled Death Magnetic. And for those who are still suffering from the trauma of something called 'St. Anger', fear not. That has been ditched into the drain and left behind to a slow death. Yeah!

This album is much, much better. Miles better. Not quite the return of Metallica to their roots, but close. And nobody wants to reverse back in time anyway? This album contains a compilation of all their music styles from Kill 'Em All right to St. Anger. Those who have followed them closely, can detect a hint of everything in this album.

But their music is so much more complex and matured now. With so many different riffs in each and every song. I'm still wondering how are we going to memorize the song progression for our jamming session. Kirk Hammet has shown that he has not forgotten how to shred fast solos. And Ullrich no longer play a marching band snare like he did in St Anger...

My current favourite is track 3, 'Broken, Beat and Scarred'. Try listening to it. A powerful song with the signature riff repeated in different octaves. The riffs are just amazing and very complex. That day I tried playing it, and failed miserably

If you go the music store, they may have two versions, one is the normal priced RM56.90 full album with free T-shirt and the other one is a RM29.90 Malaysian version. Just get the Malaysian edition. The full version has lyrics, but the disc sleeve have holes cut into it, so the printed lyrics are useless. And the T-shirt is just so-so. Locally printed, not official Metallica merchandise.

So for all Metallica fans, grab this album!

So sad...

What is that? Look closely, maybe you can see it's a tortoise, a very sad one :(

This is the tortoise at my house. Actually it's my sister's, she bought two a few months ago. But now there's just one. Before Sunday, we had two very active tortoise. You wouldn't believe it. They would push around the small rock in their container making ticking sound all day long. They even actively swim in their plastic container. Trying to get out I presume. Everytime we take them out by holding the sides of their shell, they will wiggle their short legs, tickling our finger. If I put my finger near the container, they will follow my finger. When I return home at night, they'll be sort of 'happy' to see me back and will extend their heads above the waterline, as if to make themselves seen.

But after Sunday, we only had one tortoise. My mom gave away the other one to a relative's children who came for Raya. I was sad & reluctant but since my mom already said that she's giving it, I can't say anything. I cannot even see the tortoise being taken away.
Now the one that's left is so sad. I can clearly see it in it's eyes. Like it's crying. It spends most of the time hiding inside its shell and no longer swimming around. When I put my finger, it'll turn away. It keeps mostly below the waterline. Even someone as cold as me can see it was sad!
Even my mom acknoweldges that and seems like regretting giving away one of it. Tomorrow I'm gonna think of how we can take back the tortoise. Maybe buy them another one and take back ours.

It also clearly shows that animals have feelings too. So please:

1. Be nice to all animals. Don't abuse them. Even if it's just stray cats on the streets, if you can't feed them, at least don't chase or kick them away.

2. Don't adopt an animal if you can't commit. My sis bought the tortoise, but my mom's taking care of them. Cleaning the container everyday. So maybe that explains why my mom wanted to give it away. So only adopt if you know you can take a good care of them. That explains why, even I really, really love cats, I never adopt one. I know I can't commit to them. Not with a 9 to 6 daily job & 8 hobbies to do.

Rustic and charming little town

I was in Sungai Petani over the Hari Raya. Went there to my uncle's place. And of course, took the chance to visit the town. I don't even remember going to the town, even though I spent a few years of my childhood there back during the time when my late-grandfather was still serving in the Police force. And from my mum's story, together with my Pak Su, we were the 'heroes' of the police barrack when we were young back then hehehe

But back to the town, I love this town. It's a small town with no congestion at all. But with some developments to keep it up with the time. Here's some snap shots that I found interesting:

It's been a while since I had to go past this kind of rail road crossing. My previous hometown, Kluang also had one.

This is the unique and very attractive HSBC Bank building.

And I saved the best for the last. This, McDota! I bet most of you don't even know this. But before the years of McD and KFC, this was THE fast food of the day, back in the 80's. We also had one in Kluang last time

Overall, this town really reminded me a lot of Kluang. I really to visit Kluang soon.

Selamat Hari Raya

Aku nak ucapkan Selamat Hari Raya pada semua. Maaf Zahir Batin.

Why dude, why?

At a Shell station tonight.

I was queuing behind this Iswara dude filling up his tank. There's another Waja at the pump just behind him, but the Waja's driver was still at the cashier. All other pumps are occupied. So I decided to wait behind the Iswara since the dude is already filling up. A few minutes passed by. The Waja driver has since then returned, fille up his tank and left. The Iswara due is still there, filling-up his tank...

A motorcycle took to the pump after the Waja. He also finished filling up his tank. So I then took that pump. The Iswara dude? Still filling his bloody tank! And now wildly shaking his car and trying all his might to squeeze that last few drops of RON97 into his tank. Even when I have done filling up my tank (all 51.8L of it and also cleaned my rear windscreen at it), left the station, the dude is still at the station. Nwo queuing at the cashier.

That made me thinking, WHY IN THE WORLD DUDE? Why do you need to squeeze that very last few drops into your bloody tank? Is the fuel price going up by 1,000,000% tomorrow? Last time, I check the news, no. In fact it went down. Even if it is going up, it's still not worth that 10 minutes or so pumping that last few drops in. Is he going outstation that he needs that very last few drops to be able to make it to the next station? Dude, if you actually gamble up to that extend, I think you'll do very, very well at Genting. And the last time I check also, petrol stations in Malaysia are quite widely available. And he can always schedule another stop on the way to re-fill if he really needs to. It just left me perplexed. I just can't find a reason for it. If any of you can think of a reason, please tell me why.

If you ask me, dude, you better use that few minutes of your life to pick up and read a non-fictional book or article. At least that'll enrich your knowledge and may be useful to you in the future, much more than you can save by trying to fill your petrol tank to the brim anyway.

Check your facts please!

I absolutely, ABSOLUTELY HATE when people publicly and openly criticize others when they themselves are not sure of what is actually going on. it just shows that

1. the person is not actually that smart, but want to be seen smarter than the person he's criticizing
2. the person just do not care to actually check the facts
3. the person is a WHINER and just blame the authority for his hardship

i saw this is thestar's blog section on their online page.
http://blog.thestar.com.my/permalink.asp?id=18189

>>Bank Negara Why Increase Interest Rate? Posted by: vijaysvk1 Dear Bank Negara
I always believe economic indicator cannot be real indicator....Economic indicator is based on certain formula and it will never represent the real situation on the ground.For example income per capita....
Ok....now lets go to the real issue?Hi Bank Negara Why you increase the interest rate when it will defintely burden the people and make the commercial banks richer...you have increased the interest rate for cars and we can see how it will burden the new buyer...soon you will increase the BLR and again people will suffer....
Dear educated governer..can you explain your action...or you cant as you are the guardian of commercial banks?
We need to fight this...........<<

Bro, Bank Negara DO NOT set the interest rate! The banks are running a BUSINESS, lending people THEIR MONEY. They have a say of how much interest rate they want to set. We, the central bank, regulates them making sure they're doing business in proper conduct, but we do not control how do they spend their money or how much profit they wanna make. We're not a communist country, in case you forgot.

We, more or less, determine the BLR. It's the overnight policy rate that we determine and from the last committee meeting, it was decided that it's NOT CHANGED. we only determine the high level rates, and not for each and every product the bank is offering.

your credit worthiness affects your loan interest rate. the amount, the car you're buying, all contributes to it. there is ASBOLUTELY NO WAY for bank negara to set all that. the change in the car loan interest rate is purely by the bank. if you don't like a bank's offer, find another one! that's why it's called shopping for a loan offer. u don't like one shop's price, find another lah.

so, before publicly blasting people like that, it'll be good to make sure that you have all the facts rather than simply blaming other people. it makes you look bad (and stupid)

Buka puasa

To me, the follwing are why buka puasa buffet is not practical and should be avoided:

1. Bad traffic jam
2. Everybody will be rushing for food at the very same time
3. Difficult time to coordinate your timing for Maghrib prayers
4. You can't eat much anyway (for the price you paid)

But today no.1 is the main reason why I don't like buka puasa buffet. From my house in Setapak, took MRR2 to get to The Curve Damansara. Only get to 1U area like 6:30PM. That's 70 minutes my friend!

Since I've already planned to go to the bike shop @ Taman Megah, still went there first. And trying to get back from Taman Megah to The Curve, took like almost 1 hour via LDP! And that's seems like less than 5 km away.

And when I actually get to the buffet, all I had was a small portion of rice with 2 pieces of chicken, a can of Diet Coke & 3 scoops of ice-cream. Not worth the effort just for that. Luckily I decided to still go to the bike shop, even that meant I had to break fast an hour late.

Will try to avoid next year.

Anyway, thanx to Bulat for the buffet at Marche. Semoga murah rezeki! Amin.

Good Deal!

Malam tadi, boring² lepas terawikh, terasa nak pegi midvalley. So pegi la kejap. Sampai MV pun dah kul 10:00PM, kedai pun dah tutup. Tapi sempat la lagi jalan² kat Jusco yg tgh sale raya skrg

Pegi sports section jumpa pulak running tee mizuno. Murah plak tu! Biasa RM56.90 tapi sale 50% jadi RM28.45 jek. Apa lagik, angkat 3 terussss... hehehe

Yg gelap tu actually navy colour, bukan hitam. Design pun OK. Material pun cun, lembut, lightweight & sweat wicking type. Kira mmg technical running tee lah. Byk lagi stock tergantung kat situ. Design lain pun ada, just one catch, semua size L. Memula ingat nak carik M, tapi ambik jugak L sbb dah murah. Bila test kat rumah, apparently L mmg ngam-ngam, just nice utk aku. Sib baik tak jumpa size M. Kalau tak dah macam sarung nangka... hehehe

So to fellow runners yg carik running tee, check out jusco midvalley sementara stock masih ada.

Ramadan buffet, with a view

Yesterday, a few of us from the office were invited for a Ramadan buffet at The 39 Restaurant, PNB Darby Park.

To cut things short, the food was so and so, but the view from the top was amazing! Especially during sunset. Just see for yourself!

I know KL Tower gives a nice view as well, but this one is breathtaking due to it's proximity to the twin tower and other buildings around it. Trust me, it is much closer in real-life than they appear in the photos above. And the view can be enjoyed from the open-air deck around the restaurant. Can even dine outside if you wish to.

So if you want to dine (a romantic dinner maybe) with a great view of KLCC and it's vicinity, this is a recommended place.

A short video of the view. Wait till the end of the video to get an idea of how high I shot this from.

Black Water (movie)

Watched this yesterday. Wanted to watch Zohan, but last minute changed to this. The poster and site seemed impressive. http://www.blackwatermovie.com/index2.html

If you have any plan or even any twitch in your heart to think of watching this, I'll say, please don't. I can give you a full summary in a single paragraph. Read below:

"It's about a couple, Grace and Adam, and Grace's youngest sister, Lee, going on a trip. Adam suggested a fishing trip. They met Jim, who guided the trip in a small metal boat. When they stopped for fishing at a swamp area, their boat was overturned by a big croc and it took Jim. Grace, Adam & Lee climbed over a tree. Grace tried to traverse the trees to safety, but failed. Adam tried to salvage the overturned boat, but was eaten by the croc. Grace & Lee, tried to find way out to the river when Grace was attacked by the croc, but she survived. Lee then tried to get the boat but also taken by the croc. She was placed at where Jim was 'stored', but she was still alive. When she woke up, she took the gun from Jim and then get to shoot through the head of the croc, killing it. Grace however died from her injury. Lee took her sister's body out on the metal boat. End of story."

Actually, at the start of the movie, when it showed it's produced in Australia, already felt it was not gonna be an interesting movie. Then when it mentioned based on true story, just sealed it. And the movie itself was the proof. I saw people leaving after just 15 minutes into the movie.

The story line was so direct and predictable. And it was super damn slow as well. If we minus the shots of the trees and the empty water, it'll be way less than an hour. I had more suspense riding my motorbike to work everyday than watching this 90 minutes 'thriller' movie. In fact, I've watched 'school holiday special' on TV which are wayyyyy interesting that this. In fact, any of Steve Irwin's show seems like a 5-star movie beside this one. At least, much more informative.

I know, if I'm in that situation, it'll be a very scary and thrilling moment as well. But watching it on the screen? Nope. Maybe because I expected like a group of super-mega big crocs that can jump 10m high, or swallow a metal boat whole, or can chow down a tree, something like that. And then, the crocs started to attack the rescue team and it became a massive battle between man and crocs. Something along that line lah... hahaha

So pleaseeeee, I beg you all, save your money and skip this one. Just watch the school holiday special on Sunday morning.

Global Crisis

I think many are unaware of this situation. For those who read the papers & watch the news, probably have known about the Lehman Brothers & Merril Lynch issue. Those are two big names in the financial industry, and they've failed recently stemming from the credit turmoil in US. And even AIG, which I guess people know as the name printed on MU's jersey, is also in big trouble.

And today in our internal portal, we have the news that almost everywhere in the world, central banks are scrambling to pour money into their financial system to avoid deeper problem. Read the full article here: http://www.reuters.com/article/innovationNews/idUSSP26879920080916?sp=true

To be frank, I'm not an economist and in fact, never studied Economy. I have only just the slightest idea of what teh article is all about. But even by the tone of it, one can feel it doesn't sound good. It points of a big trouble ahead.

But we Malaysians are more concerned about 16/9? I guess we all have our attention at the wrong issue. Because if we have a financial system breakdown, no matter who is in charge in Putrajaya, we'll all be in trouble. Well, unless the person himself has a cash reserve as deep as Bill Gates and contribute big time to the economy. If not, it'll all be just empty promises again.

But I'm sure my colleagues over at the Economics department are focused on their job. Please do.

16 Sep 2008

Hope is a big thing. Hope can make or break a person. Hope can make people believe something that may never become a reality. But playing with people's hope is something else...

Now it's close to 6:00PM and as of writing, the same Govt is still ruling the country. And AAB is still the PM. As much as I don't like him (I much prefer Dr.M), I hate people giving false hope and empty promise, more than anything else.

I know, the believers will say, it will happen, just a bit later. But it was promised to happen 'by' today, and not a single day later. Even claimed to have the names, but refused to announce. So what should we call that? A LIE maybe?

BTW, I'm sick of these constant tussle for power in the country recently. One group should be concentrating on governing and the other group to provide the check and balance. Not to see two sides trying to pull the other side down. If I want to see that, I'll just watch sumo, or judo, or wrestling. Much more entertaining too.

I don't really like to write about politics, but I just can't stand this anymore. Move on people!

Hari ni

1. Iklan TV2

Semalam masa delayed 'live telecast' Monza F1 kat TV2. nak wat camne, dah terlepas live kat astro. layan je lah.

tapi tgh² race byk pulak iklan. kalau iklan komersial tu takpe, boleh la paham sbb itu income tapi, byk pulak iklan utk rancangan TV2 sendiri? kenapa nak siarkan iklan² tu masa live telecast? kalau time rancangan lain takpe la sbb sambung balik. sbb somehow, live telecast tu still berjalan masa iklan. so dah terlepas action race tu, apa daaaa....

dah la tu, iklan utk salam lebaran yg meleret tu & iklan drama indonesia ulang sampai dua kali! hampehssss...


2. Handphone dalam meeting
Masuk meeting pagi ni, ada 6 orang. Lepas sorang, sorang lagi phone berbunyi. Lagu dah le meriah & kuat plak tu... Tak reti nak silent ke? Karang sound karang ada yg ambik hati pulak...

Some people...

Buang masa je la!

Jumaat malam, Putrajaya, dah janji nak kayuh ngan member kitorang 5-6 orang. Janji start kul 10:30PM, macam biasa lah. Around 10:45PM dah cukup korum 5 orang, sampai pulak sorang lagi. Jarang kayuh dgn kitorang, tapi kenal la. Dia pulak mintak tunggu kengkawan dia lagi on-the-way, nak kayuh sekali katanya. OK tunggu la kejap. Lepas 20 minit, sampai la kengkawan diorang tu. Dah ready nak start kayuh dah, group yg baru sampai tu pulak kata ada lagi group yg nak dtg, on-the-way jugak katanya. Tunggu lagi 20 minit.

Finally, dekat kul 11:30PM baru la nak start kayuh. Bad luck, ada sorang member kitorang group asal yg 5 orang tu from original group, tayar ada problem sikit. Pasang tak betul kot, tayar terkeluar daripada rim. Kene check kejap. Kitorang mintak tunggu, yg geng reramai baru sampai tu sikit pun tak heran? Terus je jalan. Macam si*l. Tinggal kitorang 3 orang je yg tadi tunggu kengkawan diorang sampai nak dekat sejam, skrg buat tak tau je. Nasib baik kitorang ada floor pump, so cepat dpt repair tayar tu. Tapi still around 5 minit dah lewat. Dan nasib baik jugak kitorang 3 orang ni, kira yg boleh kayuh la. So kene speed sikit sbb nak kejar balik group yg tinggalkan kitorang tu. Dapat la kejar balik kat next stop point. OK, fine.

Then start kayuh balik. Ada la baru dalam 10 km kot (or less) group dah berpecah pulak. Berenti pulak tepi jalan tunggu kengkawan yang tertinggal. Group yg ramai² tadi tu sampai sikit² sbb diorang kayuh style santai punya. Badan dah start sejuk dah. Kitorang suggest pecah 2 group, diorang mintak tunggu jugak kengkawan semua sampai. OK tunggu lagi. Lepas about 20 minit, baru la semua sampai kat simpang tempat kitorang tunggu. Sampai aku kene patah balik tgk diroang ok ke tak.

Dah re-group, discuss nak ikut route mana lepas tu. Aku dah bagitau route, dah semua sibuk nak balik pulak. Padahal baru je kayuh kejap. In the end, diroang ikut jalan diorang, kitorang ikut jalan kitorang. Kitorang tinggal original group yg 5 orang tu je. Yg tunggu kengkawan diorang sampai sejam tu? Buang masa je.

Lain kali, nak kayuh, kayuh la bebetul. Then jgn la mintak org tunggu kalau actually takde plan nak ikut group tu. Buang masa org lain la...
Tobat aku tak nak kayuh ngan group tu dah. Baik aku kayuh ngan group aku je. Kalau mintak tunggu pun, pegi m*mp*s la...

Memang berbaloi

berbaloi turunkan berat badan 10kg. june 08 = 78kg, skrg = 68kg. mmg teruk tahan lapar & training tgh hari & petang.

semalam gi kayuh rasa ringan je badan. takde rasa teruk nak kayuh. ye la, 10kg tu lebih kurang kayuh basikal sambil bawak kampit beras atas belakang. bila buang kampit beras sure la rasa ringan kan. best, best.

pace lari pun dah improve, dulu 5km = 33-34 mins, skrg dah around 28-29 mins. shin pain pun dah takde. rasa comfortable bila lari.

target nak turun lagi jadi 65kg or less by powerman lumut november ni.

so sesapa yg rasa nak turunkan berat badan, apa tunggu lagi? cepat turunkan. mmg berbaloi!

Brrrr....

lately ni sejuk giler kat ofis.... biasa nya aku kene pasang kipas kat ofis, tapi 2-3 hari ni siap kene pakai sweater. tu pun sejuk jugak lagi tu... abis semua org tegur & tanya apsal plak aku kesejukan. biasanya mcm beruang kutub, tak tau sejuk heh heh

sbb puasa kot? tu la berkat puasa ni. kene puasa selalu nih, baru la rasa sejuk & nyaman je tiap² hari. hehehe

Silence

First of all, Selamat Berpuasa to all Muslims

This pic was taken on 1 Sept 08

This is the Eye on Malaysia. It's service finally came to an end the night before, after an 8 months extension from the original schedule. Usually this ride is brightly ligthed up with flood lights and bright neons, but not tonight.

Feels like something 'missing' when I was there. And I just can't imagine the feelings of the staff running the ride. To wake up and realize their workplace is no longer there...

Goodbye to a landmark

MME 2008

Firstly, Happy Independence Day for all Malaysians! Merdeka!


And for the 9th year, we had the Merdeka Millenium Endurance Race at Sepang last night. Being a motorsport fan, made my way there last night to watch the closing stages of the race, with a friend, Fahrein. Since the race was scheduled to end at 11:45PM, so we just planned to reach there at about 9:00PM. No rush.


When we get there, well the crowd is not exactly F1-crowded. But quite a number of enthusiasts were there. Some even with their families along. Great to see that.


What a visual feast on the track! Quite a number of race prepped Porsches are taking part this time. And a few beautiful Aston Martins. Not to mention the various Honda Integra DC5s, Civic FD2Rs, a lone Mitsu Evo 9. And then the ubiqutous Honda EGs, EKs, Satrias, etc.. It was quite a race as well.


When I reached there, the cars had already spent more than 9 hours pounding around the track. And these guys were not exactly taking it lightly! They were at the absolute limit laps after laps after laps! It's really amusing to see each and every car's brake discs to glow into bright red circle at the end of the back straight, at every single lap. That just show how hard these guys were pushing, themselves and the car. I thought only F1 cars have those glowing brakes, but I was wrong.


And then, the aural excitement. I'm not sure of others, but the sound of properly tuned race engines are just like music to my ears. We had the muted scream of highly tuned 4 cylinder N/A engines. Then the deep burble of the Holden and Ford V8s. That was really amusing, adn different. Then the angry bark of the Aston Martin V8 and then the loud scream of the Porsche flat six. Amazing. But the winner in the aural dept to my ears is the high pitch wail of the BMW Z4Ms of the Petronas Syntium team. Sheer pleasure. Sounded almost like an F1 engine. I kid you not! All these cannot be differentiated by watching on TV. As they all sounded the same when recorded. That's why it's still better to be there.


The race eventually was won by Porsche Club Singapore, racing the Porsche 997 RSR. Beating last year's champion, Kencana Petroleum team, also running Porsche 997 RSR. In fact all podium finisher in the Open class were running Porsche RSRs. These were just other-worldly fast around the circuit. Made all the other cars look slow. Including the Aston Martins and the Holden/Ford. Their only match I think was the Z4Ms, but not quite.


But also kudos to team Proton R3 who won Class B with their Satria Neo. A surprise to us, and I believe to many others. In fact, all podium for Class B was won by Proton runners! Amazing.


Next year, it'll be a 24 hours race instead. Can't wait till next year.





Not sure if you can hear this, but here it is anyway. Passing at the front straight.

After the race

The winner

Burp...

Org Malaysia ni generally kuat makan... semalam kitorang ada buffet kat the legend, managers kat floor kitorang belanja. hari ni pulak, buffet lagi kat le meriden. vendor & agency pulak belanja makan sbb projek dah closing & berjaya. eso kpulak ada pot-luck pulak kat ofis ni ha... ish...

dah la malaysian food ni kebanyakan very oily & byk lemak. susah la... tak makan nanti org kecik ati plak...

adeh... terpaksa la training kuat sikit 2-3 hari ni, before start puasa.

advise: try la control makan. it'll make wonders. mula² susah, dah lama jadik best makan sikit je. aku pun jenis kuat makan jugak, tapi bila try control, boleh je.

Redang

Last weekend aku gi Pulau Redang lagi. 3rd time since 2005. Aku suka giler Redang, practically aku suka pantai lah... suka main air hehehe masa first time pegi, terus jatuh cinta... pemandangan kat sana, mmg seriously, sapa tak penah pegi mmg takkan percaya cantik mcm tu...

this time aku dok kat redang kalong resort. ok la resort tu. cuma yg slack sikit, pantai dia time air surut petang tak boleh mandi sbb batu byk... tapi still, redang being redang, mmg lawa la...

and kali ni gi snorkeling tanpa pakai life jacket at all... tapi pakai fins la, which aku beli masa sale kat jusco midvalley je hehehe pakai fins boleh jugak aku try-try skin dive sekali... hehehe

ni kat taman laut redang ngan apau, organizer trip ni. cuba teka berapa umur dia?

ni tgh terjun drpd atas bot... hehehe takde keje...

posing sket...

santai jalan² pegi laguna redang...

in all, mmg puas hati lah... sapa yg tak penah pegi, mmg kene pegi at least sekali. tak pegi rugi siots...