Another adventure begins!

Well, I've finally done it... I have finally registered in the next marathon run! I figured that since I performed terribly at the whole mountain climbing thing, maybe I would do better at some lower level stuff.

There are basically several categories for the marathon and I of course would not be participating the most difficult category... the full marathon run that has a distance of a freaking 42km!!! That's just crazy. The second most difficult category is the half marathon run which is a 25km trek... and you guess it right... I did not register in this category.

So, the next category available is the quarter marathon... a 10km distance. So, this must be it... you said... and yes, I would like to register in this category, but unfortunately, it is just for people at the age between 13 and 15 only. Sure, with my youthful and innocent looks, I could have pass off as a 15 year old boy, but I need to show the organizers my IC and I am definitely not into IC fraud... so I did not register in this category as well.

Huh? Is there a one-eighth marathon? What are you nuts? I would have walk more than that distance when I shop at 1 Utama alone. What I did register in is the Fun Run. Despite its name, it is still a challenge (well, at least for me it is :P). The running distance is 10km... same as the quarter marathon... I don't know why they want to create another category for it.

Unfortunately, the organizers think that this category is negligible. All the participants in the first three categories would receive a medal and a certificate of participation if the finish the trek within the stipulated time. However, those who take part in the fun run will get the certificate of participation only... without the medal even if they finished within the stipulated time. Also, all first 15 runners who completed the run will get prizes for all categories EXCEPT for Fun Run. They really have to kill the FUN out of a Fun Run. And oh, I need to pay RM10 as well!!!

Oh, did I not tell you that this run is going to start around 2 to 3 am? With the howling wind smashing into your face, we had to run in the opposite direction to brave the force of nature and with our dripping sweat, the Mistress of Wind will breathe her cold breath unto us, causing us to shiver despite we are fueling our body by burning body fat.

Of course, after my challenge upon Mt. Kinabalu, that kind of petty cold draft would have no effect on me. In fact, after my trip to Sabah, I still did occasionally make a short hiking trip to the hill near my place and I must say that it provides no challenge at all! This is the hill that I had my near death experiences during my first hike as described by my first post! Now, just as I predicted, it is just an anthill.

There are however, some aspects in the Fun Run that bothered me. For one, I had to complete the 10km trek within 120 minutes. Any longer than that, I would get nothing from the marathon... well, except maybe a t-shirt. My previous mountain conquering feat failed because of time and I haven't really had any experience in running for 10km, so I have no idea if it is considered lots of time or not. I did once walk for a period of 120 minutes non-stop. I was in a gym in Subang trying out their 30 days free trial and they have monitors in front of each treadmills which broadcasts Astro channels. At that time, a new movie was showing on StarWorld and thus, I kept on walking on the treadmill until the movie's over! That was over two years ago, but I think I can still repeat the feat... now I just need to transform walking for two hours to running for two hours!

I am competing with those in their teens in the Fun Run since this category is for those of age 13 and above and I'll be damned if I cannot finish within the time limit while they can... yes, this is a point of no return. I've failed once and I shall not fail again.

Already, several master plans popped up in my head. I shall go to train in my company's gym EVERYDAY inclusive weekends. However, during the weekends, in the morning, I shall continue my hiking practice and also jog around my housing area. This is the first time that I notice a housing area that does not have stray dogs... so no more dogs chasing me when I jog :)! I shall set my target to run 15km within 90 minutes. With that, even if I feel sick during the actual day of running, I would have some cushion to fall back into... so, what do you think? Is this plan great of what? :P

Digi - Reload Before 31st August!!!

Well, I'm not sure if anyone knows about this... but I just found this out yesterday when my mum informed me... yes, my mum. Usually when it came to promotions and updates, I'm the one who informed her... but this time, she won.

I supposed I have a valid reason for not knowing this promotion... afterall, I read newspapers online and I haven't checked the digi website for eons... I mean, why on earth would I want to check their website? Well, now I know why.

I know, I know, I have talked for so long and I still haven't talked about the promotion yet. Well, the promotion is suitable for a few rare people only lah. If you reload a value of RM100 before 31st August 2008, your pre-paid duration would be valid for 1 year!!! That means if you reload on 29th August 2008, you can make phone calls until 29th August 2009 without reloads anymore... that is provided you still have credit lah.

That's why I said it's applicable for a few rare people like me only loh. I have yet to know any friends who has credit left before the end of the validity period. Most of them would have used up RM30 before the 30 days period end. And thus, this promotion would not be useful for them.

As far as I know, only me, my mum and one of my friend in Melaka who would find this promotion to be an astounding gift... but then again, my friend in Melaka is not using Digi. I have been having headaches on accumulating too much credit in my pre-paid phone. I usually reload RM50 and by the end of the 50 days calling period, I would have mostly used only RM20 and even during CNY period, where my phone calls are the most, I would usually use only RM40 for the 50 days period.

Also, for pre-paids, there is this birthday bonus where I'll get 50% extra reload bonus. I usually reload RM100 to get another RM50 bonus at this time :P.

Well, that's it guys... just wanna share some info I found. For more detailed information, please go here... remember to read the FAQs!!!

Supernatural – Never Judge a Show By Its First Episode

I know I sound arrogant… but when it comes to anime, tv shows, movies and novels, I am rarely wrong. Sure, not all would agree to my thoughts and comments on movies and shows, but a majority of people would agree with my conclusion on them. I have always prided myself in knowing a success of a tv series or anime by just watching the first episode… and I had never been wrong… until now.

Basically, once a director decided to film a tv series in a certain way, it is hard for them to change no matter how hard they try. Thus, I usually would sample the tv series again only if the director changes if I found the tv series to be of not my taste in its earlier production.

I think it was two years ago when I first watch the series “Supernatural” on Astro… and I found it to be horrible. Well, the casting and storyline isn’t exactly very bad, but even after I have grown up, I am still afraid of the dark and horror movies… and the first episode was absolutely horrifying. I meant that in a good way for horror genre enthusiasts. I don’t know why, but while I am not afraid of demons, succubus, werewolves, vampires, zombies, ghouls, hellhounds, etc., my feelings for ghosts bordered on extreme fear. Maybe it’s because they are such intangible beings (ethereal). They can appear and reappear wherever they want and they can be extremely horrible to look at. While werewolves are not handsome too, I find it easier to accept a horrible looking beast than a horrifying looking ghost… I supposed it’s because ghosts are reflection of us humans when they were alive and the probability that I would end up like that scared me to no end. However, I decided at that time that this kind of tv series is not for me and I did not watch it ever again… until recently.

It was only recently that someone commented that he loved to watch “Supernatural”. We argued for some time but being a very reasonable person, I decided to give this tv series another try. I borrowed the DVD set from my friend mainly to prove him wrong and out of sheer boredom. I ran out of things to watch and read for some time and it was really difficult for me to pass through weekends.

I immediately skipped the first episode which I watched two years earlier. The episode however is still fresh in my mind. It talks about a white dressed woman (ghost) who would seduce men and kill them in a horrible manner. I jumped to the second episode. The second episode was horrifying too… it was about a Wendigo (a human turned monster) on a killing spree. However, no matter how powerful or scary this Wendigo is, it just is not as chilling as the woman in white. Thus, I was pleasantly surprised when I found myself enjoying the series. I was deeply engrossed in the creative way they presented nightmares and horrors. Sure, I was still afraid but at least I am not holding my breath for the entire series.

The series is about how two brothers Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles) and Sam Winchester (Jared Padalecki) go about to destroying evil and saving lives everyday as they travel back and forth across the country. The first season has a main plot about the brothers trying to locate their missing father and also hunting the evil that killed their mother. However, it is the non main plot related episodes that I find most interesting.

This series don’t have much of those mumbo jumbo and magic like Charmed or Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Angel. The two brothers fight nighttime horrors with mostly guns (well, with different kind of bullets like silver, iron and salt). Chanting is used solely for dealings with demons. Also, the conversations between the brothers are really entertaining. Their constant bickering, bullying and wacky comments casts a nice atmosphere amongst the horror filled background. There was even one episode where the two brothers play tricks on each other and it was really hilarious to watch them resorting to childish methods in order to outdo one another. Each brother portrayed their character very well… one a womanizer who placed his family above all else and another with the burden of knowing he is the cause of his mother’s and girlfriend’s death.

The director also did not try to instill fear amongst viewers by introducing extreme gore in the series… well, there are a few episodes which has a lot of blood but I still find the first episode the most horrifying one :P. With three complete seasons and fourth season showing in the States now, one can rest assured that this is not some B-grade horror tv series.

Anyway, for those who would want to watch something with mild horror, comedy, action and drama all rolled into one, “Supernatural” is the one for you.

MCPD - Team Building

It was 21st August 2008. It was the day when my department, MCPD had their team building day. What is team building day? Well, the word is pretty self explanatory, isn’t it? It is a day where are the members of the department are supposed to do some activities together, thereby enhancing their relationships and ties.

My first company had something similar to this too, though they did not really declare it as an official day, and all activities are done either after work or during weekends. My first activity with my first company was a pot luck dinner. Everyone was supposed to bring one dish and then we’ll eat together. I contributed my famed “Honey Chicken” and I was asked for the recipe by a lot of people after that... heck, when I took part in a cooking competition, one of the judges came and personally said that my “Honey Chicken” was very good… but we lost… because of other dishes my other team members made of course :P.

Well, enough of that, for this company, we used half of our working day for the team building event. It all started at 12 noon. First, we had our attendances checked and then we were given the itinerary of the day. There’s a long list of names (76 in total) and we were to use the name list to divide ourselves into small groups (more on that later). We were also given a big umbrella… with red and white stripes. Also, each of us was to take one bag of food which includes KFC’s snack plate and one bottle of mineral water from Tesco.

After a quick lunch, I had to drive myself to a shopping complex where we were to have a movie together. And guess what the movie was? The Mummy 3! At other time, I would have relish in such a treat… however, I watched The Mummy 3 just about 2-3 weeks ago and it is still fresh in my mind. Although I still had a fun time re-watching the movie again, I spend most of my time being a critic… like how on earth did those flags carried by the army remained as flags after all these years? Surely the curse that Michelle Yeoh casted did not involve in turning the flags terracotta as well! And I still cannot help but cringe whenever Luke Ford spoke Mandarin :P. Oh, one good thing did happen... at least I hope it's a good sign... sitting directly behind me is my boss's boss! And he actually know my name! We even talked a little! Of course, it might also be a bad thing because no one is sitting next to me and he might take this as me being a loner... :(... which I AM NOT!!!

Anyway, two hours later, we were ready for our next event… bowling! Mistress of Fate had declared a personal war against me. First, I had to watch a movie that I have watched before… and then, a week after my post’s grand finale on sports, she decided that I have to touch a ball again. For those who do not know what I am talking about, please read Sports (Part 1) and Sports (Part 2) in my blog.

Yikes... so many balls

Condition before the MCPD invasion...

Screen without any points...

MCPD invasion!!!

Anyway, we were all divided into four main houses and each house has several teams. I was in a house which was led by my boss’s boss… and I was in group 7 which consists of a total of 4 members. So, we all quickly took our respective lanes and started bowling. It was actually quite fun and I started to become competitive again… but I failed miserably. After one year of not bowling, I was in a bad shape. After my fifth ball, I actually started to feel a pain in my back! And even when I am typing this right now, that pain kept on nibbling at my back. Also, the holes in the bowling ball are either too big or too small for my delicate fingers :P. I used the larger ones and the friction between my finger and the hole caused my thumb to become painful as well. And as my ball frequently “wash the drain”; I became more and more agitated.Luckily, I anticipated this, and I flipped out my super camera and started to take millions of photos. Unfortunately, the bowling arena was dark and since I do not want to annoy the other bowlers, I dare not turn on the flash. Also, there was an official photographer for the event and he took all the good places to take the shots. Thus, I was left shooting at everyone else’s backside.

We were so greedy that the bowling balls were actually stuck in the roller because there were too many balls!!!

OMG!!! A strike! A strike! Second row lah! Surely you don't need me to tell you who made this strike...

The ill-fated bottle of water...

Bored, I took a bottle of mineral water (which is free for the event) and took a shot at it… you must wonder why would I write about this.

Well, as luck has it, after I shot the bottle of water, I forgot that I have already put the bottle of water in my bag… and when I came back after my turn in bowling, I saw another bottle of water placed exactly at where I took the photo. I thought I did not put the bottle away and thus I quickly snatched it and drank the water inside!!! And it was not unopened. I realized my mistake only when I opened my bag and saw another bottle in there! I hope that whoever the owner of the bottle is did not see me drinking his drink… sigh… things were starting to fall apart. Of course I hid that bottle in my bag too...

My final scores in the first game... it's not the last :)

The bowling master... if you look carefully, you can see that his left hand is placed at an odd angle... he was actually talking on the phone while bowling!!! I can only shoot his backside because frankly, we were not that close... I know him... and worked with him on a project... but not close enough for me to shoot a photo from the front... needless to say... he got zero for that particular throw :P

One rare photo shoot that uses flash... oh, and she's in the same team as mine too...

Results from my second game... I know... I know... it's pathetic... but I'm keeping a lid on my bowling skills cause I don't want to be in the finals mah... as the Chinese saying goes "A big tree attracts wind"... and the wind can bring down a tree (second part added by me :P)

Results from the lane next to mine... see, I'm not really that bad... at least I'm MUCH BETTER than the phone bowler :P. Can you guess which points belong to him? No prize for correct guess...

The real bowling master in action... see how the leg bends? Rumour has it that the more odd angle the leg is, the better the bowler is... :P

I don't know why I took this shot...

Also, our team was one of the most silent teams. Well, I am new and thus I did not really know them so not much to talk loh, heck, I did not even recognize most of the people in the arena that were supposed to be in my department… I blame it on the cubicles. Anyway, we were not really chatty… only a clap here and some remarks there. Luckily, we played really fast and pretty soon, our two games were finished and I was comforted in knowing that there is no way that I am qualified for the finals. The finals consisted of four players in each house. There are a total of four houses and thus a total of sixteen players. Each house would take one lane and they would play only one game with the highest total scores being the winning house.

After the four houses decided on their four best players, the finals started. I must say that I was really surprised. Being a pathetic bowler myself, I know that I have no right to say this, but these supposed to be “best players” were… well, performing far below than what I expected :P. Of course, some of them are pretty decent… but there are actually several of them who did not even make it to three digits! Erm... for my colleagues (which is impossible because I did not give my blog address to anyone is at the team building) who are reading this blog... please be assured that I am not talking about you :)

The champion's scoreboard... one might have expected better marks... OMG, I hope my boss's boss did not read this...

My boss's boss's boss (BBB)... still not the highest position in the company though... that means that I'm in a very low position loh... anyway, I met him during a meeting and did not even realize it's him... my BBB is a Malay and he looked like an Indian to me :P I thought that he was a sales guy in the meeting... phew... luckily I did not say anything that I should not...

Anyway, the most important thing is, my house won! The winning team got some presents, but the winning house got vouchers too! Thus, I got one RM5 McDonald voucher thanks to the good players in my house!

For me, the team building was not really successful, but I did take this opportunity to memorize the names of the people that I was introduced to during my first day at work… I mean no one would be able to memorize all of their colleague’s names in the first day… it would require a mnemonic to do that. So, I wouldn’t call this day a total waste. Also, I got the name list with me... I work beeter in remembering people's full name... when I was introduced to them, they either call themselves as Ong, Ng, Ooi, Woi... very difficult to remember loh. The bad thing is, after playing bowling; I felt the urge to bowl again! Sigh… as you know (form my previous post), spherical things meant disaster to me… not to mention it costs RM4.50 per game over here… sigh, it was only RM2.50 during my college years. I could have almost wished that another accident would happen to me during bowling so that I would give up on this sport once and for all… almost :P.

The winning group!!! Yay!!!

My 'hard-earned' prize... :)

Movie Review 6: WALL.E – Tin Man with a heart

Title: WALL.E

Running time: 1 hour 37 minutes

Director: Andrew Stanton

Genre: Animation, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Comedy

Humans left Earth in a spaceship called Axiom while they left “Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class” (WALL.E) to clean up the Earth before they return. For centuries, WALL.E has routinely clean up the Earth while the humans live an extravagant and comfortable life on board of Axiom. The humans would return when there is a sign of new life on Earth. Thus, probes called “Extra-terrestrial Vegetation Evaluator” (EVE) are dispatched to Earth in search of new life. As chance had it, WALL.E found a plant hidden under a fridge and passed it to EVE. WALL.E had fallen in love with EVE and followed her back to AXIOM… and there, they found a new adventure awaits them.

This fine work by Pixar outstripped any of its previous works. It is by far the best animation that I have ever watched. The plot is simple but engaging, actions aplenty and humors are around every corner. Graphics-wise, it is stunning without too much emphasis on unnecessary stuff. And WALL.E is reeeeaaalllllyyyy CUTE and ADORABLE. Those “watery” eyes would disarm every children and females alike. And oh, the dance between WALL.E and EVA was really mesmerizing.

For those who did not know this, the film is mainly a voiceless movie. Well, the humans would still speak like any normal human beings, but the main characters (mainly the robots) usually utter only a single word at a time and off-key too. The sound made by WALL.E is produced by Ben Burtt, a sound engineer who made the sound of light sabers and heavy breathing of Darth Vader too. However, this doesn’t stop the movie from being an enjoyable one. The actions done by the robots to replace what they were saying were obvious and easy to see, thus, one should not have any difficulty in understanding what they are trying to say. Hey, as they said, a pictures speaks a thousand words :P.

The movie had me laughing all the time. I am usually able to keep my composure in comedy movies… only the best could have forced me to laugh out loud and WALL.E is one of such movies. Of course, it was so funny all the time that when it came to a supposedly heart-wrenching moment of the film, I felt nothing. Well, it is difficult to feel pity to a robot who actually managed to look cute and funny even when they die… ooops… spoiler :P. Just don’t think too much about some bizarre stuff and enjoy the movie… I mean, this movie is set in 2815… what do you know about the wonders of technology at that time? :P.

For those who like to be ‘fashionably’ late for movies, they should be punctual for this movie. There is a short film at the beginning which has nothing to do with WALL.E. At first, I thought I had gone into the wrong cinema hall. However, this short animated film is hilarious. It is also a voiceless short film and while the graphics are not as stunning as WALL.E, its plot and storyline will have you rolling on the cinema floor laughing uncontrollably. Of course, I cannot be too sure if this short film is available everytime one watches WALL.E, but I think it is a part of the movie handed out by Pixar.

A lot of reviewers have been anticipating this movie since “The Kung-Fu Panda” was extremely nice and they would like to know if Dreamworks would finally win in animation movie after being in a losing streak for several years. Sadly, I would have to say that Pixar has my vote for this year. While the Kung-Fu Panda is funny and good, it pales in comparison to the masterful work of WALL.E! WALL.E is definitely the perfect choice for both adults and children alike.

Observation: I still don’t know how the cockroach survived even when it was grinded over by WALL.E several times

Bottomline: A legendary epic!

Bamboo Ranking: 4.5 / 5.0

Sports (Part 2)

(Please be informed that the following article is biased due to the author’s one-sided view of sports. It is the ravings of a nut job who never intended his work to hurt anyone in the process.)

Okay, so now we will be talking about sports on a point by point basis. First, let us talk about health. Sports are always related to health. I have heard friends and relatives drone on and on about how healthy one would get when they joined a sports activity. Well, it is true that sports like football, basketball, tennis, squash, swimming; etc. will develop one’s stamina, strength and agility. But then again, we can all gain that through exercising like jogging, working out in a gym and hiking too. While both would gain similar results, exercising does not have the risk that one faces in sports. In sports, (eg. football, basketball and hockey) there would inevitably be bodily contacts, such as pushing, shoving, hitting, kicking and even punching… all of these actions would lead to injuries. How many times have we seen or heard about a professional sports player having to undergo surgeries… and not just any normal surgery… there’re knee surgeries, muscle tear surgeries and even brain surgeries. The only people who would gain from this are the insurance companies because these players would be heavily insured. So, in the end, you’ll end up facing the risk of having permanent disability while playing sports. Unless you are foolish enough to drop weights on your toes in a gym or fall flat on your face while jogging, exercising is pretty much hazardous free and much more flexible.

One can only be good at one or two sports and thus, their health development would be focused on several key areas only. When one exercises, they can train their body depending on their needs. For example, one can jog or go hiking for higher stamina, do push-ups for a more developed chest and shoulder blades, sit-ups for a dashing six-pack, lift weights for well toned biceps and triceps, etc. This cannot be done in sports as each sport usually focuses only on the development of several parts of the body. So, in terms of health, exercising wins hands down.

Next we should talk about the spirit of sports. I never ceased to laugh out loud when some moron on the television mentioned that taking part in the sports event would make them understand others’ culture better and make friends. How fake is that! For one, it is rare for sports people to be friends with one another, even for those in the same team. This is due to the fact that they are all vying for the top position… the champion. Runner-ups are as easily forgotten as the one who loses in the first round. Each would want to beat the other in a sports event and thus, I highly doubt that they would sit down together in a coffee shop and eat together, chatting over some unrelated topic and bonding with each other. For heaven’s sake, even in sports like football, those who are in the same team are divided into several groups and it is not uncommon to find that these groups hate each others’ guts.

Coaches, political people and even the sportsmen (it’s referred to both males and females, too lazy to type both :P) themselves all talk about how their participation would increase international ties, build teamwork, make friends, blah, blah, blah. Punching, kicking, fouls, cheating are just but a few of the ugliness that is brought out by sports. Maybe, once upon a time, there is really such a thing as non-competitive sports, but now, faced with luxurious rewards, winning at any cost is deeply ingrained in people who play professional sports that even those so called friendly matches are just but a façade.

Okay, so how about character building. A sportsman who is able to endure the intensive training would be a better man such as more hardworking, higher mental strength, nicer, etc… my foot. Well, actually, the above might be true but I do know for a fact that sports bring out the worst in a human. Have you ever noticed that sportsmen are rarely modest? When they win, they will say that they deserve it. If they lose, it’s either their opponent are lucky or they are not in their top condition or the referee is one-sided. Shouldn’t it be the other way round? For me, if someone is really good, then they should win by such a big margin that a few “unfair” points given to their opponents won’t affect the outcome. All those who cry foul when they lose by one point should realize that they are just not good enough and not blame others.

The word ‘drugs’ is also ultimately tied with the word ‘sports’. Whenever someone mentioned drugs to me, I would immediately think of a wasted body sleeping behind dumpsters… but a lot of these “professional” sportsmen use drugs to help them win. Why? Because they just can bear to lose and decided that winning unfairly is better than losing fairly. Also, one can see the inherent untamed animal in these people when they play especially in teams. Fights are just a common sight in sports like football. There is even a title for teams who played fairly throughout the entire tournament! This means, it is publicly acknowledged that these sports are usually played unfairly! From the ideal character building sports, it has now become something that rouses our inner evil monster.

Now, we should talk about revenue generation. Sports bring revenue to a country… or so they claimed. Hundreds of countries spend billions for their sports facilities and infrastructures just to host some sports event. Hundreds of millions are spend in training the players through the employment of foreign coaches and setting up training grounds overseas; all these just to qualify for the qualification on bidding to hold sports event. The thing that no one seemed to realize is that for any major sports event, it will take several decades before the same country can be the host of the event the second time. Thus, after the so-called huge income jump with foreign currencies, those countries are left high and dry with the maintenance costs. For example, in one sports event, the facilities are built for 30 teams. When the event ended, the facilities would be over capacity by 29 teams! And I suspect that even with millions of people coming to watch the event, it won’t really cover the cost used to build the new buildings, employ extra part-timers for the event and organize security personnel. True, businesses like hotels, taxis, planes, buses and restaurants would receive a great boost… but those are just for city centers… further expanding the income gap in between cities and suburbs.

It is also true that the country would be famous for holding the event (if successful), but it does not last long unless the country managed to secure several major sports event in consecutive years. I mean, do you still remember what was the opening of the Olympics like four years ago? After all the praises and hype about it being the best opening up to now, it doesn’t change the fact that humans easily forget something if they are not constantly reminded of it, heck, I would wager that a lot would have a hard time which country it was held in a quarter decade ago. Won’t it be easier and better if we were to focus our energies in something more reliable like technology and research? If a country focuses their resources in developing the next generation of technology, we would gain profit and fame just the same without needing to be bothered by the maintenance cost, unreliable income and practically begging other parties to let us hold an event. Other countries would be begging us to sell them our technology. Just like Japan, the word ‘technology’ is one of the few descriptions that could be used to describe the country.

Humans are inherently evil. Envy is part of us… as inseparable as our nails with fingers. Thus, it really baffles me as to how one could watch the success of someone else’s everyday. Don’t you just loathe all those sportsmen who are more good-looking, younger, richer and famous than you? Doesn’t it cause you (or your other half) to compare yourself to them and realize that you are a really pathetic person compared to them? You work 10 hours a day for several thousands a month while the famous footballers earn thousands by the minute when they are on the field! Sometimes, they earn more in a minute than you could ever earn in a month! Doesn’t that make you hate yourself? Why on earth would you want to do that to yourself? Without our support, there will be no sponsors and thus no sports… it would not matter even if there is someone who could run 100 meters in 1 second. They are all rich, famous and arrogant because of you!

For those who watch sports like a dog staring at red meat, you’re basically spending money on the tickets, transportation, lodging and food. If you are going overseas, you will be taking annual leaves, paying for an extremely expensive plane ticket, staying in an overpriced hotel, eating at restaurants where owners stare at you like a wolf encircling a trapped deer and buying costly souvenirs that would be collecting dust in your big chest of rubbish a few years from now as you find better things to put on display. You spend that vast amount of money just to see someone performing better than you and cashing in the money that is indirectly from you. You’re going to see someone who is well-fed, superbly clothed and surrounded by cameras and screaming fans while you hammered out the money to buy the ticket by staying in a low grade motel and eating flat bread for one month. And don’t get me started on the condition of the sports venue. There will be throngs of humans, all jam packed in extremely small seats where you can have a good view only if you pay an absurd amount of money for those ‘special’ seats. Most of the people would spend most of their time watching at the big television that is hung up at an unnatural angle. Won’t it be better to watch it at home? Also, you’ll be wasting lots of time in getting there early so as to get a nice car park or nice seats. Then, you’ll either have to leave early to avoid the jam or leave when the game is finished and be stuck in traffic for hours or leave several hours later. Also, in some major sports event, the spectators are exposed to the risk of being caught in a fight. An innocent spectator who just wanted to enjoy the view might inadvertently get caught in some spat between supporters. Then, police will come and you will get caught, taken to the police station and even placed in jail just because you have a bloody nose and is suspected to be a part of the fights.

I might have accepted that there are only a few of these dim-witted fools. However, millions and even billions of people are doing the same… how can such a race actually claim dominion over all creatures on earth? We are basically spending money, time effort and placing ourselves at risk in order to make someone else rich, happy and famous just to feast our eyes on something boring, like two men batting a ball at each other or two groups of people chasing after a ball. If you want to watch something, isn’t it better to watch movies? At least they have a plot, audible dialogue, good music and cheap!

Actually, at some point I pity the sportsmen too. There is usually no turning back when you started the path of a professional sportsman. Unlike me, I can change jobs if I don’t like it… even changing to jobs that I never thought of doing. However, once you started to play sports professionally, you are stuck with it. I have never heard of a footballer changing to play basketball, have you? Out of these thousands and millions of sportsmen, only a handful would be rich and famous. The others would die without anyone realizing they existed. For those lucky (and sometimes talented :P) few, it is both a blessing and a curse. Of course, there are a few smart ones who cash in on their fame by setting up restaurants and shops while they are famous to ensure a steady stream of income even after they retire from sports. It’s either this, or become a coach.

But one must realize that there are only a few rare positions open for coaching since one coach can teach several people at the same time. Thus, by the time these sportsmen reach the age of late thirties, they would have not much income since they would start to lose to the youngsters and no sponsors or advertising companies would look for them. But even so, they should have been millionaires and billionaires by the age of thirty… you’d say. This would be true if they save up just like you. However, when one becomes famous and rich, their living standards would inevitably increase proportionally as well. Of course, I did not do an in-depth research in this, since I just want to blabber about something… but there are lots of supposedly rich and famous sportsmen who ended up being deep in debt. It’s the way of life.

When you are rich, you would be connected with those of the rich community. And in the rich community, they spend money like water. Gambling, alcohol, luxuries are just a few that can turn a billionaire into a pauper. And as mentioned previously, a sportsman faces the risk of having a permanent disability if they pushed themselves too hard, but if they don’t push themselves, then they would just end up being a nobody. Also, it is rare for a sportsman to enjoy being famous (and thereby rich) for the entire of his career. There would be ups and downs and most would be considered lucky if they actually basked in glory for just a few short years. The sacrifice is big but the benefits are not guaranteed.

So, in conclusion, sports are bad for both the sportsmen and the supporters. Why do we still continue with this kind of lunacy? And my friends wondered why I hate sports…

Trip to Sabah (Day 7)

Well, we are finally at the last day of my trip to Sabah. Looking back, I realized that it actually took me one whole month to finish talking about the trip!!! OMG!!! And the thing is, I did not really find my trip to Sabah THAT interesting at all. I shudder when I actually go to some place that I like… might take me half a year for me to finish describing it :P. Of course, after finishing this long series of my post, I might have to rack my brains to find something to talk about. I am not a very exciting guy and thus, there’s almost nothing that I can talk about my life. Well, that is a problem in the future…

It was the last day in Sabah. Sore and energy drained from the stupid mountain-climbing the day before, I really wanted to stay in bed for the rest of the day. However, being a responsible person and not to miss our afternoon flight, I forced my eyes open when my hand phone rang. Apparently, I was the first one to wake up. After cleaning up, I went to the lobby (it’s actually just a small living room) to use the computer for online. It’s free, but there is only one… so if there is someone else waiting to use the computer, one is expected to use it for only 15 minutes. There are already hundreds of mails waiting for me when I sign-in to my e-mail account. Just as I finished sorting out the junk mails, the girls came downstairs with their luggage and the guys were ready to go too.

For breakfast today, the lodge owner took us to one of his friend’s restaurant called Apiwon… don’t know what it meant. The restaurant is famed for beef noodles. Unfortunately, I was unable to taste it since I don’t eat beef. Instead, I ordered a bowl of seafood noodles. Well, the taste is really quite normal lah, but I must say that the ingredients are really generous. The prawns are quite huge to be used in something like normal noodle soup. There are also fish balls, fried fish slices and fish cakes too. We also ordered fried fish cake which when taken with the special sauce given is quite good too. Normally, the fish cakes that I eat elsewhere are either too salty or are so tasteless that I doubt there is actually fish in there. The fish cakes in Apiwon are not too salty and you can actually taste the fish when you eat it! After the lodge owner paid the bill (yay!), we asked him to take us to the market to do our final shopping craze (well, actually, it’s the girls’ shopping craze).

Apiwon Restaurant...

Nice fried fish cakes with sauce...

The gorgeous beef kuay teow...

Porridge ordered by the lodge owner...

My generous bowl of seafood kuay teow...

It was around 9am and it was the first time I was in a van in the city center at that time. Previously, we were already on our way out of the city center to other places before 9am. The streets are jammed with cars! It can actually rival the streets of KL, except that the roads in the city center do not have so many lanes as that of KL. Even with the small lanes, the cars, vans and lorries still park haphazardly at the roadside without regards for any other people… I guess this shows that Sabahans really are Malaysians :P. Finally, after crawling through the cars, the lodge owner left us beside the market and asked us to call him when we are done as he drove back to his lodge.

First stop, we went to the fruits section of the market. There, our group bought avocadoes! The girls have been yapping non-stop about the benefits of avocado and how different Sabah’s avocado is from the ones in West Malaysia… heck, I didn’t even know that there are avocadoes for sale in WM! I supposed the avocadoes here are considered cheap kua (which I suspect is the main reason for the shopping hysteria). There are rows and rows of avocadoes there and they are divided into green ones and purplish ones as well. The green ones are those that are still raw while the purplish ones are ready to be eaten. It’s priced at RM3 per kg… which means it’s about 3 to 4 avocadoes. They took a really long time shifting through the gazillions of avocadoes available there. I bought only 3 avocadoes myself and it cost me RM2 only! The strange thing is, some of the avocadoes, when you shake them, you can actually hear the seed rattling inside. I enquired the shop owner if that is a good sign, and he says it is… so I ask him if those without t seed-rattling sound are bad, he said no too! He said each and every fruit there is in good condition! He doesn’t even know how to lie properly!

Avocadoes... common sight in the market

Next, we passed by a shop that sells tit-bits. Well, there’s no better gift than food. If you buy food, you can share one packet with several people but if you buy gifts, you can only give one to each person. So, it’s more economical to buy food. I bought two packets of brown sugar filled cookies called “kuih cincin”. It was quite nice. Of course, it’s nice only if you do not pay attention to the amount of sugar you are consuming. All those low sugar diets are just crap. Also, I bought a packet of prawn crackers and another packet of white round shaped thing which turned out to be coconut flavoured cookies. I’ve tried all of them and all of them are quite nice… but then again, I have a sweet tooth… so, if something sweet tastes bad, it would have to be horrendous for a normal person.

Assortment of cookies...

"Kuih cincin"...

After we shopped for the delicacies, the girls wanted to buy dried seafood!!! They got some sea cucumbers, abalones, dried mini prawns and other unknown stuff. Luckily, they stopped before starting to buy bird’s nest and shark fins. But then again, I never heard Sabah being famous for bird’s nest, have you? While I was at the dried seafood market, I snapped pictures non-stop to compensate for its lack of usage in the mountains.

Dried seafood...

Scallops... thanks the witch for telling me that :P

Used by my mum in porridges!!!

Sharkfins... don't know if it's real though...

Rainbow sifting through a basket of sea cucumbers to make a nice meal for her bf... so envy!

Big, small, long, short sea cucumbers...

Abalones... doesn't look like the ones I ate decades ago...

Close-up on abalones... if you ask me, they really don't seem like those shown on tv

Dried mini prawns (don't know the exact term :P)

Dried cuttlefish...

Don't remember what this is but it look like salted fish...

Sea horse for sale... poor horsey

Finally satisfied, we called the lodge owner and we crammed ourselves inside the van as it start on its way to the airport. I think I did not mention this in my earlier posts, but you would be given a piece of paper when you enter Sabah. Thus, when you leave Sabah, you must return that piece of paper… think of it as a one-page passport… lose it and you’ll be visiting the immigration department and police station in no time.

In the airport, I even shopped a few souvenirs for some people that need to be bribed back in West Malaysia… and the plane was delayed!!! Well, it’s not actually delayed… it took off around 15 minutes later than the scheduled time. I’m supposed to take another flight in LCCT… and initially, I had around 45 minutes before the counter close after the plane from Sabah touch down. By the time we arrived at LCCT, there was only 30 minutes left for me to catch the next plane… and the luggage took forever to come out! Not to mention there are thousands of people waiting right next to the conveyor belt. Finally, when I got all my bags, there’s only about 10 minutes left!

I ran all the way to the check-in counter like a madman. Luckily Richard helped me carried one of my bags or I’ll have to slug it all the way to the counter. When I reached the counter, the destination sign had already been changed to Phnom Penh or something like that!!! I was really panicking. Luckily, there are still several people who are going to the same place as me in the line.

View of Sabah from the top... well, part of it anyway

Leaving Sabah...

My lunch... very expensive lunch :(

Not very nice roti canai... and not very nice sauce too...

Flying through a thunderstorm!!!

As if all the running is not enough, when it was my turn to check-in my luggage, the Air Asia person told me that my luggage is more than the allowed 15kg per person! Huh? When I took the plane from Sabah, the Air Asia weighed my luggage and it says it’s just 14kg! Did I take the wrong luggage? Or am I one of those victims who are used to bring “extra” stuff? The latter is not possible since my bags passed through the scanning. I suspect that the weighing scale in LCCT for Air Asia is inaccurate. Of course I did not argue. Then, the AA person told me that I have to pay extra for the extra weight and the extra luggage. Extra luggage? Apparently, each person is entitled for only one piece of luggage that weighs no more than 15kg for tickets that are bought March/April 2008 onwards! Previously, you can have any number of luggages as long as the total weight does not exceed 15kg. Thus, I have to pay extra!

This is really putting a thorn into my otherwise beautiful day! Well, I paid them without complaint and was just glad that I managed to catch the plane. Also, did you know that there are no tax-free alcohols for sale in LCCT? At least there’s none in the domestic departure and arrival hall. Maybe there’s one in International halls?

The leftover chocolates I bought from Laban Rata... please note the price...

Anyway, in conclusion, it was an okay trip… if I ignore the fact I had to take 6 days unpaid leaves (which costs me an extra RM1000++) and also failed to complete the main objective of the trip. Even though I complained a lot in my posts, those are just the needy me...I did have some nice moments in this trip. And I do relish in the pleasant company of my friends. I also tried some interesting and good food took part in some exciting activities (banana boat ride, white water rafting) which I would never do alone. I would have happily declared that this trip is a very good one if I managed to reached the top of Mt. Kinabalu. I do hope that their next choice of destination is less “demanding”. Some pampering resort near a beautiful seaside would do just fine…

The Sabah group...

Trip to Sabah (Day 6)

Winter Queen passed by our dorm. I was sure that the room temperature reached the freezing point when I woke up at 2am. It rained heavily last night too, but thankfully, the rain stopped a few hours ago. If it had kept on raining, we would not be allowed to climb the second phase of the mountain.

I did not even bother to brush my teeth. I refused to step outside and let my skin touch any water at all. One drop of water and I’ll drop down dead due to the shock of freezing water. Others began to stir from their deep sleep as I pack my backpack. I made sure that my bag was light… I only brought chocolates, water and my trusty camera which had been lying unused the whole time.

It was so cold that I couldn’t have slept even though I obviously lacked of sleep. Fully geared with my jacket, gloves, beanie and headlight, I went outside to meet up with the guide who was already waiting outside. It was really dark and thus a working headlight is a must. It is better than torchlight since one might need both hands to climb the mountain. When we have finally assembled, the guide looked at us and said, “So, all of you are going, huh?” It was not a question, merely a statement of surprise. I swear that when his eyes swept past me, it lingered a little bit longer than others. I knew that the statement was meant solely for me. I didn’t blame him at all… I knew that my performance was on par with those fat and rich men… only that I am not rich… I would have preferred to be rich than to be able to climb the mountain.

Anyway, it wasn’t a good start. The guide gave some briefing about safety and that we should not push ourselves to hard (meant for me only, of course) and that we should hold fast to the rope when available. We started off at 2.30am… already there were several groups in front of us. At the beginning, we had to climb flights of insanely high stairs. It’s as if they merged three to four steps into one big step. If could feel my breath and energy seeping away less than halfway up the stairs.

After the stairs, it’s the rocks. Since it rained yesterday, it was really wet, slippery and muddy. But in my condition that time, I did not care much. I was sort of in a half-awake state of mind... mindlessly stomping my way uphill. I touched a rock to balance myself and I was shocked to find that I was able to feel the coldness through my pair of gloves! There were already scores of people who have passed by me but with pure determination, I reached the third obstacle.

This time I had to climb a cliff with the ropes which are nailed to the ground as a guide. Well, if I have problem with just climbing stairs, I most definitely have problems with pulling myself up the mountain! My progress was excruciatingly slow. The only good thing that came out of it was I did not feel cold anymore.

I was almost halfway up the cliff when I stopped for a breather and the guide suddenly appeared behind me and said, “Do not block the road.” I bit back a retort and rushed up the rope until I reached a rather flat and wide area. I let go of the rope and sat down on a piece of flat rock.

Again, thoughts of giving up assaulted me. I watched numbly as another score of people passed by. After getting my breath, I forced myself to climb again. It went on for several times… climb, stop, rest, climb, stop, rest… until I finally reached a hut. This is the checkpoint and I think only beyond the hut that one can get the certificate that you’ll get whether you complete the climb or not (different types of course).

After registration (by showing the name tag), I continued my climb. The rest of the way was all rocky cliff with a rope for climbers to hold on to. Actually, it was really dangerous. The ropes were sometimes nailed far apart. At one point, I slipped and fell. Even though I firmly held on to the rope, I swung for quite some ways before coming to a stop. Flashes of my life appeared before me. So, this is what they see when one stares into the face of death. The more embarrassing and dangerous thing was when I slipped and fell, I pulled others above me to the side as well. So, even if you did not slip, you can still be pulled to the side by others due to the length of the rope… and if at that moment you did not grip the rope firmly, a deep gorge await below.

After several tries, I found that it was actually better to not pull yourself up. The ground was actually not very steep at most places. Only certain places you absolutely need to hold on to the rope. For the rest, it is easier to just walk. Soon, I dropped into a routine, which I think was working wonderfully. I walked a few steps, stopped, took several deep breaths, walked several steps again and repeat. I did not sit down as it would take a great effort to get back up. Once I did sit down at the side of the cliff. I looked up to watch for the beautiful stars that the lodge owner talked about, but it was quite cloudy and I did not see any stars. Then, I looked back down and a wave of nausea swept over me. Since then, I dared not stop and look down again.

Even with my extremely slow pace, I was not the last one. There were still several couples who were struggling up the mountain behind me… far behind me. With my method of climbing the mountain, I was sure that I could have reached the top, although most probably not in time for the sunrise, which was supposed to happen at 5am to 6am.

Mount Kinabalu was meant to break the spirits of the weak. At one point, I was rejoicing because I finally reached the peak… only to find another peak in front of me. When I reached the second peak, a third peak appeared. The sky was already tinged with orange when at last, I reached the sign post that said 8.0km. Low’s Peak loomed in front of me. I was already on a big flat top of the mountain. All that remained is another 500m of climb. The Low’s Peak is just a piece of rock jutting out at the peak of the mountain.

I was going to climb it when I saw my friends coming down from the peak. Sigh… they have finished going up and down and I was just going up. Anyway, I was still planning to climb Low’s Peak, when the guide who had went up to Low’s Peak came down and said that I can’t climb up there anymore. He mumbled something about being too late and we would miss our check-out time if I continue to climb!

A group of tired climbers...

The sunrise...

View from top of mountain...

500m more and I'll be at the top :(

All those things about slow and steady were just a lie. I was unable to complete my climb not because I don’t have the determination but because I apparently was too slow. I was really moody at that time. I did not even take any pictures! Reluctantly, I started to go back to Laban Rata.

The paths were clearer now that the sun was up and I really had no idea how I managed to climb up those almost vertical cliffs. Descending from the peak was even more dangerous than ascending. Many styles were used too. At certain points, I descend while sitting on the ground, hand gripped tightly around the rope and slowly go down; facing the direction I was going. At other parts, I had to descend while facing the opposite direction I was going… sort of like rappelling down the wall except that there’s no jumping of course.

The whole procedure was very slow too… and I don’t care if I’m the slowest one. One wrong step and you’ll find your head squashed like a water-melon far below. There was one occasion when one of the climbers slipped down the mountain, sliding for more than 10 meters. He was practically rolling head over heels down the mountain. Luckily, a guide who was in front saw it and he jumped out, grabbed the climber’s backpack while his other hand held on to the rope. I shuddered at the thought of what would have happened if the guide wasn’t there.

It was around 8am when we reached our dorm. Quickly, we packed everything and went down to Laban Rata. The problem is that I had to take my entire luggage down to Laban Rata where our guide was waiting. Previously, our porters helped us to take the luggage. I had to dragged my bag all the way down to Laban Rata since it was very heavy… really don’t know how the porter took my bag all the way uphill.

We had another 1 hour left when we absolutely have to check-out or we’ll have to pay extra rent. And I think that even if you pay the extra rent, it does not mean you can stay another night there (though no one of right mind would do that), since the place might be fully booked for the day. We immediately settled down and gobbled our breakfast. It was a breakfast buffet with the normal stuff like bread, ommelettes, sausages, eggs, fried mee, coffee, tea, cereals, etc. The fried rice was horrendous. It was partially cooked! However, the Sabah Tea was very nice. Add milk and some sugar to it and it surpassed any western tea I have ever tasted… but then again, it might be due to my perfect combination of milk, tea and sugar that resulted in this amazing tea :P.

We immediately began our descent when we finished our breakfast. The air was cool, but not chilly… perfect for our descent. Unfortunately, after 1km or so, my kneecaps started to sting… and after that, it was like needles stabbing at my knees whenever I took a step down the rock stairs. It felt alright when walking on level ground. Thus, I had to go down the stairs sideways… with the aid of my walking stick. Needless to say, I was the last… again.

Luckily we did not opt for the Mesilau trail when going downhill. I would really have sit on the ground and cried if I needed to walk for another extra 2km. The guide was also extremely impatient. He dogged my steps and walked extremely close behind me. In the final 1km, I dared not stop to have a drink even though I was quite thirsty. At that time, my knees was painful even when I walked on relatively level ground!

I think I was more than 30 minutes later than the second last person of my group when I finally reached the ending point of Timpohon trail (or is it called starting point?). I swore that I would never participate in such a stupid attempt to prove my capability. To add insult to my already deep injury… there it was… a big notice board that showed the record holders of those who have completed the trail up to Mount Kinabalu in the shortest time. The champions finished it in a bloody 2 hours 39 minutes! Back and forth! Using Mesilau Trail! And I can’t even do that if I were to use Timpohon Trail for just going one way!

My final struggling steps (courtesy of Ivan)

Non-human records...

Timpohon...

Tired, sore, breathless and low in morale pretty much summed up my condition at that time. I think it was around 2pm when I reached the end of the trail. Pretty soon, we were on our way to our lunch buffet (buffet, again??!!!). I was extremely hungry at that time but my appetite went downhill when I saw flies surrounding the food! Sure, the food are covered, but the flies are a turnoff. Fortunately, the flies, for some reason like the cakes only… thus, the food for the main course did not have flies snooping around.

The drinks are located in another counter, and there is a machine which gives out coffee, cappuccino, mocha, milo and stuff. However, all the drinks are hot. Thus, I asked for ice and they retorted back why anyone would need ice when it’s cold. Well, the place that we were having lunch is at mid-mountain, thus it’s cool, but definitely not cold. Besides, I saw a large fridge behind the counter that contains various cold drinks! Of course I did not press the issue, being tired and all. The food, in summary were not good at all… and in my state of hunger, if a food does not taste good, it meant that it is very bad in normal times. Still, I did have three helpings. Of course, it was a total package thingy, so I don't think we have much of a choice in choosing where to eat.

After lunch, we were on our way back to KK city center again. The journey was a blur since I was sleeping the whole way. When we reached the City Park Lodge again, we were reassigned new rooms… no more four beds for three persons anymore :(. There, we all slept again, and later, in the evening, we went out to have our dinner.

Too lazy to walk far, we decided to try another restaurant recommended on the internet which is located at Gaya Street… just behind the lodge. The restaurant is called New Man Tai, and it is famous for its Beaufort (I think it's read as Boofort) style noodles. Learning from past experiences, we ordered just one dish of noodles for one person while we ordered several other dishes that go with rice. The Beaufort style noodles came and it was disappointing (no surprise there). It was almost similar to wanton noodles… only less tasty. We also ordered soup… if I’m not mistaken, it was seaweed soup. It was quite nice. I think they did not use much “ajinomoto” since it has a very clear and refreshing taste… did not feel thirsty at all. We also ordered Claypot Bean Curd, Claypot Chicken (which turned out to be black beans chicken) and a plate of vegetables. The plate of vegetables is the same as the ones used in Beaufort Style Noodles. Initially, we thought they mistakenly gave us the same dish twice! The food there was so-so only. The dishes that was marginally “good” was the chicken and the soup. Others are just a total flunk. I guess East Malaysia have different taste than West Malaysia, huh?

New Man Tai...

Vegetables (don't know what kind :P)

Claypot Chicken

Seaweed soup...

Claypot Bean Curd...

Beaufort-style noodles...

As we returned back to our lodge, I took some opportunity to snap some photos of the gaming outlet I noticed earlier. Did you know that there is no Pan Malaysian Polls and Magnum in East Malaysia? Instead, they are replaced by STC 4D and 88. Don’t know if they belong to PMP and Magnum or not. Toto, however, is still the same in EM and WM. Also, I could not find any the Star newspapers around the city center! Maybe it’s just not as famous as in WM! Wow, things really are different when you are divided by the South China Sea!

STC 4D... is the horsey familiar?

88...

Stay tuned for the final episode of the "Trip to Sabah" saga!!!