Éclectique

So I did the Putrajaya International Triathlon last weekend.  It was a rather last minute event so not many people signed up.  Personally, I was skeptical about how well I would do as I hadn't been able to properly train for the past month or so, juggling school work, committee work and finals. Crossing the line in an unofficial time of 2:07:11, I was pretty happy.  Seeing as I'd never done such distances back to back compounded by the lack of training, I actually performed better than I did at Desaru.  Unfortunately, the rest of the field was rather experienced and I came in around the bottom quarter. :( My only issue with the course was the cycle route.  Why go on the highway?  Putrajaya has a very complete motorcycle lane system.  Why didn't the organizers use that?  They really should have.  On top of that, there were no signs and not enough marshals so at times, we were winging it, hoping they would place marshals at crucial exit poi...

So, I did my first duathlon last weekend. It was the Powerman Duathlon Asian Championships & some big names came down hoping to secure points to qualify for the Duathlon World Championships in Switzerland. The duathlon I participated in was held in Putrajaya. Such a beautiful place to race. I hope they do it again next year. A duathlon is run-bike-run & sounds easier than triathlon -- which is swim-bike-run.  It's simpler, yes but it is in no way easier.  Most likely due to the slightly different distances.  That being said, I like the duathlon distances better.  Maybe I should start doing the long distance triathlons after this. Anywho... Compared to the Desaru triathlon, I was able to put a 5 minute gap between my brother & myself.  Best part of it; I started creating that gap in the first run & he never closed it.  In Desaru, Akid had a 1 minute advantage out of the water but I was able to close it & we arrived at T2 (bike-to...

So today, Aneez, Fang, Vic, Naufal & I went on a daytrip we had planned for quite a while now.  Things only came together so it was a bit rushy.  Pulled off the logistics, though! :D The original plan was to rent a van & go to Bidor, Perak.  After a few discussions, plans changed and we opted to visit the Orang Asli village in Trolak, instead.  The whole objective of the trip was to deliver the NoKero lights we had raised funds for during our events in school. Left rather early, and made it to the Sungkai exit on time.  Unfortunately, we got a little lost thanks to a mislabel on Google Maps.  Luckily, it wasn't difficult to get back on track.  Once we were deep-er into the plantation, we turned off the a/c & rolled down the CR-V's windows.  It was fun as we weren't going that fast.  The final stretch going up was fun to drive.  Hehe!  The village itself was very quaint, and despite being rather close to the Felda Resid...

So... Blogger has changed their layout for their dashboard. The blogs themselves look pretty intact so those of you who just read blogs won't notice.  I feel so... sterilized.  Really.  It looks like some kind of sterilized menu.  Barely any color -- though I do like the orange accents.  But, it is neater.  So that's a plus.  Here's a picture attached. So... It has been literally months since I last updated.  Good lord.  Anyway, in brief I climbed up Kinabalu in the middle of my semester, failed Mechanics & Heat -- climbing Kinabalu had nothing to do with it, honest --, finished my semester break & started my 4th semester.  Oh, & I'm going to be doing a triathlon in July. Mount Kinabalu was an amazing adventure.  Outdoorsman/woman or not, you MUST try it.  The second morning as you make the ascent to the summit at 0200 hours is one of the most magical parts.  It's so punishing because you're exhausted bu...

I saw this status on Facebook once; "You're 10 & you have a laptop, iPod & Blackberry. Dude, when I was 10 all I had was a Tamaguchi". When those things came out I practically begged for a Tamaguchi. Didn't get one. Instead, I had already been given something better. I just didn't know it at the time. When I was 6 or 7, my parents enrolled me into swimming class. The coaches said I was like a fish in water. Kept going & I almost made it to the State team. By this time I was still young, 12 at most, and didn't want to continue. Kept swimming for fun, though. In between 6/7 and 12, I had gotten a bicycle and I loved to cycle around on it. It was basic & had to use training wheels at first. One day, I realized that I didn't need the training wheels and convinced my dad that I didn't need them. That feeling when I first rode without training wheels, I felt like I was going really fast! Then at around 14, I picked up golf. Wasn...

Finally the weekend is over. Time for me to recover and recuperate. On Friday, I had my Bronze Medal examinations. I passed so now I'm a qualified life guard! Hehe! It was actually a lot of fun! There were only 2 timed events. The first was to swim 50m (any stroke), rescue the victim and tow him back 50m with the assistance of an aid (a short rope). The time to beat was 00:03:00 minutes. I clocked in 00:02:48. Hehe! The other timed event was the rope toss. You have to gather the rope, roll it so that you can toss it well to the victim who is about 10-20m out in 'open' water. Time to beat; 00:01:00. My time: 00:0043. Muahahaha! I also did very good for the other events. My 'victim' -- a fellow exam taker -- said that my chin tow was very comfortable. Muahahaha! Luckily for me, the guy was a floater, despite being on the heavier side. Me? I sink. Heh heh. Sorry. He had a bit of trouble with me. Hehe! Saturday was my SAT. Huh. Go figure, the ...

Some of you may have read on Facebook that I participated in a race this past Sunday on February 20th, 2011. It was an all-day event consisting of one mountain bike event -- called the Jamboree --, and 3 road bike events -- called Criterium races. The Jamboree was the first event of the day and was scheduled to start and 10. Riders were to be at the starting grid by 9:45 a.m. Alright, before you go on, I'm going to rant about the flaws of the event before the good part. So if you want to skip the bad, go to paragraph 7 (not counting this paragraph & the one above). By 9:30, there were still around 30 people who hadn't received their race number and transponders. No, it's not that so many people showed up, overwhelming the organizers. It was the sheer inefficiency of the organizer's themselves. In short, the registration was an absolute mess. The counters weren't properly labelled, the chain of command was all over the place, there was hardly anyone in cha...

I would have done this one my 250th post but I didn't notice that it was the 250th. Heh heh. My bad. Anyway, I recently bought a book. Finally, a book. Hehe. I'm an avid reader & as I was browsing through MPH Subang Parade last weekend, I realized it's been a while since I read a book that I wanted to. The latter part of last year many of us had our noses buried in reference books, text books, notes we took down during class, etc, gearing up for SPM. Now it was time I got something I wanted to read. I've always been intrigued by mystery novels; the Hardy Boys, Famous Five, etc. So I got one. Want to guess what book I got? I'll give you a hint. Look familiar? I'm sure it pretty is. Yep, I got myself a copy of 'The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Somehow, despite being a fan of mystery books, I had never read any of Sherlock Holmes' Adventures. Sure, I've heard of some of his stories but never actually re...

Over the months and years, I have made lists and lists of all kind of things. I like to do lists, for some reason. Places to visit, things to do, things I want, etc. Well, 3 things I can cross of the list of "Things I Want" is a road bike, a DSLR and a pair of Converse/Puma/whateverelselookslikethat. Last year, I got a road bike Well, 2 actually -- each at half price. So for the price of one full bike, I got 2. A miracle, really that one. Finding even one road bike with 50% discount is a rarity. Let alone, 2. In the same store. If that fact alone wasn't enough, let's go over some details, shall we? They were technically still the latest -- the 2011 versions were just about to roll out and they were 2010 models. They were brand new -- as in not second hand. And the cherry on the icing -- or rather, the final nail in the coffin -- is that they were both top end models. Even as we were making the payment, people were still ogling it. Hehe. I got them duri...

That's the name of the performance that I attended at the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) yesterday. I know it's spelled Inpendencia and apparently, that's not a typo. It was a lot of fun. The entire performance was awesome. The whole reason behind it was because many South American countries had just celebrated their 200th year of independence. According to the maestro for the evening, those countries are Mexico, Argentina and Columbia. I think that's all. Although there were some music from Cuba and he apologized for that. I didn't mind. They were all very good. It was the first "happy hour" session meaning it wasn't too formal though you still had to dress smartly. Akid and I were very excited for several reasons. Firstly, it would be our first time attending any of the MPO's performances, it would also be the first time we would get to go to take the public transport by ourselves and as it turned out, the first time just the t...

I have been so busy!! I haven't had time to post anything for the new year. This has happened to me, what 2 years in a row? Huh. Go figure. Well, a lot has come and passed in 2010. Debates, public speaking, having fun with friends -- QM, Lina, Alliya, Sharanya, Divya, and Letticia who make up the debate team! --, lots of laughter, lots of heartache -- Add Math, I'm looking at you --, did my first downhill mountain biking run, did my SPM/O-Levels, just to name a few. Looking back, many of my friends were kinda sad on the last day(s) of SPM but somehow I wasn't too bothered. Yeah, I knew I was going to miss all of them but I didn't feel sad. Call me a heartless creep but yeah, kinda. Huh. Anyway, I certainly hope that everyone keeps in touch! Another year, another new year's resolution. Before that, however, I want to look back at this year's resolution and see what I've accomplished As I've said in the post Custom Order New Year's Resolutio...

Just got back. We woke up early and after getting everything ready, headed to Putrajaya Challenge Park. However, mom didn't come with us. She had other plans. We missed the exit and had to sort of double back a bit after the toll. We arrived at PCP around 11 and unloaded the bikes, geared up, etc. When we got arrived, there were A LOT of people! We were both happy and cautious. It was nice to see the trails being used rather than falling into disarray but we were worried about the number of riders that would be on the trails. However, we realized pretty much everyone was leaving, at his/her own pace. Yes, there were a number of female riders too which was nice to see. Mountain biking is far too nice a sport not to be enjoyed by everyone. Anyway, we headed up to the trail and started. 1st leg; Starts with a rapid but short descent leading straight into a set up ascending switchbacks. Get ready to drop gears quickly and pedal to the top. Stop, and you won't be able t...

So much has happened. Sad, happy and everything in between. A fast-forwarded version would be like this. Editor's note; most events listed below have happened whereas some have yet to happen. I watched Toy Story 3. And I cried. Well, not sobbing crying but yeah, I shed tears. I really grew up with that movie. During the 1st movie, Andy was moving to a new house. Around the same time, I was moving back to Malaysia from the US. Sad times. In the third movie, Andy is 17 & about to go to college. So am I. I got an invitation from a friend to participate in the Urban Downhill event of the King of Fraser's Hill mountain bike carnival/bash/event/wtv. But I can't go. Huhu. I learned how to take out my back tire, take it apart (tube & tire only) and of course put it back. Another milestone in learning about bikes. My grades are slowly climbing. Yaay! Except for Add Math and Chemistry. Huhu. I'm paying more attention in class than ever before. Which is a g...

I finally managed to go to the Putrajaya Challenge Park today! WOOHOO! It is a nice place but it takes a teensy bit to get there. Just follow the signboards till you get there. The best place to start is in front of the Putrajaya International Convention Center with all the flags waving. From there, turn left, follow the directions and you'll get there. By the way, you'll pass by a cemetery which is a tad bit creepy, especially considering that you're going to do some extreme sports. I had a blast. Crashed once and got a slight cut on my knee. I had to bail out on a few parts coz I didn't have enough momentum. Man. Those tracks are tricky. Especially the jumps. My feet keep lifting off the pedals. Phew. Haha. But it was wicked! the cut on my knee And the cut looks worse than it is. It's just one small cut but it bled out a bit, thus the gruesome effect. Sorry to any of my readers who find this image graphical and hard to digest. Alright, now time for a quick wal...

To my readers, I apologise if any of you were under the impression there really was an event. It's just a title -- which happens to have something to do with my post today. I'm sorry but there was no long-distance, endurance cycling competition in BJ during the duration of the school holidays. Nothing official, at least. My apologies. Anyway, back to the reason I'm posting this; I woke up 'early' today -- 9:30 a.m. Haha. So much for early, eh? Anyway, after a shower and breakfast, I went cycling. I went all over BJ alone on my Polygon Collossus AX1.0. Hehehehe. Just me, my bike, a bottle of water & my music. It was a fun -- and tiring -- ride. The Route: View Larger Map Legends: A/E - Home (I'm not going to put my address, duh) B - School (SMK Bkt. Jelutong) C - Lagenda (Jalan Teratak) D - Jalan Adang Checkpoints: This one I think is a bit obvious but just in case I'll clarify it. The checkpoints are; A-B, B-C, C-D and D-E. Time(s): Leg 1 (A-...

It is 26th December 09 here in Malaysia, the day after Christmas, also known as Boxing Day. Typically, this is the day when people go to the stores to get the proper size for clothes they received as Christmas gifts -- if it didn't fit. My family however, went to Signature GSC at the Gardens to watch James Cameron's Avatar! Better still, we watched it in 3D! Before entering the theater, we were given those square 3D glasses. It was cool. Even the advertisements about the upcoming movies were in 3D. It was awesome! With the 3D glasses, everything seemed to come at you. When they were walking through the jungle, I felt like touching the leaves of the ferns as they 'passed by'. Some scenes make you recoil because it feels like the gun is really pointed at you and that the people are actually shooting at you. It was definitely a rush. The movie was very good. Very deep. There is no, absolutely no, clear-cut good guy/bad guy. Everyone is caught up in trying to up...

This post marks my 150th post! Woohoo! 150 posts published on everything in my life. I think the latest name, Eclectique, fits. I started this post to express my feelings at the time -- specifically about a Brazilian martial art called capoeira, hence the URL. But from there, it has expanded to cover my latest interests, important events and my ideas, covering much much more than simply capoeira. Woohoo! 150 posts! Au revoir

Today, June 27th 2009, BJ's very own rugby team went up against MBSA, Taylor's College and MSU, respectively. And today, a historic milestone in the Warrior's brief history, we won a game! We won our game against MSU! C'mon all of those in BJ. Support your rugby team! We may be under-experienced but we managed to beat a college! That's something to be proud of. The scores are as follows; 2-0, 1-0, 1-0. Woohoo! Warriors on three. 1, 2, 3, WARRIORS!

I'm in the waiting lounge at Sultan Abdul Halim Airport, Kedah. I'm not sure whether it's in Kubang Pasu or Jitra. I had lunch at a restaurant not too far from my Mak Jang's house. I originally had Kuew Teow Sup but couldn't take it. They put in dried cili api & chili flakes. A lot. The soup was swimming in it. My mouth was burning. Almost literally. It was so spicy! And the fact that I can't really take spicy food just made it worse. Haha. I set off the metal detector and the security guy patted me down but then just let me go. Huh. Oh well. It's not like I'm carrying a Beretta 92F semi-auto handgun with mirrored barrel and chiseled down grip or anything (nervous tone). Haha. Seriously though, I'm not. I even left my pocket knife at home. KLIA before we left yesterday was quite empty. Normally when I go there, its quite packed. People are starting to arrive at the waiting lounge. Can't wait to get on the plane. I love tak...

In the morning, we headed out and parked in SACC, crossed over to PKNS to pick up my dad's passport & then we walked to Plaza Alam Sentral because my bro needed his Tunas KRS uniform. Hope we got that one right... Hehe. Anyway, on the way back, we decided to browse at this two stalls that were beside one another. One sold the pocket knives, compasses, flashlights, etc. The other sold custom-made jewellery. You pick and arrange how you want it, pick the strap and then decide whether you want it as a necklace, phone key chain, bracelet, etc. My bro and my mom were busy deciding and arranging their names and what they they wanted. While waiting for the guy to do both, my dad & I resumed browsing the other stall. I've always enjoyed looking at pocket knives. I don't know why. Guess its one of those things you want but don't realize you want. Strange, huh? When my bro's and my mom's respective decorations were done, they came over and just watched us browse. ...