Éclectique

The smell of the trees, of nature, The shaded cover of the overhead canopy, That feel of the first crunch, As you transition from pavement to dirt The rush of wind past your ears, The blur of trees in peripheral vision, Your mind & body focusing on the narrow singletrack ahead, Left! Right! Lean back! Your instincts shout as you tackle the terrain, Your fingers playing with the brakes to keep your speed in check, That adrenaline rush as you hang time or smoothly tackle a rock garden, The feel of your suspension compressing & elation soaring, The pounding in your chest, your ears, The burning in your lungs, your legs, As you push through one more pedal stroke on the arduous climb, Clearing the technical switchbacks while holding the tempo, "Left. Right. Left. Right," Leaning down onto your bars to provide more power from your core to your legs, Or even standing up as you almost lose traction, That screaming success when you'v...

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...

My blog is really really slowing down isn't it? :/ Not good. The worst part is that it's not just my blog. I've virtually stopped writing. Hmm. I suppose now that I'm in college, I should have more things to blog about. Well, I do, but I haven't been dilligent. Did I blog about getting into the ADTP Committee? What about the 4th of July Pool Party we organized? I can't remember. The blogger app I'm using doesn't allow me to check a number of things, including past posts & tags. Well, the IRB Rugby World Cup is coming soon. 8D. Quite excited. Yaay! I'll be rooting for a number of teams; namely the All Blacks (New Zealand), Wallabies (Australia), Eagles (USA), Tonga, Fiji, Japan, & Springboks (South Africa). Phew. Hehe! Speaking of rugby, I'll be joining my college's rugby club this coming semester. I hope I'll make it to the team... Hmm. I'll need new boots. The cost of the parts needed to revive my F50i TUNiT will set m...

Recently, there's been some commotion from the States about the whole pat-down thing being performed by TSA (Transport Security Administration) staff. Many people feel that this move is very violating as the person being searched is groped and touched in very private areas. Man, this is actually quite hard to write about. I'm trying to be as objective as I can and I don't want to sound like some tabloid reporter. Yuck. Back to the story, a family travelling back home from a vacation in New Orleans was selected from the line to go through the screening process. Now, there are 2 steps, you get scanned, then you get physically searched. Though it appears to be fairly random as to why you get searched. Selection from the crowd is also random, I think. I'm not following to closely. Anyway, this family was chosen and after everyone was scanned, their 6-year old daughter was chosen for the physical search. Imagine, you've been telling your daughter that it is wro...

Looking back, mountain biking, particularly XC, is sadism at it's finest. During the race you feel your spirit breaking, you want to cry and give up yet you keep motivating yourself, "I want to finish this, I want to finish this," and you do. You don't win, but you did finish where many others pulled out. You're body is aching, and you feel like collapsing. At the same time, once you cross that finish line, you're like, "I actually did it," and you look at the expressions of those who didn't finish it and you feel a mix of joy and pain. Days after that, after you've recovered and gotten back in the saddle, you think, "I can't wait for the next race." It's borderline stupid but it's addictive. That feeling when you're atop the hill and you know you pedalled and struggled your way up. You didn't take some big 4x4 and wreck the environment to get the view. You broke a sweat, you swore, you struggled, and whe...

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...

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...

I passed my Computerized Test in one go! I'm glad I was able to. But you know what was weird? My score. Before I elaborate, the test is split into 2 'papers' with the first being a vision test and the 2nd the actual Law or Undang test. The 2nd part is split into 3 sections; the first 15 questions -- Part I --, the next 25 -- Part II --, and the final 10 -- Part III. The parts difficulty transition from easy, hard to medium. I scored 15/15 for Part I, 25/25 for Part II but 5/10 for Part III. Heh. Go figure, eh? Well, I was still able to get the passing mark so I'm happy. I got 45/50 which is 90%. Woohoo!! After that, I decided to go straight for the 3-hour Theory course. Unfortunately, the classes were full for the 3-hour Practical course so I'm taking that one next week. A week after that, I'll get my 'L' license or Learning Driver's License -- LDL. Hmm. What to do in that week before I get my LDL? Hehe. Hopefully I can hit PCP by mys...

Lue has left back for Canada. :( This past Saturday, we went to watch Gulliver's Travels. It was a fun movie. Jack Black really likes his rock and roll. Hehehe! Of course, I'm not complaining, the guy can actually sing. Before the movie, Akid was kind of hunting around for a camera. We had bought a Sony Cybershot TX-9 sometime back but about two weeks ago, it got stolen. :(. I won't delve into the details. Quite disheartened by that incident. So he was seriously considering a DSLR which is kind of unfair because I've always wanted one but I never pushed for it because it cost so much. I guess I can be a bit more careful with money than my little brother. We woke up early the next day because we needed to send Lue to the airport. :(. It was fun having her around. Everyone was sad at the airport. Heh. We had so much fun and 3 weeks went by so quickly. Huhu. After she left, we had breakfast at McDonald's then we went hunting for cameras around KLIA bec...

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...

Here it comes, The most important, Most challenging 4 weeks, Of our illustrious high school lives. It may only be 10 days, But the days are placed, Over a span of time, 22 days to be exact. 3 days, Then 4 days, Followed by 1 day, Again and Again. These 22 days are represented, By the most feared 3-letter acronym, Known to Malaysian high schoolers, It is SPM. It is our final set of hurdles, That last stretch, Witching hour, Zero hour. This is the leap, We took our breaths during the trials, Now we jump, But we are yet to begin falling. AQ 24th November 2010 Note: I wrote this on the second day of SPM, I think.

The 1 week semester break has been extended to 2 weeks due to Eid il Fitri. So once school reopens, it's 3 days of school and then on Thursday, TRIALS! Huhu. So for those of us in Form 3 & Form 5, these 2 weeks is not so much a holiday as it is a study-a-thon. I feel our exam-oriented system is stressful on students and actually limiting our opportunities to be all-rounders. Too few are scoring A+'s AND excelling in the co-curricular activities. Our syllabus is heavy and I think getting heavier. History is about to be incorporated into the primary school syllabus. The Standard 1 kids are already learning Science. It is literally back-breaking work. Those little kids in Primary school can't lift all those books without damaging the back posture. And when we consider leaving the heavy textbooks in class. It's not allowed. What the? Anyway, I'm bored and having trouble sleeping. My birthday is in about 2 weeks and my family is asking me what I want for...

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...

Sounds like the title of a bad spoof but it isn't. Essentially, that's what today has been. A tiring day with 2 kenduris to attend, a brief grocery and a cousin tagging along. It was really good seeing Liyana again. I've missed her so much. She looked gorgeous during Sofea's aunt Yasmin's wedding. Hehe I'm afraid I hurt her a bit just now... I'm sorry you felt you were bothering. You weren't. I swear. I'm so sorry. I love you so much. I'm sorry if you felt that way. You weren't at all... There are no emotes or abbreviations that can fit how much I want to apologise to you right now... Je t'aime sayang...

Life seems to be OK now. Actually, I feel sort of happy. Mama & Abah are not too upset over my results, alhamdulillah. I'm essentially done with my BM folio. Just have the 'Plot' section to wrap up. Should be simple. I think of it as a simplified synopsis -- which on its own its a simplified version of the story. 0_o. Haha. And my cousins are coming this Saturday! Woohoo! Hehe. It's been a while since I met them. Since... August or so. Just before PMR, during Eid il Fitr. Yep. It'll be nice to see them again. This year's Eid il Fitr was a lot of fun because my cousins from Canada came back! Hehe. It was cool being able to hang out with them again. Christmas is around the corner. I'm afraid Akid might be getting it to his head he can get away with ordering another game. Abah is not going to be pleased if he does. Then again, maybe he just likes to browse through Amazon.com like I like to browse through all the sites related to mountai...

Just thought I'd publish a post on sounds that I like. These sounds may or may not necessarily be relaxing. These are just sounds that I like. Waves breaking and crashing against the beach. Cliche, I know. But its so rhythmic and relaxing. Running water. No, not tap water. As in a stream or river. This one is not so rhythmic but still relaxing. Car's engine revving. Haha. Yes, I'm somewhat of a diesel-head. But I'm not into the shrill cry of F1 engines. Something deep. Muscle car sort of deep. Almost roaring if you rev it. That sounds like power to me. Keyboard being typed on. I know this sounds strange but I like it. To me, it sounds like inspiration being transferred and molded into a story. Camera shutters. The 'click' that goes off when you snap a picture. I like that. Especially when you've managed to get a really good angle and create a very interesting snapshot. Golf ball. When you take a nice, relaxed stance, swing that 7-iron and...

I used to wonder how people could live alone with only dozens of cats for company. I've discovered the reason why. It's simple, really and almost profound. Cats don't betray you or hurt you. They may bite and scratch but physical injuries heal. The same cannot be said for emotional injuries. Such injuries leave behind deep scars that never totally heal. Scars that are ready to bleed all over again under the right -- or rather, wrong -- circumstance. The best thing about emotions however, is that it can be locked away just as easily as they can be hurt. And with the right attitude, it need only undergo a certain trauma once to be mostly immune to it. Unlike the physical body which needs to go undergo the trauma multiple times before being able to endure it without significant damage. And yet another miracle of emotional pain is that it can be cured as quickly as it can be inflicted. Amazing isn't it? As we all know, humans can experience a vast degree of emotion...