relaxing

There's is nothing more rewarding than having a warm bubble bath after a long work day. Add some bath salt, lots of bubbles, sit back and relax. Followed by some comfort food - chocolate cake (called Opera Slice) and a really delicious Orange Cheese slice while watching Discovery Travel and Living...

This is a pleasure...

If only I have someone to share the moment with...

much ado about jakarta

Well, I am still not used to being called 'bu'...i know it is coutesy(a way to greet a lady) but it makes me feel so errmmm....old??
Anyway, I had a little historical journey through Jakarta today and learnt a lot...will blog about this soon.
I indulged a lot of good food these few days. Breakfast buffet in this hotel is excellent. They even serve sushi. I have 100,000 RP voucher each day for food. So dinner is practically free. I just have to fork out a little amount to enjoy a sumptuos meal. And I had a delicious traditional nasi padang meal for lunch today (full of curry and santan).
I don't want to gain weight before I go back so I FINALLY went to the gym earlier. The gym here is equivalent to any gym centers back home. And the swimming pool is really nice. Gosh, I can get used to this kind of living.
One thing I dislike is the traffic here. You need a LOT of courage to drive on the road. But still it can't beat the traffic in India. Earlier this evening, they were having a march/ campaign near the hotel (at the National Stadium) for this coming Wednesday's election. 'People mountain, people sea' to literally put it. Even little kids joined. The traffic was a chaos. People were holding flags and banners. But this is just a peaceful march. It's an experience as I was stucked in the van in the middle of all these.
I detoured to Senayan City and Plaza Senayan yesterday before heading back to the hotel. These two are one of the most luxurious shopping malls here (and they have a LOT of shopping malls). Senayan City is another version of Pavillion. Posh, luxury, branded goods. One thing I must ackowledge - the people here are actually quite good looking. Pretty girls everywhere and they sure know how to dress up.
More updates and pictures soon. Want to watch TV now. Good night Malaysia.

first timer....

it's my first time ordering a room service...

enjoying my dory fish in the comfort of my room, watching TV and blogging...cool...

i've landed in mid morning, checked in to this 5-star hotel, travelled to Jakarta office immediately and worked my ass off without lunch till now...

so i think i deserve some treats right? *blink blink*

i promise to go gym tomorrow onwards...

Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2009

How can it be?? Why?? How??
My timing seems to be slower and slower when I actually thought I did fairly good during the race. KNS...
Anyway, I always bear in mind that I set to do my best and Run My Own Race. That is why I never gave much thought on my timing after 2 years of running. Yes, two years. Adidas King of The Road this year will mark my 2nd year anniversary.
Someone I met on FB told me, that there is always that invisible wall at first. My timing will always average on the same level. One day, with a bit of determination and practice, I will be able to break through that invisible wall. :P
Today's run is not as satisfying though. I would say it really lacks the atmosphere compared to Singapore. Lacks big time. There is still a lot of room of improvements. From the online registration to the race bib collection to the water stations, the goodie bag, the starting and finishing points, well almost everything. In Singapore, even before starting the race you can actually feel the excitement and throughout the route, there are inspirational supporters. There are cheerleadings and bands to motivate the runners. Sigh, hope next year's event will be better.
Today, suddenly I have this inspiration to do a full marathon. I've done 15, I've done half but yet, I do not have the courage to do a full. I saw a lot of full marathoners finishing today. I guess to be able to run for more than 5 hours is a great achievement. Some came back full of spirit, some in pain due to leg cramps, some with expression that couldn't be described. I salute them because for me, I still find it amazing.
Imagine, 5 hours is the time travel from KL to Penang or Singapore, that will be half day of the normal working hours. Kudos to all marathoners.
Who knows, I might try it once...It's a must achieve task on my list of things to do now...
Well, maybe after KK climb next year...If I am still up to it.

My cup of coffee...

I have an obsession with coffee. Not addiction...no i am not addicted...I can go without coffee for a few days. Why do I say I have an obsession? I love to try out different type of coffee at different places. I can post many photos of cups of coffee that I've ordered. But I'm not going to bored you here...Anyway, this entry is not about coffee...
I have had a few tough weeks. Well, not to say bad but stressful. I am a person who can't work under extreme pressure. I've had some break downs. At times, I feel like giving up. And in these times I will start to rant and throw tantrums and lose focus. And so the other day, my dear just got tired of my rantings. And he sat me down and gave me a long long long long lectured. And deep down, I know what he said are all true.
So how does this relates to havng coffee? It's because I keep having this thought that this is not my cup of coffee (yeah, I prefer coffee than tea so I changed it). That I do not want to do this what I'm doing daily. I wanted to do something meaningful that contributes more to the community. I wanted to do something that I feel satisfied in the end. But yet, how many of us can have the pleasure of drinking the perfect brew? Most times, I am disappointed with how the coffee turned up. Lacks the ommph in the taste, too sweet, too bland, too much milk, etc.
I learnt it the hard way (after making silly mistakes and after going through the long lecture). It's important for me to focus and take it cool. But most important is to change my mind set. I'm having a great job now and I shouldn't be complaining. Some little extra effort might be recognized sooner or later.




ps: i'm going to jakarta for 3 weeks...alone...:(...wish me luck...

Jacob's Walk of Life 2009

This year's event was held at Taman Metropolitan Kepong. I was surprised to find that the place is actually quite big and with some scenic spots for photography.

love the reflection

The crowd was unexpectedly overwhelming (maybe because there's no registration fee needed??). There was chaos during the collection of T-Shirts and even more so during the goodies bag session. Not as fun as last year where we got a lot of Jacob's biscuits and Anlene milk (by a lot means at a dozen). But this year it's special because it is on Father's day. I think my dad enjoyed it. He can easily be the oldest participant there at the age of 79. I feel that there is way to improve the event:

1) Setting up special counters for senior citizen age 55 and above for shirt collection and goodies bag.

2) Goodies bag to be given when people crosses the finishing line instead of the long long queue at the counter.

a little mishap where the starting point archway fell

I am glad to have my family with me and thanks to dear who willingly be chauffer of the day. The event was followed by a heart dim sum meal at Bandar Manjalara's Ful Lai restaurant. Dim sum is quite normal there but the place is very crowded even at 10am. I personally like the Char Siew Bun.

Happy Father's Day, pa...Hope you will stay healthy and happy always.
mi and pa holding hands...

Across the Universe

Nothing beats a lazy Saturday afternoon, in the comfort of my room, with a cup of tea/ coffee and a good movie/ book. Came across this 2007 movie - Across the Universe and it just melts my heart away. A romantic tale with a twist and some pretty weird scenes but it makes the movie unique. I love romance movies and it reminds me of 'The Notebook'. Well, if you are a romance freak like me, give this movie a try.

'At once gritty, whimsical and highly theatrical, Revolution Studios' Across the Universe is an original movie musical springing from the imagination of renowned director Julie Taymor (Frida, Titus, and the Broadway smash hit musical "The Lion King") and writers Dick Clement & Ian La Frenais (The Commitments).A love story set against the backdrop of the 1960s amid the turbulent years of anti-war protest, mind exploration and rock 'n roll, the film moves from the dockyards of Liverpool to the creative psychedelia of Greenwich Village, from the riot-torn streets of Detroit to the killing fields of Vietnam. The star-crossed lovers, Jude (Jim Sturgess) and Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood), along with a small group of friends and musicians, are swept up into the emerging anti-war and counterculture movements, with "Dr. Robert" (Bono) and "Mr. Kite" (Eddie Izzard) as their guides. Tumultuous forces outside their control ultimately tear the young lovers apart, forcing Jude and Lucy – against all odds – to find their own way back to each other.'

taken from here