31 Dec 2012

Yawwwnn....just a short post while I wait to pang-kang from work. Today, I worked. Stupid, I know. Oh well.

Anyways:

"Wishing everyone a blessed 2013!"

Plus a word of advice: you do not need to make NY resolutions because you won't be able to keep up with your promises. I know. I've been there a thousand times, making resolutions that I could never keep. :-P

A better advice? Keep a bucket list. 

Check today's doodle for a great 2012 recap at Google.com

For myself, I am hoping to be the best I can be (I said the same thing every new year, yawnnn) with increasing wealth, better career growth, better running legs, nicer figure, more love given & received, and probably, ahem.... sparkling diamonds on my.....errr.....ears. Yes!



God bless. IVY-out for 2012.

Damn you Mayans (20121221)

Today is 20th Dec 2012, and according to the extinct Mayans, yes, tomorrow 21.12.12. is the end of our earth. But by what means would this world end remains vague. Some people say it will be a huge tsunami (it's too late to learn swimming, ppl); some say it could be some nuclear warfare and I may be killed by excessive radiation. But me thinks, nothing can be worst than being attacked by a zombie, probably due a mad scientist from...er...say...North Korea/Russia releasing a gray-matter-eating bacteria which consequently creates a pandemic. Zombie Apocalyse, they called it. I am not paranoid, but I've learnt a lot of zombie-apocalypse survival skills over 3 Seasons of "Walking Dead". I should be okay when that happens.

As I sit here reflecting upon my life, looking at the sky and watching closely at the chirping birds and spot a black cat crossing pass me, everything seemed so..... normal. No indication (animals are good indicators) of an apocalypse. But I do feel that year 2012 did pass me by like a swift wind. Guess it has been a dramatic year so far, but if you have Ivy in your life, everything is dramatic. Let's recap:

January 2012:
I was given the task to take over a scientific project in Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, in Tronoh. I have to spell that out in CAPS because I've never been given a task so huge before, both time and space. First: my new car (at that time), was pushed to its limits travelling incessantly from Ipoh-Tronoh-Ipoh-KL-Tronoh-Ipoh-KL-Ipoh-Tronoh. Phew! My new car has to go thru' pothole-filled roads, lembu-crossing areas, tankers-filled roads daily. Second: UTP is such a brilliant campus with nice architecture, but located in a lousy township. Honestly. Food was scarce; my life was downgraded. I couldn't accept it (I am a spoilt kid). My Ipoh home was my lifesaver. UTP post here.

Farewell party for Susan. I went to UTP to take over her role.

February 2012:
We had our first trip out in Cameron Highlands in conjunction with Valentine's day. How amazing having ourselves just for ourselves, doing things we love most: run, walk, hike, talk. Cameron Highlands adventures here. Also, Whitney passed away this February. Sob! Sob! My dad was devastated.

How convenient. Fresh flowers from Camerons on V-day.

I hate tea.

Hike from Brinchang to Sungai Palas.

March 2012
Still stuck in Tronoh. Traveled Ipoh-KL-Tronoh-KL-Ipoh A LOT. Nothing interesting. Oh yes: I made 6 dives with my colleagues at Lang Tengah! Scuba at Lang Tengah post here.

Lang Tengah with colleagues

April 2012
I was sent offshore to assist in a sampling project for 2.5 weeks. Actually, I volunteered (you'll know why - October 2012). What an experience! In short, it was 'interesting'. Sufficient amount of experience to let myself know I do not want to be an offshore person, ever! Even if it pays 2X to 3X more than my current salary. All my oily offshore experiences are mentioned in previous post here.

May 2012
Begged my boss not to send me offshore again. :P She wanted me to go on August 2012, but to my delight (and a little begging, plus a cute Puss In Boots face), I don't have to anymore.

I was sent to Penang for a huge conference to talk about.....yes...what else ...but on oil, oil, oil. Nevertheless I had a great time in a 5 star hotel (invited my whole family to stay over a few nights) and once more, experiencing Penang like a pure tourist. I joined the kwai-low delegates to visit the whole of Penang touristsy spots. Even as a Malaysian, I had to be opened about facing the "tourist traps", but was smart enough to NOT buy any batiks.

Rasa Sayang

Up Bukit Bendera with the kwai low delegates. Nothing interesting.

View of Penang bridge from Bukit Bendera

June 2012
My 2nd Full Marathon completed at 5:47. Wee!!! ONE-freaking-hour improvement from my 1st Marathon in Singapore 2011. He teman-ed me throughout whole 42.2km, and we finished together. Some runners always say: we reach the finish line holding hands. Where got?!?! Prove below:

Who said we held hands to the finish line? :P

July 2012
Kerja masih jalan, but I have to study for my naik-pangkat assessment. Subject runs from statistics to physical chemistry, I became cuckoo and hormonal.... for the reason I had to study!?!?!?! I thought I don't have to study ever again, really. :P I guess learning is a continuous process until the day you die (tomorrow?).

August 2012
I purchased a condo for myself. Finally!! Yay!! Yippee!! WoWweee!! But I remembered being very broke after that. But, but, but...if don't buy now, buy when kan?

The infinity pool (and view!) was what made me bought this condo. I think.

Also on Hari Raya, I had an awesome Phuket dive trip and walk-around adventure with Fong. He paid mostly everything because he knew (and understood) that...I was broke.

Boat dive at Koh Phi Phi

What a view!

September 2012.
I remembered still being broke. Very Broke. Even my car was 'broke' (from a robbery attempt of my bag at the traffic lights). Brief account here.

October 2012
Found out I scored fairly well in my naik-pangkat assessment. My mentor said I did quite well for a "biologist in an engineering world" :-) I gave myself a pat in the back, literally. Became not so hormonal. Oh dear, was devastated when I made a decision to cancel my trip to Sipadan. It's already end-of-the-world tomorrow and I still haven't had a chance to dive at Sipadan. *Bucket list dilemma*

Fong's graduation was what made me so proud of him. He worked really hard for this 2-3 years juggling between work and study (and relationship!) to complete his MBA at UM. I am grateful to have him as my guy.

November 2012
Company team-building trip to PD. I had a great stay at a 5 star hotel. At night, I was dipaksa-rela to do Gangnam on stage in front of 500 ppl. Blardy...all because I look the most Korean amongst my colleagues.

Gangnam with some selected big-size PSY. Try spot my GM.

December 2012

Participated in the hardest-ever-questions-given-in-a-treasure-hunt: The Sun's MotorHunt with our team Bundan & Hobbitz. Malu je...Ph.D. dan Masters degree semua tarak boleh pakai dalam Hunt ni. It was called the 'mother of all treasure-hunts' for a reason! Nvm, even we didn't get a good placing amongst 250 teams, at least one team member won the 1st prize in lucky draw!!!! Will post about this later. 

End-of-the-world today. My mum just called to ask me to help out in her Christmas party 24 Dec 2012. Through the looking glass; she's soo optimistic. I love her.

P/S: Just in case this end of the world shit really happens: I want to thank all my blog readers for your continuous support all these years. Now, go hide in some plumbum-coated underground bunker, or read the below:

Sensitive

Talking about ones beauty is a taboo. I think this post does reveal a bit of my courage in battling acne.

I was born with smooth skin. Ok, which baby doesn't, right? But even after I've hit puberty, throughout my youthful days (circa 15-24 years old) my face skin was as smooth as baby bump albeit a systematic quantifiable amount of stubborn black heads on my nose. I inherited my daddy's family's good genes which possesses smooth and fair skin. Even though swimming was my main sport during secondary school and university days, I did wonder why I was blessed without any major skin problems even with direct exposure to UV during sports.

Then I got really dark. This was the turning point. The blazing morning sun while teaching swimming every other day starts to turn my face skin into some colour even Pantone can't establish its number. I guess, in my own terms, it was: olive greenish chlorine colour. And when you get olive greenish chlorine as your skin colour, that triggers an alarm to start using a stronger sunblock. I knew any sunblock >SPF50 was already strong and should start to clog your pores. However, I was more concerned about not-getting-dark rather than clogged-pores, because...you thought ....hey, you are blessed with perfect skin, so why care about acne! I resorted to a sunblock which was SPF50 that was water-proof. Water.proof.because.I.am.in.the.swim.pool.all.the.time. At that time, I knew if you don't have a good cleanser to remove these water-proof sunblock, you'll find that you have your pores clogged for the rest of the day.

The problematic product (fr Australia). Never use this on your face.

First symptom was the black and white heads on my nose and T-zones, which eventually turn into multitude of acne at random areas of my forehead & cheeks. I thought if I don't touch it, it will go away. Articles have always recommended NOT TO TOUCH your pimples even if it's full-blown acne that has oozing pusses and head (On the contrary, I found out from a dermatologist that if you do not remove this kinda acne, you are going to have it worse. So do something about it. Don't leave these acne alone). 

I didn't remove or touch the acne (so wrong), and still persisted on the same daily sunblock >SPF 50. Swimming mahhh. The 'very-high-protection' sunblock did protect me from getting dark, but on the other hand caused a major acne outbreak on my face. I was devastated with the condition of my skin 'til I cried. I've never seen myself looking like a red-face monster. I went for a facial treatment and the facial centre asked me to use all their products which has AHA/BHA which was actually worse for my skin in the long term. I bought their 'lies' because I was naive. You see, the ingredient AHA is an exfoliator that removes your outer-most protective layer of your face skin. It helps temporarily removing your blackheads/acne. But if you don't use a good moisturizer after use of any product containing AHA, you are going to have NO protective layer at all be it natural or synthetic. Your skin becomes hypersensitive. And any slight irritants causes your sensitive skin to blow up into pimples that even my mum likened it to small-pox. 

This was what happened to me. I cried to my mum on why would such 'disease' happen to me. Me! I thought my skin improved after a few facial, but suddenly gotten worst than when I didn't had facial. 

I went to my aunt who works all her life as a skin consultant (not dermatologist). She now works as the manager of a reputable skin center at Bangsar Shopping Centre that advocates products such as Dermalogica and Clinelle. Upon consulting her, she gave me free facial (at her home), removed alllll the acne (5 hours, mind you) and advised me to stop all products that has AHA or BHA and no more scrubs/exfoliators. Also she ask me to tell the facial lady not to massage my face too much as it stimulates the formation of acne. She interviewed me and said that that the sunblock was the main culprit. Second culprit was using AHA-containing products, and thirdly, not properly identifying what the underlying cause of my acne was. I went straight to battle with my face without even knowing why I waged war.

I continued using Dermalogica products for a year and now, my skin has improved tremendously. I have ample scars due to extraction of hard-core/deep acne (=jerawat batu), but I know these scars may subside soon as I was still youthful. Ahem. My aunt used to say that my skin problem is a YOUTH problem, shouldn't be happening to young adults like me.

So, my advice to readers who faced similar problems:

1. Go facial. Basic facial is a very important regime that one must do primarily to extract your black/white heads. But you can let your facial center know that you don't want to use their products. Ask them not to over massage your face as that stimulates pore activity. 

2. People/some articles say not to do anything to your pimples. That's bulls**t. Do something. Go to Youtube and see how they press out the pimples (in a hygienic manner). At home, these pimples can only be remove with hands (by popping them out) if the pimples are already masak (got head). If not masak yet, leave the pimple alone until masak.

3. Cleanse your skin very thoroughly. Remove all makeup and sunblock properly using makeup removal. Wash your face from sweat immediately after any sport activity. But don't over-wash your face. Don't wash more than 3 times a day as that may dry up your face skin. Your skin will try to compensate the dryness by producing more oil = Oily skin = bacteria loves oil = acne. 

4. Please/must use the right Moisturizer. Because my skin was over-sensitized (epidermis removed) and there was no more more protective layer, my complacency of not using the right moisturizer (=protection) has caused my skin to be directly exposed to any external irritants e.g. sun, sweat, etc. So, when I didn't use moisturizer, it also did not provide my skin the nutrient to build back the outer-most protective natural layer. Even if you think you have oily skin, still use a moisturizer but choose the right type (e.g. gel-type, water-base, etc.).

5. Back to basics: Cleanse --> Mask/Tone --> Moisturize --> Sunblock LOL! Of course, I do put makeup on on big events. 

6. It is never due to coffee. Stress= yes. But not coffee. Don't blame it on coffee, ya?

This is not all of it. I've more in my bathroom.

I don't know if Dermalogica is for everyone, but after searching for the longest time and after incurring thousands of $$$ to search for the right product, Dermalogica products seems to work best on my skin. I've tried the infamous SKII and yet it gave me problems as it was too rich for my skin. 

I still have a pimples visiting me one in a while. Sometimes 5 pimples visit me on a hormonal day or stressful period. But it was still soooooooo much better compared to the previous year. My skin was 10% okay (diseased!), but now it is 80% good with scars, but I am not bothered about the scars. Having pimples showed that I still have oils in me. Which indirectly translates to youthfulness. Hah!

ALL.THE.TIME

"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end" - Semisonic, Closing Time.

Procrastinator like me always start their post by giving excuses: "Oh, I am soo busy, no time for anything", I am so damn caught up with work, no time to blog", "I need to have me-time", bla bla bla. Well, I really full of stuff, and if you are my close-friend, you would know I am full-of-stuffs all the time. ALL.THE.TIME.

So, this post, yes, comes late because I was.....actually so busy. No kidding. I was. Let's see: my downtime was mostly contributed to a series of bad luck that knocked me off my sane mind:

First, my phone Samsung Galaxy S1 was pick-pocketed (story HERE). Then came the car-window smashing incident due to an attempted robbery on my yellow, Korean-style bag. Yellow. I believed it was the colour that caught the robbers' attention while waiting at the traffic lights although I had dark tinting on my car windows. Not my complacent-ness :P hahaha. Moral of the story: Don't buy a yellow bag.

Nah, kidding. My advice: put security tinting on your car windows. It was a failed robbery attempt because the robbers couldn't hammer my window despite a couple of hard hits. Though the windows cracked, the robbery knew it would take like another 10 hits before they could rob my stuff. And the traffic lights was about to turn green anyway.  And never put your bag on the passenger seats, not even on the car floor (my case).  

Second, my oral examination and assessment to gain promotion in my company was unfortunately postponed. Unfortunate - because I was all mentally prepared for the interview, with millions of facts in my tiny brains, and once postponed, alll these revision facts didn't stay either. I would have to revise everything all over again. Last minute study, you say? - yes, I believe in last minute studying which is very much effective in my age-group :P

Fortunate that my exam was postponed? - Yes, because I lost my voice that week. Being in a interview-type, tete-a-tete assessment, ultimately your voice has to come strong. I've always thought my confidence and commanding voice was what got me through a lot of tough situation e.g. scholarships, fellowships, job interviews and Ph.D. So, thank God for the postponement because I knew without my Samson's hair, I would have fail my assessment and ...sound wee bit too 'sexy'...like a cross-dresser.

  

Third, I put a substantial pressure on myself to complete my appraisal for 2012 all because ...I deserve it...more than any other years combined. First, I am fast learner in an industry unrelated to my education background. I have worked my ass off this year and being attached to horrid + far & distance places (i.e. oil rigs and Tronoh), but whether my work is appreciated or not lies in how convincing (read:voice) I can be in my appraisal writing. I want the best for myself, in monetary and reputation terms. Well, which rising corporate woman doesn't?

And then, I was hooked to fifty-shades-of-grey trilogy. Those books took a lot of my time away :P Oooppssy, 'nuff said.

But can I say, I feel great about my career (kinda), my relationships with my guy, friends and family, my part time job, and more importantly....I kinda feel great about myself. ALL.THE.TIME. Well, most of the time lahh, especially when there's coffee.

I know I complain a lot ...just because I can. But deep down, I could not ask for more of my present life. Of course, you dream of being way up 'there' and envious of what people have in their life, but it's their "rezeki", as my Malay friend told me. People have their kinda life; You have your own life, your own tastes, so don't live to society's hideous expectation of how you're supposed to be. And in the process of achieving your live's goal, never take for granted the people around you. 

Bad stuffs happen, but if you give it a lil thought...many good things happen this year too. Don't dwell in the negative, see the whole big picture, and systematically you realized you had it not too bad, ehh? Can I hear an 'Amen' to that?

Let me end this post with one song my Semisonic (I've loved you guys), embedded deep in my heart, lyrics never lost in time, and most relevant to this post:

"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end - SemiSonic 's Closing Time 

10 Regrets

Created by Infographic Design Team


Original article here.

(Boat) Rocking Phuket

"Sawadee ka!"

Yes, I was in the land of yummy spicy food, absolute friendliness, and vibrant culture. Also a land where no other Ronald in the world poses with both hands clapsed. I like that; it's just how the Thais and Ronald here say "Hello", You are welcome" or "Thank you".

Last time I was in Thailand was in Bangkok with my bestie, Jonie during Syawal 2005. It's also a coincidence that this Phuket trip conincided with Syawal as well. What I really like was that it was low-peak season, which means....less tourist = less crowd! I personally think that if there were a crowd, the crowd would be all focused on Bangla Road. That road never seem to be void of people, even if the night before our arrival to Phuket, there was a huge fatal fire at one of the clubs. Four dead, but people are still walking in front of the cordoned area as if it's still up for business. Spot a few police (or are they mafia?) with their notepads. I busy-bodied for a while there, as I've always wanted to know how it feels like to be in a actual CSI situation.

(Oh, in case I forgot: Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri, readers!). 

A lagoon, Viking Cave. Actually our boats are hiding from the huge wave.

Viking cave, Koh Phi Phi island - near 2nd scuba dive site

The main reason for this trip was to just hang out doing nothing. I wanted a relaxing trip, but the diver-in-me wanted more than just jalan-jalan or snorkle. How can I be snorkeling at James Bond Island, when I can go deep into the blues at Koh Phi Phi. Kan? kan??! I mean, think about it: you have your diving license sitting at home rotting, and the view is said to be extraordinary....so why wait?!

                                      

I wanted just 3 dives on a one-day boat trip. When we left the jetty, our Japanese divemaster, Fumiko already warned us of the stormy weather the day before, and could probably hit us today. She also said that Asians are more prone to sea-sick compared to the bigger European divers on the same trip, and so we took seasick pills like they're vitamin tablets :P

Dive no.1 and no. 2 was absolutely brilliant. Happy with my dive log. But come evening, dive no. 3 became a big no-no for us (Asians on the boat), though a dozen of Europeans (gila babi gung-ho ke ape ni?) braved through the stormy(!!) and 2-meter wave for their 3rd dive. Divemaster Fumiko was the best when it came to safety: she said, if we don't want to take dive no.3 because of the absolutely-ridiculous-storm-and-I-would-have-died-diving-at-this-2-meter-wave-sea-couple-with-absolute-armagedonic-sky, we don't have to. Of course we don't have to!!! Gila ka?!?!  Fumiko herself called it = shit weather. I vomitted 3 times on the boat, but which I was never this happy vomiting: it's better than dying in a foreign country! I've never known or experience a more tragic weather than this. I really thought, our boat would have broken into half and I am already on Titanic2's making.

In front of noisy Hard Rock. Quiet streets...hmmphh.

The day of our arrival, we started exploring the whole Patong. If my maths don't fail me, 80% of people in Patong are either Indians, Bangladeshis, Nepali (Central Asia). Phuket even gave them their own road (read: Bangla Road). I might spend quieter times at Karon or Kata beach if I were to return to Phuket in the future.

While out Patong streets and beach are packed with stalls and shops, you can never miss JungCeylon, the biggest mall in Phuket. Being the shopaholic that I am, and at the first spot of chic coffee joints (e.g. Starbucks), I never fail to go there every day I am in Patong. 

On the first day, there was a futie tourney between kids from different schools, as well as a cheer-leading/colouring contest if you are a girl or kaki bangkus. What's cool is the commitment by the kids and their (cheering? more like screaming) mums. Literally you've got whole bunch of soccer mums being more enthusiastic than their kids, probably. And what's cool is the constant drum beating by this guy during the whole competition - that provides you a samba feel and the relevant mood to play your ball. (= dragon boat).

I LOVE PHUKET with Kenny Sin

I've never thought I would met my ex-housemate, Kenny Sin in Phuket. Out of the myriad of colours and people, Kenny spotted me whilst we were eating Phad Thai at the same shop! He called me upon hearing my ever-recognizable voice. It's like: "we've never got to meet in KL after he moved out, but here we are in Phuket after yearssss" He looks great and frequents Phuket at least twice a year. He's here on some charity thing. Well done! 

Fresh fruit juice. Chill!

This is one of the 20 over pics of my full bod on bikini. Old already, paiseh to show closer shots of myself

Now, this shot is better! :P

After chilling with some mix fruit juicy tutti stuff, we headed out to the beach to receive our 'natural' massage/spa by the huge waves and to check out the sunset. The beach was considerably errr...empty, to my delight, as I am a bit self-conscious of my current body-shape as I grow older with age, esp. when on bikini. :P  Ah well....stuffs happen when we age gracefully. I'll take it.

Sunset at Patong

To my delight, this restaurant gave us manggis as dessert. To them, it's cheap. For us, it's rare.

Complicated beauty

Patong is full of complicated wirings if you look up. This really amuses me. We've found beauty in randomness.  

One thing I didn't like about Phuket is that the whole city is NOT WIRED. Even if it is, they charge the customers. Starbucks, Subway, True Coffee, kopitiam, restaurants....NO FREE wi-fi. Bleh!

Farewell, Phuket.

I don't know if I will be back any time soon, but I have logged in many good (and scary) memories from Phuket and Koh Phi Phi. Especially when spent together with Fong.

"I LOVE PHUKET"

STOP 114A

Wonder Women

Everytime you see me, you know I am full of stuffs. My 'thinking' face and squinting eyes does show clearly I am nothing but a lady filled with things to do. Ample. I am damn tired. But I try. I try to make time for everything I love - friends, colleagues, my fav TV dramas, run, swim, Olympics, etc. which makes me one superhero.

Not that I am boasting. It does make me a superhero, I guess. Mum calls me  Wonder Woman. Most women are anyway, particularly this generation, this era. Mum herself is. We have a career, we cook, we clean, we own a property/car, we run, we swim, we yum cha, we breed, we educate, we pay the bills, etc. I cook almost every other day after work, I clean the toilet while I bathe, I study unrelated subjects (read: mathematics) to climb the career-ladder, yet I go running every other evening. I teach swimming in the evening, but not before I make sure my car gets a wash, or I teach swimming, then off I go with my make-up on and dainty dress to a fancy dinner party. I pick up some novels to read and finish it within a week, etc. etc. etc. Now, I do think Galileo got it wrong: The earth revolves around me.

Me ...probably. But with a smaller cuppa. 

As for "me" time, you would definitely think I am the sporty type - putting "me" time on runs/swims. But nah...you are wrong. I am quite a couch potato, sitting watching How I Met Your Mother or The Kardashians or Criminal Minds...and right now, the Olympics. I turn on my laptop in front of the TV screen, essay a few reports while sobbing on Mobbed or cheering for Uchimura Kohei on pommel horse or Park Tae Hwan on his freestyle heats,and while Draw-ing Something on my phone (**yes, hate me for still playing that game).

My Idol spitting water - OK. My swim students spit in the pool, I scold jia-lat.

** I am into Park since Beijing 2008. See previous post.

Yes, I am Wonder Woman, but I am still human. Like many superheros on TV, I err, I love, I hate, I have feelings. Sometimes I don't care enough. Honestly I have one very bad trait: I get jaded with things very fast. Many instances have shown me what I can really be: when I over-indulge in something I loved so a lot, I can suddenly go all cold about it. For no reason. I will hate doing it altogether and I have no qualms quitting it. Doesn't happen all the time, but it happened with Aikido. It happened with Entomology. It happened with Swimming. So I do not go over-board with my indulgences cause I could get jaded. Every day, I pray I don't get jaded with running. So, I try not to over-do and out-run myself on marathons or other races.

I dedicate my 'me' time to my new Samsung Galaxy S3. A blessing-in-disguised, I supposed, that my first smartphone got pickpocketed whilst browsing some recipe books. Stupid, I call myself, for not being vigilant of two male foreigners browsing on recipe books(!!!) near me. Yes, I have a world-view of thinking guys lately have great passion in being chefs themselves (think: Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ram), I never would have thought they were thiefs. Nevertheless, once I realised it's missing, I instantly got a new Samsung. Now I am so addicted to my super-fast, super-slick S3. Yummmy!!!!

I got two scuba diving trips coming up this August and October - Phuket and Sipadan. See, I am full of stuff despite being sooo freaking busy. Mum said she hates me being involved in so many 'rubbish'. Hey!!! 

I also got myself a property after searching for the looongest time. I bought this condo on impulse. Well, it's primarily bought for investment, and the location is great, so WHATEVER! But looking at the huge awesome swimming pool, I think I might 'merasmikan' it with several bouts of freestyle, butterfly, back and breast, and pee in it, before I tenant it out. (I think I bought this place only because of the pool).

I also have to study to climb the f**king career ladder. Sh*t! I thought I don't have to ever study again since I've gotten my doctorate. But nope. Here it comes again! And worse: it's all new subjects, unrelated to what I graduated in (read: studying insects). I have to learn physics and engineering and .....errr...part of it: MATHS. I hate maths, like a lot. I guess learning is part of life and it never ends (but studying is not). Warning friends: if I do get cranky, please forgive me: it's because of my studying = bad grades = no naik pangkat = no naik gaji = cranky!!!

Milk foam on my upper lips. I am a Nespray Kid!

You will still see me in some coffee chains on weekends especially. This is one habit that ......I can never get jaded. Never.

Spot the differences: 1st and 2nd Full Marathons

Last Sunday's Standard Chartered KL Marathon was my #2 full marathon assignment.

My #1st was, of course, the most memorable one of all - the Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore in Dec 2011. My 1st marathon finish was one fill with emotion; I was angry at myself throughout the race; I was teary when I saw finish line and sobbing when I reached it. What made it possible was my marathon partner - a seasoned marathoner, Kingy, a true sifu and friend who was motivating (read: bluffing) me throughout the race. Was prepared for the marathon physically, but not mentally. Well, let's just say, I wasn't prepared physically too in terms of ample training (I did some training, but just 21 km LSD), and I bet nobody's legs were ever prepared for the dreaded ECP's 10km concrete pavements. ECP did take a toll on my feet until they gave way at the 30km mark. I remembered taking 4 powergels, drank like a gallon of water, eat some gel stuff, having a stomachache, farting like crazy (my digestion was slowing down, as blood all went to pump the heart), and I think I rubbed a kilogram of Deep-heat into my 'jelly' legs. At the end, I managed my first full marathon in 7:00hrs flat, walking the last 10km that took 3hrs.

SCMS - Seasoned marathoner, sifu and good friend BK at the starting line

I hate ECP!

SCMS - Tey captured Kingy and me (in tears) as we were about to reach the finish line.

SCMS - SOB, SOB!!

SCMS - Faking a smile. I am not kidding, but it is fake.

Thinking about my first marathon is like thinking about your first time taking you first SPM paper - the BM paper. It's your first day into the exam. You cannot comprehend what is going on with you, your mind is soo fixed in the examination mode, you tend to scribble out rubbish on the karangan part. All you wanted is an A1. You just give it your ALL. Halfway through all your remaining 8 papers in SPM, you kinda get it (read: your subsequent marathons). There seem to be less panic. You think: "I can't get out of this sh*t now, but I can only do my best. Stay calm". At the end of all the papers (I remember it was Biology paper), you cry-out-loud cause you made it through 2 weeks of hell, and screamed "Merdeka!". You are eventually judged by your SPM results, but in a marathon, no one judges you by your results are (unless your running are kiasu). That's the best part of running!

You suffered like hell, but for some reason, you yearn for more even during your painful recovery. It's like you wanna prove to Death he can't kill you. Or dare Death to chase you. Thrill.

Secret training:
So yes, my 2nd full marathon attempt: I was initially 'misled' by Daryl that I have to beat 6:00hrs to get the finishers tee. :p I am like "What??!" How am I going to beat my first timing by 1 freaking hour? Despite the myth of seeing me not in training (training does not equate LSDs only), I did a lot more (secret) training for my 2nd marathon - I went to gym a lot to do strength training, lifting weights to strengthen both my thighs and calfs muscles. I did push-ups and pumping like 15X6 sets each time I go to the gym (while working at UTP), and I run in burst of fastpace for 1 min for every 5 min run for a total of 45 minutes.

My secret training, which many runners did not notice, took place at Bukit Jalil park, around my housing area (I went up at 300m the inclination at least 10 times making it 3km of hill training), and of course Bukit Aman's Double hill & LSD. I needed the training, because I've suffered much previously and didn't wanna repeat history for my next full marathon.

What's different:

The same (they are both by Standard Chartered, of course):
1. 90% flat route in both KL and Singapore marathons.
3. A lot of water, sponges, food, Deep-heat sprays by volunteers. Volunteers are friendly and helpful.
4. Weather was cooling in the morning, sunny-hot after 8.30am.
5. I suffered pain on the right leg at S'pore, but left leg at KL.
6. Loyalty: Me and my baby-blue cap.

The difference:
1. Lesser marathon participants in KL, therefore, so much space and it was a breeze to run in KL. So much less crowd. Good!
2. No concrete pavements in KL (read: I hate ECP!) that badly impacts any runner's feet.
3. Lacks the mad external supports/drums in KL. Why was it soo quiet at Jln P. Ramlee area; last year  had more cheerleaders. Nobody wan this year? Singapore - damn hebat with their cheerleaders.
4. Cheaper to run in KL, soooooooooo much cheaper y'all!
5. I did not cry to the finish line in KL. I was all smiles this time.

All's still well at 36km mark. Pain is there, but bearable.

I can't believe I beat my previous marathon time by more than an hour. Must be the secret training.

What's the real difference in this 2nd marathon? Fong and I strategised to stop at every water station, to walk 100 m, before starting again. We did that and completed the race <6:00 hours mark: in 5hr47min. All because we wanted to get the finisher's tee, really! Have to thank Fong for being was a good motivator <3 <3. Unexpectedly, there was zero pain at 30km mark this time! (maybe just tired).

**Joke of the year:

My mum thought I won 2nd place in the full marathon for having a silver finisher's medal.