Run, Baby I Have

Finishin' 10km non stop feels damn good and that was what I did last Sunday at the KL International Marathon (KLIM). What was disappointing compared to 4 years ago when I ran my very first, virgin 10km marathon at KLIM was I did not get to go past the finishing line just like a winner. Sure, I may not have been on the top 3 place (not anywhere close LOL), I was really lookin' forward to triumphantly run past the finishing line, tho'.

Just about 100m at the finishin' line, I could see a few man busied themselves to get all runners to get in a queue. Yes. I was told to queue in a line to collect my certificate of participation. And, no, I did not get the medal because I was not the first 500 who finished under the qualifying time. HOWEVER, I did complete the race within 80 minutes. In fact, I think I've completed it slightly under 70 mins, non-stop. I could have done better but better wasn't my goal. I just wanted to finish the run without stoppin' and man, I tell ya, it wasn't easy. The last 2 km was the hardest. Besides, this time, the route was quite different - imagine running on the busiest road in KL on weekdays ie Jln Bukit Bintang, Jln Sultan Ismail, Jln TAR et al and smellin' whiff of fried maggi mee and curry in the air passing all the mamak stalls & restaurants. Not easy feat but thank God for my Sony Walkman.

There were many participants, particularly, high school kids all lookin' eager to compete (healthy, I spose) and some were just there simply cos of peer pressure. We saw many of them ran with their mobile phones and some with cameras. Yes, cameras. I was told some of them stopped half way to pose. Just so they could blog or facebook it? Don't believe me? Try googling KLIM in full LOL

One of my NY's resolution is to complete 2 marathons this year but lookin' at how psyched my new found 'marathoners' friends in achieving MORE, I reckon in the next months or so, I will be competing *gasp* at least 3 more? I don't mind cos one day, one day, I want to go to these...

... and here are the Cupcakes!

Bake with J.Siew ... the last bit.

David Cook

Amazing?

A-MAY-ZING? That is all, Simon Cowell?

I thought it was PHENOMENAL! And I thought it was so refreshing. Beautifully sung and arranged with just the right vocal. He may not win but he will not be forgotten for this performance.

I am, of cos, referring to David Cook's performance earlier on American Idol performing Michael Jackson's hit, 'Billie Jean'. You didnt know, did you?



Btw, I haven't even seen the rest of the 9 contestants.

Run Baby Run

I told my nephews that I am going for a marathon this Sunday.

The younger one quickly asked, "May-ra-ton? What is that?"

The brother, who is 11 this year, was shocked, "Serious? How far? 10km?"

"Yes, you are right. 10km."

"But you are going to die! Crazy lah!"

"No, I won't die lah. It is not my first time running a marathon. In fact, it is my..." Countin' in my head, I think this will be my 6th times running a 10km.

"My 6th times."

"SERIOUSLY? Wow. You are crazy. You can die right?"

"No. I won't die lah. Stop sayin' I'd die."

Sheesh, I doubted myself after sayin' that cos the 6th time I did a 10km, it was 4 years ago? I was really a lot younger then, too.

I assured the little fella that I will be fine. He even offered to lend me his Sony Walkman. Genuinely lettin' me have it.

All he said was, "Sure! I need to tell mom first. Anyway, here's the cable to charge and transfer songs..."

I almost teared. Of cos, I have to finish this race for him. Mr. Bravo expected me to finish it within 80 minutes just so we could get the qualifying medal. Darn! All I wanted is to finish the race and hope to do another sometime mid of the year. He wasnt gonna buy that excuse. We don't call him Sgt Chilli Pepper for nothin'.

So. I was dubious of the achievement tho' we've been sorta "training" at Bukit Kiara hills most Sunday mornings this month & trekking at Sg Chilling (not sure if that counts ... I really enjoy the outdoors. Seriously).

I will, nonetheless, endeavour to get a medal this time while chillin' out to High School Musical soundtrack LOL. Pray for me.

By the way, my nephew's playlist is pretty interesting... there's of cos, High School Musical songs, and then there is Beyonce's 'Irreplaceable', My Chemical Romance, Daughtry, Michael Buble amongst others.

By by the way, I love love love the new Body Combat track dunno no. what. Love. The instructor was so cute. He asked ad if I've got phobia cos I havent been to his class for a qhile since I kicked a gal's head in his class while doin' the back kick; consequently causing her to yes, cry. In the gym and in public. Poor gal. I felt soo bad I decided to stop & ran on the treadmill. She assured me she is fine but I didn't feel good.

The fear is gone (4 weeks now?) and I'm back. Wish I could do more classes this month.

Bake with J.Siew (Part 1)

Workin' with Joyce, whom I've known for many years, is a joy. Literally, really. From assignments back in college until recently at the photo shoot in her apartment. Not only was she funny, kind and sometimes dramatic, she is also very hospitable. If she was my client, she will be the easiest person to work with for this photo shoot. Seriously.

We spoke about shooting her baking process and her cupcakes one boring Monday many weeks ago and we finally had the time to do it last Tuesday at her cosy apartment at Damansara Perdana. Seeing her bake so effortlessly confirmed that this woman is passionate in baking and she is really, really good at what she does.

Let me share with you for now, the first part of the photo shoot showcasing mainly the ingredients and the process.

Fresh strawberries for the Vanilla Coconut cupcakes


Kitchen accessories...


Ms. J whippin' up the ingredient before she bakes them. Like a pro.




Royal Baking powder. So essential.


I did help and these are some of the work I've done. Fillin' up the tray lol


This, seriously, is a cake tester and it's quite useful. Cute, eh

Seeing the cupcakes baked in her oven was really a joy - for her and for me, too.

Food, food & glorious food!

Not a post to review on food (merely stating my opinions) but a post to post some of the photos I've shot using my bokeh lens (and my 18-55mm). Most shot over 2 weekends.

"Bachang Kunyit" from K3k cafe at SS15, Subang Jaya. Of all the "bachangs", I love these the most cos it is less oily and simple comfort food. Love how they served it here until they stopped me from taking photos of the food and the cafe. Bummed out.

"Roti Jala" translated, net bread. Quite self-explanatory but one fact that you may find it interesting is that I've never, ever tried "Roti Jala" in my life. Served piping hot either with ayam rendang or beef rendang. Love the concept but not the ayam rendang (by K3K)

DU Cafe, which really is not a cafe but a restaurant complete with many, many hawker stalls. We love this place simply cos almost all the stalls served pretty good food.

...and rubbish, too.

...and delicious "Orr Chien" aka fried oysters. The chili sauce is super!

Ahhh... how can without Bak Kut Teh :)

Home cooked food! Glorious home cooked food prepared with a lot of passion *thank you* by chef ad :) I swear it can be served to the public (soon)

Nice looking brownies huh? Sadly, it was way to sweet for me to truly enjoy it. And, the decor of the place is shockingly bad (Zen cafe by Secret recipe)

Tomato noodles. Some find it strange, others find it delicious. To each his own :)
(hawker stall at Taman Megah opp. Ming Tien)

We all need a bit of fresh air after the satisfying (& smelly experience) meal


ps: shout out to mr. bt - hang in there dude. we miss u too.

X1

If this phone is not gonna give iPhone a run for its money, I will eat more kitkat.

LOL

Ok. I love the ad for the newly launched Sony Ericsson smart phone, X1, but I'm keepin' my comments until I actually see and touch the phone.

Now, I've got to go take a break. Have a good weekend.

"New Malaysia?"

On the night of the voting day, last Saturday, we were out to watch 'Spiderwick Chronicles' - the movie turned out to be quite entertaining though it is a kid's flick. Of cos, unbeknownst to us, results of the voting casted in the morning can be as immediate as say, instant noodles? We were so naive to actually assume that results will be out like the next evening or something. So, we were ignorant :p

The buzz of the result actually began at dinner time in a Japanese restaurant. A somewhat buzzed and underfed chinese uncle wearing a blue vest (BN supporter, I assumed? I know. Can't be underfed, right?) were speaking very loudly on his mobile phone next to our table. As ignorant as us of election, he didn't care if his behaviour disrupted the people in the restaurant. Funny, too, that staff/owners of Malaysian restaurants/cafes do not have the habit of asking rowdy customers to shut the fuck up if they are, rowdy? Strange aint it?

So I digress.

Uncle was telling everyone incl. the person on the phone that BN had lost badly. In the middle of my eating the sashimi, I stopped and perked up. Interesting newsflash, I thought. Then, when we swung over to One Utama after dinner, which was buzzing with some F1 activities, we overheard shoppers, men in in all shape and sizes, talking rather loudly on the phone about the results of the election - So-and-so lost her spot at Bangsar, Samy Vellu also lost.

We were so curious we wanted to get online instantly. Thanks to technology, we were able to. It was like watching the score of a sports event. So fun. Later, in the middle of the movie, there were a few smses telling us to "stay home and celebrate quietly, DAP supporters."

*Sheesh, but I'm in a middle of a movie! And the damn Ogre is about to killed the stupid human! Fine.

The next day, like Mr. Rainbow said, "I'm back in a whole new Malaysia". Sure enough, it is a whole new Malaysia. The results rocked the parliament, newspapers were all sold out. And, we were a little frustrated cos of that, too (ok, we slept till a little before noon and gymed). The buzzword now is, can the "new Malaysia" keep up to their promises or it is just once again NATO**? Will BN's defeat make them work harder? Will the parliament meeting be as spectacular and entertaining as say, Taiwan politics?

2008 has only just warmed up, people.

*We got home safely & no, we want Obama to win. Ogre, human, politics, get it? :)
**NATO - No action, talk only.

somethin' boilin...

1,2,3,4.......

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The Homecoming Queens

Haha... I wasn't going to blog on the Mardi Gras. Tho' I wish I was there *shrugs*

This year is the return of the music divas. The come-back queens, they call it. For those of you who've unfortunately seen the rather adolescent-ish, somewhat Lindsay Lohan-ish, Paula Abdul's new MTV for her first single, err "Dance Like there is no tomorrow" on American Idol 7 two weeks back, you problably cringed a little. C'mon, I'm sure you did? Either that or you thought she was good!

(If truth be told, I thought she was Ooo-Kay-lahhhh. Uknow, like when you said to yourself after bingeing on that piece of fried chicken from pasar malam :p)

Then, there was the released of the much anticipated album from Ms Minogue early this year after her recovery from breast cancer and break-up with moronic, cheater bf of hers. I totally dig the new album cover and of cos, the album did not disappoint at all. Not the least bit tho' her first single is a tad Goldfrappish's "Beautiful".





Of cos, there was Celine Dion.

And, this month, Ms Janet's brand spanking album, "Disciplined", is released all over the world. Lookin' really good in her new video and much less pretentious, I'm confident this one will do well. I can't expect it to be like "Janet" or "Velvet Rope" but from the first two listenings, I am loving much.




Of cos, next month, there is That (FAT) Chick, Mariah Carey and her follow-up album after her emancipation to Mimi. Have you heard of the new single? Haha... it was fun while it lasted. That is all I can say. Don't get me started on the MTV and that her omnipresent "water balloons" :p Did I mention her album is called, ahem, E = MC2? Didnt take a genious to figure that one out!


Lastly but not least - I heard somewhere that Whitney Houston is releasing an album this year - there is Mrs Ritchie, the madame of pop, Madonna. "Hard Candy" is the title of the album. Justin Timberlake, Pharell and Timbaland are said to be collaborating with her this time. I've listened to the first single yesterday (they have removed it since) and I thought it is a pretty good Body Jam song. Haha... Well, I can't wait. It's Madonna, people!






For what it's worth, at least they can spare us the Britney, Lindsay, Hilary (both), *gasp* Paris.

Best dream forward

I've got bored at work (Monday blues) and did some research or rather, googled some ID or design blogs. Found a couple that I really like and sorta gave me some preeeeety good ideas.

Of cos, I was dreaming of my own place ... how I'd decorate it. The furniture, artwork, paintings, kitchen.... Arrrghhhh. Kill joy, that was just me dreaming on a mid-afternoon boring Monday.

...