Hello guys I am back! Now, i am going to talk about my first ever long distance cycling experience. I always had this impression that cycling was damn easy. Before SPM, I tried so hard to convince my parents to allow me to do something crazy- cycle down to KL to raise funds for Food Bank Penang. Well what the heck , it's just cycling and I rarely get tired from cycling. No that was stupid, that was immature of course. After participating in this Le Tour De Penang organized by the so-called Knights of the Round Table, I have had a change of mind. Le Tour De Penang is some sort of fellowship ride, not a race. It was supposed to be a 60km cycling event. We were to start from Padang Kota, head out to Teluk Bahang and back. That was already 60km. However, on that day, we were told that there was yet another route, a further route and a definitely much more challenging route where participants had to cycle to Checkpoint 1 at Teluk Bahang and then head up the hills and down again to Balik Pulau(yes from Padang Kota). Of course, 80% of the 1000 or so participants took the Teluk Bahang route.
Only a few cycling enthusiasts and veterans took the Balik Pulau Checkpoint 2 challenge. From checkpoint1 one can already see how steep the road up the Teluk Bahang dam is and that probably deterred many from trying out the Balik Pulau trip. Initially, I, together with my younger sister decided not to take up that challenge since it was our first time at a cycling event. 5minutes through and I turned back and headed for Checkpoint2. I am still not too sure why I did that but it was probably the feeling of "tak syok" if I did not take up the challenge. If I want to do something, I'll go for it all the way. That's me , even though sometimes I am acting pandai-pandai;.
So, I buat pandai-pandailah go for the "veterans only" checkpoint2. Boy, the first part was already terribly steep and took much effort to go uphill on a bike. Then, having passed the Teluk Bahang Dam ordeal, a more challenging path was laid before my eyes. The steep yet winding roads to Balik Pulau. Initially, surprisingly I did pass a few guys who were not first timers and the roads were still bearable for me. And then, it became harder and harder for me. I never did regret for taking the path though. AT one point, I was totally alone with no cars passing, no cyclists in front nor behind me and worst of all I was along one of the quiet winding roads at one of the highest points of the hill. I was totally alone. The forest were right beside me on my left and thank god I had my MP3 with me. Then, the sound of sudden movement in the dense jungle beside me cut through the silence surrounding me and it was so loud I could hear it even with the MP3 plugged in my ears. A chill ran through my spine. I cycled faster fearing it could've been a wild animal stalking me or worst, a supernatural being!!! Then, luckily, a tour bus came passed by and soon my bicycle accelerated as the roads began going downhill. Of course, the downhill portion of my ride was simply splendid. Then, I was cycling on flat ground. It's amazing to see vast and endless paddy fields as you cycle past these villages. And suddenly, you realize this is Penang. How can this be? I have never actually seen the other side of Penang until now. Even when I go to Balik Pulau, it's just the city centre that I'll get to see.
So I paddled and paddled, and all the cyclists who were already on the opposite side of the road going back while I was going to checkpoint 2 all greeted me with a smile(i dono if it was laughing at me for being pandai-pandai eventhough i was so slow or amazed at me, being a daring amateur who's also buat pandai-pandai ) and 2 of them even saluted me. Nevertheless, that section seemed never ending. Villages and villages swept by and I was beginning to feel the real pain and there it was just around the corner, a van with few orange knights of the round table- checkpoint 2. Then I resumed my journey, stopped at a grocery store for ice-cream(it was a hot day ok. even though I had paddle pop but it was real refreshing). After cycling more another 20 minutes, a MPPP truck to sweep up all the cyclists and fetch us back to Padang Kota for we were already out of time. Surprisingly, I was not the first, in fact there were 9 other adults who dressed very professionally unlike me behind me! (YAY! small applause for myself) As more and more cyclists were swept up, it became real crowded for us standing amidst the bicycles on the open truck. People were laughing at us whenever we passed by. Cyclist wannabes who could not finish the journey yet took the challenging path. Of course a few of them blamed the roti canai during breakfast for not being able to complete the journey and some said their seats were to hard it hurt their butts(it happened to me too). Then, when the truck reached Island Plaza, we agreed to cycle from there to Padang Kota, giving the false impression to the others at Pdang Kota that we have in fact finished the journey, saving us some face.
Of course, we were tired like we've been to hell when we were greeted with goodies bags and nasi kandar at padang kota when we arrived. There was a lucky draw as usual and the event ended with two lucky winners going home with a brand new Proton mountain bike. the no for the grandprize was 246 and my sister's was 245. Well what the heck! whats not urs isnt!
p/s :The photos will be uploaded tomorrow
signing off as its getting late(dont want to be late for work)
;)
Tuesday, 30 December 2008
Friday, 26 December 2008
Tour De Kuala Lumpur
And so on a sunny morning, three nerds stood gallantly on the more than majestic Platform 11/12 of the Royal Sungai Nibong Bus Terminal. As we boarded the bus in our shining armour, The Chung Ling Maths Nerds Envoy bade goodbye to Penang and began their long journey to Kuala Lumpur, the battlefield. Prepared to fight to their deaths, the 3 mathsketeers geared themselves up throughout the treacherous journey on the PLUS highway. One was to deal with the secondary school questions in 30minutes, the 2nd player was to finish 3 sets of sudokus in 30 minutes too and the last player(the brainy one) was to complete the more than challenging 30 IQ questions. We stopped at Klang, had our stomachs full of chicken rice and we were soon navigating through the extremely confusing roads of Klang in my beloved aunt Joon's Iswara. I'd really like to thank her for being so helpful throughout this trip. Not only did she ferried us around, but also so willingly allowed us to "tumpang" in her home. That was Friday.
Saturday. We arrived early fortunately for we could not locate HELP University College at first as we had to go down 2 flights of stairs before seeing a small door with HELP labelled above it.
I came in late for the briefing and 200 pairs of eyes were fixed upon me, scurrying across the front stage, apologizing repeatedly to the speaker. Then, my phone rang and I had to pick it up for it was Fahmi, Yokepin's contact person in KL who will be selling the AAK calendars at the KL Central Market. After making some arrangements, my aunt managed to pass the calendars to Fahmi while I calmed myself down for the competition. I was the first player.
Went in the "exam" room as my other friends waited alongside other player 2 and 3s. We were supposed to wear out school uniforms. However, a few boys and girls just dont seem to understand and some even wore hot pants to a maths competition. Boy, the question was quite tough but thankfully I managed to pull it through though not in a perfect manner. At the end of it, we were served Nasi Lemak for lunch. After 2 hours of long wait, we were finally allowed to enter the auditorium for the results. At that time, we were prepared not to get anything back. A net loss was definite as Kok Wei, too felt that he did badly at that time. We were team 4. ANd heres how the announcement went:
The first of the 3 finalists is team fourrrrrrrrrrrrrteen. Ahhh!
Second team , team fouuuuuuurrrrrrrrrrtyseven. My god!
Third team, team fourrrrrrrrrrrrrr(and that was the end)
Hah! Our legs went soft. We sat at our respective positions on stage and so the quiz began. And, miraculously, we won! The first prize for goodness sakes!!!!! Money and full scholarship to study A levels at HELP for the three of us. Gossssh!
Kok Wei playing the "mrbean" game during break
When we returned to our seats, the most astonishing and should i say thing to be proud of for me was the girls sitting behind me asked for my autograph and of course, I was shocked, petrified and of course (syoksendiri dan banggalah). I dont even know them, have not even spoken a word to them throughout the competition and here they are asking for my autograph. This was the first time someone actually asked for MY autograph, hence a historic day it is for me! Hence, of course I did give it to them and initiated a conversation with them until I was interrupted by the emcee (darn, i was about to get their emails or phone no.s)well, one has to stay connected with one's fans kan. (call me thick skinlah but i still feel very syokleh ;) )
We are so GAY(happy that is)!!!!
Nothing is ever complete without my signature post ;)
Then , our shopping journey began:
-Took a taxi to KL Central
-Took the Rapid KL to Pasar Seni
-Wandered around asking people how to get to Pudu from there
-Amazed at the number of immigrants in KL( everywhere we go, on the bus, Pudu 51 % of the -people there were not Malaysians in the Malaysian capital, how ironic)
-Bought engkeong n kokweis tickets
-took the LRT to Berjaya Times Square
-nearly got into a brawl with 6 Malay samsengs who was cari pasaling with us, since there were only 3 of us who were not locals. One of them deliberately hit the water bottle I was holding and I shouted loudly at him. He was kinda shocked became mad and came forward asking for a fight. Then I realized there's no good giving in to such a moron's wish- that is for a fight. Being a boy with severe inferiority complex, he must have wanted to flex his muscles in Berjaya Times Square. Seeing that we were 3 nerds who were not locals while there were 6 of them hooligans, we could not have possibly won and boy they looked dangerous. Hence, we kinda quickly scurried off. Hah! Degenerates! - that was the only bad experience that we had.
- after strolling around for another 3 hours, we took the LRT back to KL Central
-from Kl Central, we took the superbly crowded KTM Komuter to Subang Jaya
- then we met this really really nice Malay bus driver who offered to send us right to my aunts house even though buses dont go as far as my aunts house. He was real friendly, helpful and well he did look like TOm Cruise, no wonder all the Indonesian girls were all sitting next to him, trying to catch a wink i suppose.
Sunday- my friends went back first as I scouted around for colleges together with my uncle
Monday- took a bus back from Klang. the driver was another asshole. my grandfather who's really sick and weak, was walking quite slowly back to the bus from the restroom and yes the bus was waiting for him. And the driver was like telling the other driver impatiently :
"aiyo apek jalan begitu lambat. tgklah dia, jalan relax sje, tgk dia jalan pun taulah dia. slow slow sje
aiyo apek cepatlah. haiyerrrr! "
Stupid fellow. You seem to forget that one day u will grow old and weak too. Takda brains memang takda brains punya organismlah.
And that was my trip to KL. Now, being extremely exhausted after cycling from Padang Kota all the way to Balik Pulau, I can no longer blog on this great experience of mine.
So long!
Saturday. We arrived early fortunately for we could not locate HELP University College at first as we had to go down 2 flights of stairs before seeing a small door with HELP labelled above it.
I came in late for the briefing and 200 pairs of eyes were fixed upon me, scurrying across the front stage, apologizing repeatedly to the speaker. Then, my phone rang and I had to pick it up for it was Fahmi, Yokepin's contact person in KL who will be selling the AAK calendars at the KL Central Market. After making some arrangements, my aunt managed to pass the calendars to Fahmi while I calmed myself down for the competition. I was the first player.
Went in the "exam" room as my other friends waited alongside other player 2 and 3s. We were supposed to wear out school uniforms. However, a few boys and girls just dont seem to understand and some even wore hot pants to a maths competition. Boy, the question was quite tough but thankfully I managed to pull it through though not in a perfect manner. At the end of it, we were served Nasi Lemak for lunch. After 2 hours of long wait, we were finally allowed to enter the auditorium for the results. At that time, we were prepared not to get anything back. A net loss was definite as Kok Wei, too felt that he did badly at that time. We were team 4. ANd heres how the announcement went:
The first of the 3 finalists is team fourrrrrrrrrrrrrteen. Ahhh!
Second team , team fouuuuuuurrrrrrrrrrtyseven. My god!
Third team, team fourrrrrrrrrrrrrr(and that was the end)
Hah! Our legs went soft. We sat at our respective positions on stage and so the quiz began. And, miraculously, we won! The first prize for goodness sakes!!!!! Money and full scholarship to study A levels at HELP for the three of us. Gossssh!
Kok Wei playing the "mrbean" game during break
When we returned to our seats, the most astonishing and should i say thing to be proud of for me was the girls sitting behind me asked for my autograph and of course, I was shocked, petrified and of course (syoksendiri dan banggalah). I dont even know them, have not even spoken a word to them throughout the competition and here they are asking for my autograph. This was the first time someone actually asked for MY autograph, hence a historic day it is for me! Hence, of course I did give it to them and initiated a conversation with them until I was interrupted by the emcee (darn, i was about to get their emails or phone no.s)well, one has to stay connected with one's fans kan. (call me thick skinlah but i still feel very syokleh ;) )
We are so GAY(happy that is)!!!!
Nothing is ever complete without my signature post ;)Then , our shopping journey began:
-Took a taxi to KL Central
-Took the Rapid KL to Pasar Seni
-Wandered around asking people how to get to Pudu from there
-Amazed at the number of immigrants in KL( everywhere we go, on the bus, Pudu 51 % of the -people there were not Malaysians in the Malaysian capital, how ironic)
-Bought engkeong n kokweis tickets
-took the LRT to Berjaya Times Square
-nearly got into a brawl with 6 Malay samsengs who was cari pasaling with us, since there were only 3 of us who were not locals. One of them deliberately hit the water bottle I was holding and I shouted loudly at him. He was kinda shocked became mad and came forward asking for a fight. Then I realized there's no good giving in to such a moron's wish- that is for a fight. Being a boy with severe inferiority complex, he must have wanted to flex his muscles in Berjaya Times Square. Seeing that we were 3 nerds who were not locals while there were 6 of them hooligans, we could not have possibly won and boy they looked dangerous. Hence, we kinda quickly scurried off. Hah! Degenerates! - that was the only bad experience that we had.
- after strolling around for another 3 hours, we took the LRT back to KL Central
-from Kl Central, we took the superbly crowded KTM Komuter to Subang Jaya
- then we met this really really nice Malay bus driver who offered to send us right to my aunts house even though buses dont go as far as my aunts house. He was real friendly, helpful and well he did look like TOm Cruise, no wonder all the Indonesian girls were all sitting next to him, trying to catch a wink i suppose.
Sunday- my friends went back first as I scouted around for colleges together with my uncle
Monday- took a bus back from Klang. the driver was another asshole. my grandfather who's really sick and weak, was walking quite slowly back to the bus from the restroom and yes the bus was waiting for him. And the driver was like telling the other driver impatiently :
"aiyo apek jalan begitu lambat. tgklah dia, jalan relax sje, tgk dia jalan pun taulah dia. slow slow sje
aiyo apek cepatlah. haiyerrrr! "
Stupid fellow. You seem to forget that one day u will grow old and weak too. Takda brains memang takda brains punya organismlah.
And that was my trip to KL. Now, being extremely exhausted after cycling from Padang Kota all the way to Balik Pulau, I can no longer blog on this great experience of mine.
So long!
Tuesday, 16 December 2008
First day at work
Oooooh I am so excited! :) Today is the first day I am going to work at a hospital , as a volunteer of course and I am really excited and happy knowing that I'll not only be able to adapt myself to working environment but also knowing that I have not wasted my holiday being a couch potato like what I did after PMR. Yes, this time will be much different. I will soon be real busy with Anak-anak Kota work with Janet, Yoke Pin and my mum. Back to the story, And so I woke up at 6.30am, hopped on my brand new bike and off I go cycling with my sister. Then, we headed off for Adventist Hospital located just opposite OneStop or more commonly known as Looking Good. Reported in, met the real friendly Ms Wong in charge of the Adventist Volunteer Service, answered a few questions, read the Volunteer Guidebook and soon enough Ms Wong led me on a tour of the hospital.
Then I started work. I was to help out at the reception or registration counter. Boy, thankfully my seniors who were like older sisters such as June who was my best friend there, "Auntie" who's been working there for 20 years, Sister Prema who helps us send the registration forms done to different departments and Ms Dorris who's really cute and naughty. They were really friendly and they really guided me and helped me out. Here, I'd like to express my sincere appreciation and many thanks especially to June who has been a great colleague from whom I learned a lot (plus she treated me to a piece of a SUPERBLY rich and sweet chocolate cake heehee!!!).
I did some paperwork, showed patients around the hospital, had my free lunch at the cafeteria ,carried goods around the hospital and tried to comfort a poor senior patient who lost her entire luggage of medicine and clothings at the Penang International Airport. It was a real eye-opener for me and it was fun! If you were a patient or a visitor today, one of the first people that would've greeted you would be ME, sitting right in front of the large "Adventist Hospital - The passion to heal, the heart to care" board shining down on me. ;) Not only that, I had the privilege of using the toilet with the sign saying " No admittance. Staff only". What an honour! LOL. We were really busy in the morning as patients kept pouring in and most of them were Indonesian Chinese. That , surprised me. At a glance, they all looked like the typical Malaysian Chinese, they spoke Chinese and some even spoke Hokkien, but when they started conversing in Bahasa Melayu with the "true" receptionists I was helping out, the Indonesian accent kinda freaked me out.
OF all the sections or departments i visited, I decided that I would like to be a volunteer at the Dialysis centre. All the people there looked really depressed and it really gets into me too. Yes, who wouldnt. Hence, I hope I will be able to have the opportunity to be a volunteer there. If given the opportunity, I'd really like to go up to them and just talk to them and listen to them talk, just to be a companion, make their 4 hour session a happy one,just to let them know that people do care about them, remind them of how they can still live a happy life. Yes, I am not a saint. I may not be able to do just all that. No, I cant. But I'll try my best. Somehow I feel that I have that special connection or tendency to communicate, interact and care for the less fortunate especially senior citizens ever since I helped my mum out for the " care for the senior citizens" program organized by my mum at our residents association when I was in Form 1 or 2. That I have to say was a good program. Hence, it would be my great pleasure if I were to be given the chance to serve at the dialysis center.
As a conclusion, considering the fact that I have not only learned more about what working life's like, experiencing the working environment and stress people face working in a hospital but also made new friends.
Alas,
Thank you June!
Thank you Auntie for giving me that encouraging smile the first time you introduced me to Ms Wong and also all those times when I felt really lost and stupid.
Thank you Sis Prema for being my friend and helping me out.
Thank you Ms Dorris for making me carry rolls and rolls of paper and thank you Ms Wong for believing in me!
Then I started work. I was to help out at the reception or registration counter. Boy, thankfully my seniors who were like older sisters such as June who was my best friend there, "Auntie" who's been working there for 20 years, Sister Prema who helps us send the registration forms done to different departments and Ms Dorris who's really cute and naughty. They were really friendly and they really guided me and helped me out. Here, I'd like to express my sincere appreciation and many thanks especially to June who has been a great colleague from whom I learned a lot (plus she treated me to a piece of a SUPERBLY rich and sweet chocolate cake heehee!!!).
I did some paperwork, showed patients around the hospital, had my free lunch at the cafeteria ,carried goods around the hospital and tried to comfort a poor senior patient who lost her entire luggage of medicine and clothings at the Penang International Airport. It was a real eye-opener for me and it was fun! If you were a patient or a visitor today, one of the first people that would've greeted you would be ME, sitting right in front of the large "Adventist Hospital - The passion to heal, the heart to care" board shining down on me. ;) Not only that, I had the privilege of using the toilet with the sign saying " No admittance. Staff only". What an honour! LOL. We were really busy in the morning as patients kept pouring in and most of them were Indonesian Chinese. That , surprised me. At a glance, they all looked like the typical Malaysian Chinese, they spoke Chinese and some even spoke Hokkien, but when they started conversing in Bahasa Melayu with the "true" receptionists I was helping out, the Indonesian accent kinda freaked me out.
OF all the sections or departments i visited, I decided that I would like to be a volunteer at the Dialysis centre. All the people there looked really depressed and it really gets into me too. Yes, who wouldnt. Hence, I hope I will be able to have the opportunity to be a volunteer there. If given the opportunity, I'd really like to go up to them and just talk to them and listen to them talk, just to be a companion, make their 4 hour session a happy one,just to let them know that people do care about them, remind them of how they can still live a happy life. Yes, I am not a saint. I may not be able to do just all that. No, I cant. But I'll try my best. Somehow I feel that I have that special connection or tendency to communicate, interact and care for the less fortunate especially senior citizens ever since I helped my mum out for the " care for the senior citizens" program organized by my mum at our residents association when I was in Form 1 or 2. That I have to say was a good program. Hence, it would be my great pleasure if I were to be given the chance to serve at the dialysis center.
As a conclusion, considering the fact that I have not only learned more about what working life's like, experiencing the working environment and stress people face working in a hospital but also made new friends.
Alas,
Thank you June!
Thank you Auntie for giving me that encouraging smile the first time you introduced me to Ms Wong and also all those times when I felt really lost and stupid.
Thank you Sis Prema for being my friend and helping me out.
Thank you Ms Dorris for making me carry rolls and rolls of paper and thank you Ms Wong for believing in me!
Saturday, 13 December 2008
Saturday
And so someone finally decided to take the initiative to organize a 6M primary school reunion and no the person was'nt me, it wasn't any of the boys in 6M and no we're not ashamed of ourselves for not doing so or maybe just a little. I would like to thank our old classmate Eelyn for that. The venue: Seoul Garden, Gurney Plaza. Somehow most gatherings are held at Seoul Garden. hmmmm..... The last time I had lunch there, it cost me RM19.90 and now suddenly, just because its a Saturday, the price nearly doubled. There were 3 tables booked for us altogether. One was an all males table, another all female table and lastly the "mixed" table. Most of the boys and girls were still shy. Level of communication was way low. I was expecting all of us to be mingling freely as it should be in a reunion. Yeah we were shy. But, I did succeed in overcoming the shyness in me though not totally ;). And do accept my sincere apologies Ms Agnes as I have yet again failed to recognize you( you have to understand you did not have hazel brown eyes at the start of the year;) )
I would say most of my male classmates were really shy too as was I initially. My mum would say typical Chung Ling boys. Yeah, I find that to be really true. Most Chung Ling boys just dont seem to be able to communicate well with the opposite sex. Yes, I have to admit that. I have seen a lot of such cases though there are,few, of those who interact really well and in some cases "exceptionally" well with girls;)
For most of the Chung Ling boys I realized, are not a friendly lot. There was this instance where a Malay girl about the same age as me tried to initiate a conversation with one of my schoolmate by asking him his age and school but he turned away, not answering the question. He turned to another friend and told him the Malay girl was nuts talking to him when she doesnt really know him at all. Come on, we are all students of the same class of a driving school. And mind you, that isnt the only case I have witnessed. In some cases, i also tend to feel that Chung Ling students regardless of their age tend to be slightly snobbish and most of the time even arrogant if u, one can really smell the air of "confidence" or should I say gigantic ego and pride carried around with them. Hence, they feel they are of an upper class which of course I do not agree. Yes there are such people. But, no I am not condemning the school. It's a fact. However, pls be advised that NOT ALL Chung Ling students are as such. There are the gentlemen, the knights in shining armor who may gallop into ur everyday life once a while ---- and by that I am referring to the writer of this blog- ME. (sticks tongue out) ;) vanity perhaps )
after lunch, a group photo was taken at the foyer of Gurney Plaza and some of us went to watch the Day the Earth stood still. Nice movie I must say, though it maybe short (1.5 hours) for RM 10. It's practically about us human beings being green criminals and villains. Nice show once again. Dont miss it!
" A friend in need is a true friend indeed."
Sometimes, one just finds a true friend even thru small events that occur.
Hence, special thanks to my dear friend Yee Hau for giving me a lift home. If not for Yee Hau, I would've been squatting along Gurney Drive for 2 hours till 8.45pm waiting for the T304 Rapid Penang bus which is so EFFICIENT by the way even after the complaints made! Indeed, a true friend who comes to save me ,in not a shining armor but a Harrier, shall be cherished. You have my gratitude, Mr Entao Leow!
Sunday
StarWalk!! Arghh! The bozo wakes up early, gets dressed and heads out to Penang International Sports Arena (PISA) with his family at 6.15am. The crowd was big as usual. Though I have to say, the Starwalk this year was badly organized. Most of the participants were told to gather before the finishing line and so we, as obedient citizens did. The finishing line was far apart from the starting point where the governor was supposed to flag off the race and people were sardine-packed behind the finishing line. And, the next thing we knew, a faint sound of a gunshot was heard and far in front of us, the other participants who were far in front at the starting point started off and we seeing that, wrestled out of the crowd and followed. Hence, it can be said that it was really unfair for all of us behind the finishing line as we were told to do so. Most of the people were also in the mist. We were told to gather there and the marshals would instruct us to go forward to the starting point when the time came. Hence, when i arrived after the long walk, there was a group of veteran athletes voicing out their dissatisfaction over the issue and some complained to the marshals. But what can they do?
The next thing that I can really laugh at, yet get exasperated at was the attitude of some of the participants in the competition category which I am in. Children, teenagers and fully grown adults cheated. Yeah they were not supposed to run and yet they did. This is Starwalk ar Uncle not Starrun. Come onlah you pay and come for a competition like this and you want to cheat ar. Aiyo sia suilah begini. Memang ada 13-17 year old boys who refuse to obey the rules so that they may be able to get a prize. But Adults doing that???? Come onlah! That is unacceptable and yes they do know that they should not run. It wasnt their first time because they knew that the marshals stationed along the route would take their numbers down if they did run and not walk and disqualify them. So, the participants this year got more cunning and sly, they no longer needed to look back and forth the route to ensure that no marshal was looking while they ran., they simply took off their numbers pinned behind and in front of their Tshirt and so the marshals could not disqualify them as there were no numbers to identify who they were. One of them had their numbers in hand and pinned them back on when they were about to reach the finishing line. Come onlah, have sportsmanshiplah. Pathetic man! They are not only making a fool out of themselves but also, depriving other adults from what they deserve.
One particular case impressed me the most. 2 men in their 40s jogged passed me(yes its against the rules) but what they did was extraordinary and was definitely for the good of their family. They obtain the wristbands for their family members which must be worn by every participant. Then, the event started and they jogged happily with their bulging biceps and triceps, till they reached nearly half the route where their wives and kids were waiting for him on the opposite side of the road. They crossed over to receive the wristbands from their amazing fathers and started walking when we as obedient participants with principles and sportsmanship can only look on as our muscles start to ache after walking thru 5km of hell(no it wasnt that bad) . That's just outright cheating. Yes, even if they did win, what is there to be proud of? As a father, he thinks he's doing his job , but is he??? What he does not realize is he's instilling the value of cheating, the value of doing whatever it takes to get to the top in his sons and daughters. It's a disgrace. Of course, I happen to see one of my Chung Ling schoolmates doing things like that too. Pathetic.
This year, my inspiration came from a 70 odd years old uncle who walked along side me for part of the journey and yes soon he was far ahead of me already. He too condemned those mentioned above. I followed his pace, his rythm whenever I could spot him. He's fast, real fast for some one his age. Thats why he has my salutations and respect.
Then came the lucky draw, long awaited by the 13,000 participants. As the value of the prizes grew bigger and bigger as mentioned by the emcee, the patience of the people grew thinner and thinner. Furthermore among the lucky numbers chosen, there were instances where numbers like 09921, 09922, 09923, 09924, 09925 and even 09929 were kinda "coincidentally" picked and that is not the only case. However for those having the numbers from03000 till 04000 and 06000 till 07000 had no luck at all as not one number was selected for these two thousand unfortunate people. Well, what the heck, yes I do want the Suzuki motorbikes but well whats not yours isnt urs then. Of course we met all kinds of people there. There were also those inconsiderate enough who will take ur newspaper even knowing that its urs while u read the Sunday section and place the main section of the papers right beside u after reading it without asking. There are also those who would stand in front of a whole group of audience , blocking everyones vision and yet throw tantrums and refuse to move away even when told nicely to do so. It's really hard to believe how such people can have such "thick skins" as the Hokkiens would call it.
P/S :The photos will be uploaded as soon as possible once i get it from dear Eugene.
Signing off, really tired. :)
And so someone finally decided to take the initiative to organize a 6M primary school reunion and no the person was'nt me, it wasn't any of the boys in 6M and no we're not ashamed of ourselves for not doing so or maybe just a little. I would like to thank our old classmate Eelyn for that. The venue: Seoul Garden, Gurney Plaza. Somehow most gatherings are held at Seoul Garden. hmmmm..... The last time I had lunch there, it cost me RM19.90 and now suddenly, just because its a Saturday, the price nearly doubled. There were 3 tables booked for us altogether. One was an all males table, another all female table and lastly the "mixed" table. Most of the boys and girls were still shy. Level of communication was way low. I was expecting all of us to be mingling freely as it should be in a reunion. Yeah we were shy. But, I did succeed in overcoming the shyness in me though not totally ;). And do accept my sincere apologies Ms Agnes as I have yet again failed to recognize you( you have to understand you did not have hazel brown eyes at the start of the year;) )
I would say most of my male classmates were really shy too as was I initially. My mum would say typical Chung Ling boys. Yeah, I find that to be really true. Most Chung Ling boys just dont seem to be able to communicate well with the opposite sex. Yes, I have to admit that. I have seen a lot of such cases though there are,few, of those who interact really well and in some cases "exceptionally" well with girls;)
For most of the Chung Ling boys I realized, are not a friendly lot. There was this instance where a Malay girl about the same age as me tried to initiate a conversation with one of my schoolmate by asking him his age and school but he turned away, not answering the question. He turned to another friend and told him the Malay girl was nuts talking to him when she doesnt really know him at all. Come on, we are all students of the same class of a driving school. And mind you, that isnt the only case I have witnessed. In some cases, i also tend to feel that Chung Ling students regardless of their age tend to be slightly snobbish and most of the time even arrogant if u, one can really smell the air of "confidence" or should I say gigantic ego and pride carried around with them. Hence, they feel they are of an upper class which of course I do not agree. Yes there are such people. But, no I am not condemning the school. It's a fact. However, pls be advised that NOT ALL Chung Ling students are as such. There are the gentlemen, the knights in shining armor who may gallop into ur everyday life once a while ---- and by that I am referring to the writer of this blog- ME. (sticks tongue out) ;) vanity perhaps )
after lunch, a group photo was taken at the foyer of Gurney Plaza and some of us went to watch the Day the Earth stood still. Nice movie I must say, though it maybe short (1.5 hours) for RM 10. It's practically about us human beings being green criminals and villains. Nice show once again. Dont miss it!
" A friend in need is a true friend indeed."
Sometimes, one just finds a true friend even thru small events that occur.
Hence, special thanks to my dear friend Yee Hau for giving me a lift home. If not for Yee Hau, I would've been squatting along Gurney Drive for 2 hours till 8.45pm waiting for the T304 Rapid Penang bus which is so EFFICIENT by the way even after the complaints made! Indeed, a true friend who comes to save me ,in not a shining armor but a Harrier, shall be cherished. You have my gratitude, Mr Entao Leow!
Sunday
StarWalk!! Arghh! The bozo wakes up early, gets dressed and heads out to Penang International Sports Arena (PISA) with his family at 6.15am. The crowd was big as usual. Though I have to say, the Starwalk this year was badly organized. Most of the participants were told to gather before the finishing line and so we, as obedient citizens did. The finishing line was far apart from the starting point where the governor was supposed to flag off the race and people were sardine-packed behind the finishing line. And, the next thing we knew, a faint sound of a gunshot was heard and far in front of us, the other participants who were far in front at the starting point started off and we seeing that, wrestled out of the crowd and followed. Hence, it can be said that it was really unfair for all of us behind the finishing line as we were told to do so. Most of the people were also in the mist. We were told to gather there and the marshals would instruct us to go forward to the starting point when the time came. Hence, when i arrived after the long walk, there was a group of veteran athletes voicing out their dissatisfaction over the issue and some complained to the marshals. But what can they do?
The next thing that I can really laugh at, yet get exasperated at was the attitude of some of the participants in the competition category which I am in. Children, teenagers and fully grown adults cheated. Yeah they were not supposed to run and yet they did. This is Starwalk ar Uncle not Starrun. Come onlah you pay and come for a competition like this and you want to cheat ar. Aiyo sia suilah begini. Memang ada 13-17 year old boys who refuse to obey the rules so that they may be able to get a prize. But Adults doing that???? Come onlah! That is unacceptable and yes they do know that they should not run. It wasnt their first time because they knew that the marshals stationed along the route would take their numbers down if they did run and not walk and disqualify them. So, the participants this year got more cunning and sly, they no longer needed to look back and forth the route to ensure that no marshal was looking while they ran., they simply took off their numbers pinned behind and in front of their Tshirt and so the marshals could not disqualify them as there were no numbers to identify who they were. One of them had their numbers in hand and pinned them back on when they were about to reach the finishing line. Come onlah, have sportsmanshiplah. Pathetic man! They are not only making a fool out of themselves but also, depriving other adults from what they deserve.
One particular case impressed me the most. 2 men in their 40s jogged passed me(yes its against the rules) but what they did was extraordinary and was definitely for the good of their family. They obtain the wristbands for their family members which must be worn by every participant. Then, the event started and they jogged happily with their bulging biceps and triceps, till they reached nearly half the route where their wives and kids were waiting for him on the opposite side of the road. They crossed over to receive the wristbands from their amazing fathers and started walking when we as obedient participants with principles and sportsmanship can only look on as our muscles start to ache after walking thru 5km of hell(no it wasnt that bad) . That's just outright cheating. Yes, even if they did win, what is there to be proud of? As a father, he thinks he's doing his job , but is he??? What he does not realize is he's instilling the value of cheating, the value of doing whatever it takes to get to the top in his sons and daughters. It's a disgrace. Of course, I happen to see one of my Chung Ling schoolmates doing things like that too. Pathetic.
This year, my inspiration came from a 70 odd years old uncle who walked along side me for part of the journey and yes soon he was far ahead of me already. He too condemned those mentioned above. I followed his pace, his rythm whenever I could spot him. He's fast, real fast for some one his age. Thats why he has my salutations and respect.
Then came the lucky draw, long awaited by the 13,000 participants. As the value of the prizes grew bigger and bigger as mentioned by the emcee, the patience of the people grew thinner and thinner. Furthermore among the lucky numbers chosen, there were instances where numbers like 09921, 09922, 09923, 09924, 09925 and even 09929 were kinda "coincidentally" picked and that is not the only case. However for those having the numbers from03000 till 04000 and 06000 till 07000 had no luck at all as not one number was selected for these two thousand unfortunate people. Well, what the heck, yes I do want the Suzuki motorbikes but well whats not yours isnt urs then. Of course we met all kinds of people there. There were also those inconsiderate enough who will take ur newspaper even knowing that its urs while u read the Sunday section and place the main section of the papers right beside u after reading it without asking. There are also those who would stand in front of a whole group of audience , blocking everyones vision and yet throw tantrums and refuse to move away even when told nicely to do so. It's really hard to believe how such people can have such "thick skins" as the Hokkiens would call it.
P/S :The photos will be uploaded as soon as possible once i get it from dear Eugene.
Signing off, really tired. :)
Sunday, 7 December 2008
A fruitful weekend
Arghhhh! They got my name, address, message for my friends and school all wrong in my graduation magazine and I am well, utterly disappointed with it. I am curious how can they get my name wrong and add another no 4 to my address and yet again get my personal message wrong whereas there were no mistakes for my other schoolmates. Come on, this is a a once in a life time graduation magazine. Dont they do proofreading? Well i am sure they do but why me only??????
Well what the hecklah! Anyway, whats more important is that I have spent a more than fruitful weekend.
Saturday
Woke up early on Saturday. Yes as early as 5am to accompany my sis and parents to Campbell street Market for the Opera Pasar performance. I have to say, it was a really great performance. The dim sum scene, the berus gigi chant, fantastic, graceful and really cute and chubby dancers... all add up to make this musical production a unique one. Basically, their message was to save and preserve this historical Campbell street market. The crowd was supportive and yes AAK came out on the Star Metro again! However, I feel that we really need to have a large reusable banner which says something like " this is a AAK presentation. " as sort of a publicity strategy and hang it up as a backdrop for every AAK performance.
Next , my father and I went over to Khoo Kongsi and boy, there were waves and waves of tourists coming in and in. We did not need to pay for we were clansmen and my father went on with his research on Khoo Kongsi. I have to say, my father is now really crazy over his research work on Khoo Kongsi that he works till early mornings to complete his Indiana Jones- like journal.
AAK in ACTION!
Sir Francis Khoo
Sunday
woke up late having watched Friends on the net till 2 .30 am the previous night. Headed for breakfast- Hokkien mee along Beach Street ( it was good. recommended) and for Little Penang Street Market where the next performance was to be held. Helped set up the AAK booth with Siew Bee and Li Fen where paintings, sketches and calendars done by children and students during the arts workshop were displayed and sold. I must say I was quite impressed with the fact that Penangites and tourists alike have become more aware of supportive of Little Penang. The crowd was arousing. Opera Pasar was to be the first performance and the audience LOVED it. Then, right after the show, an announcement was made and me and my team went in ----- to sell the handpainted-scanned-reprinted AAK calendars to the audience. Zhao Wei and I sold quite a number of calendars ( which surprised me ) to the very supportive crowd along with our other "competitors" : Pei Shan, Siew Bee , my mum, dad, and Jens team.
Lepas tu, pergi Padang have Lok Lok. Went back, slept ,had dinner, studied my undang and update this blog
Attention ladies : Check out the boy with the muscles, no not the one with the cap
Trying our luck
And here he is AGAIN!!!!
And please do check out the video below.
Well what the hecklah! Anyway, whats more important is that I have spent a more than fruitful weekend.
Saturday
Woke up early on Saturday. Yes as early as 5am to accompany my sis and parents to Campbell street Market for the Opera Pasar performance. I have to say, it was a really great performance. The dim sum scene, the berus gigi chant, fantastic, graceful and really cute and chubby dancers... all add up to make this musical production a unique one. Basically, their message was to save and preserve this historical Campbell street market. The crowd was supportive and yes AAK came out on the Star Metro again! However, I feel that we really need to have a large reusable banner which says something like " this is a AAK presentation. " as sort of a publicity strategy and hang it up as a backdrop for every AAK performance.
Next , my father and I went over to Khoo Kongsi and boy, there were waves and waves of tourists coming in and in. We did not need to pay for we were clansmen and my father went on with his research on Khoo Kongsi. I have to say, my father is now really crazy over his research work on Khoo Kongsi that he works till early mornings to complete his Indiana Jones- like journal.
AAK in ACTION!
Sir Francis Khoo Sunday
woke up late having watched Friends on the net till 2 .30 am the previous night. Headed for breakfast- Hokkien mee along Beach Street ( it was good. recommended) and for Little Penang Street Market where the next performance was to be held. Helped set up the AAK booth with Siew Bee and Li Fen where paintings, sketches and calendars done by children and students during the arts workshop were displayed and sold. I must say I was quite impressed with the fact that Penangites and tourists alike have become more aware of supportive of Little Penang. The crowd was arousing. Opera Pasar was to be the first performance and the audience LOVED it. Then, right after the show, an announcement was made and me and my team went in ----- to sell the handpainted-scanned-reprinted AAK calendars to the audience. Zhao Wei and I sold quite a number of calendars ( which surprised me ) to the very supportive crowd along with our other "competitors" : Pei Shan, Siew Bee , my mum, dad, and Jens team.
Lepas tu, pergi Padang have Lok Lok. Went back, slept ,had dinner, studied my undang and update this blog
Attention ladies : Check out the boy with the muscles, no not the one with the cap
Trying our luck
And here he is AGAIN!!!! And please do check out the video below.
Wednesday, 3 December 2008
Once again,
Ombak Ombak ARTStudio
presents
A WORKSHOP SHOWCASE
by Anak Anak Kota
Opera Pasar
Uncle aunty kenapa pi pasar?
Sayur ikan ayam semua murah dan segar
Semua harga dapat ditawar menawar
Dekat rumah jimat minyak jimat masa.
Campbell Street Market; Pasar Hutan Mayat; Sin Keh Tau - Letʼs preserve the market!
A twenty- minute musical and dance performance depicting the rhythms, movements, and sounds of the market.
Based on oral interviews, the young performers chant about the lives of the chicken, vegetable, mutton and tim sum traders;
and sing of the history and festivities in the market.
Artists involved :
Tan Sooi Beng (Music ), Ho Sheau Fung ( Drama), Aida Redza ( Movement ) & Toh Lai Chee ( Music )
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