To zhng or not to zhng

It all started 1 month back in a conversation with Isaac over a cycling evening.  Isaac used to ride a Rodalink 200 as well (like me) but back then he was in the midst of building a new bike and we were talking about wheelsets.  He believes wheelsets are the first serious upgrade in order of priority.  He rides on Shimano Ultegra and loves them.  The other night over a west side 65km ride, JC was also talking about that to someone else and I overheard the conversation.  Hmm... CRC has the Shimano Ultegras for ~$500.

Sounded that off Isaac last night and he thinks they are a good deal since he bought his second hand for the same price but with tyres included (perhaps another $100 he estimates).

Last night's ride started out nice.  We rode in a big pack all the way to Shell, en-route I was chatting with Isaac about wheelsets, cycling at 32km/h.  If you are thinking, wow, Fel, you are a strong cyclist, well, that I had the same sentiments only to have them crushed during the return ride when I struggled to maintain 30km/h.

Question 1 - if it's raining, would you be able to ride faster or slowly?
Question 2 - should I change my wheelset?
Question 3 - who is the target segment for a hybrid SSD drive?  Opps, been so preoccupied with this question these days...

Little things that we take for granted

A new colleague saw my FB update one evening when I checked into Novena church, came to ask me if I could do her a favour and buy her a book.  Apparently she was told that the bookstore at Novena sells Henri Nouwen books rather cheaply.  She wanted the Return of the Prodigal Son.

I recall reading it years ago, but nontheless, I bought her the book over a lunch time mass one day.  It was all of $5 and I gave it to her as a gift - thinking nothing further of it.

She came gushing to me a couple of days later about what a fantastic read it was and how much it related to her, leaving her in tears as she read it.

A few days on, she asked for a second book, Inner Voice of Love, also from Henri Nouwen.

I got it for her today, $7 this time.  She was so happy to receive it and started gushing about how she found an iPhone app for daily reading/meditation from a Catholic source.  She's amazed that all Catholics the world over (all 1.18 billion of us) read the same daily readings.  Note - she's a Christian who attends the same church as a couple of my good friends.

Just hit me how I take it all for granted, the resources I have at my fingertips : well stocked bookshops with good books at really affordable pricing & a church that prays universally together every day.

While at Novena bookstore, I also bought Matty a book on New Testament children's stories.  Now I can read to the little hyper kiddo.  Unfortuately his book cost $26 :)

Keeping in a Paceline safely

9 tips on keeping the paceline while cycling :

KEEP THE PACE The number one mistake riders make is picking up speed when they get to the front, says Ignosh. "Some guys just want to show off; others are well-intentioned—they just aren't in tune with their effort and feel like they're supposed to take a pull, so they pull." As you're riding through the line, pay attention to the group's average speed and effort. When you get to the front, do your best to maintain those levels. The goal is to keep the pack together, not blow it apart or shell riders off the back.

MICROADJUST It's nearly impossible for everyone to put forth equal amounts of effort, especially on undulating terrain. You need to make adjustments along the way to prevent what Ignosh calls the Slinky effect, where the line alternately bunches together and becomes strung out, with big gaps. "It's better to make two small undercorrections than one big overcorrection," he says.

"Think of it like driving: You don't slam on the brakes, then hit the gas; you moderate your speed." To do that in a paceline, try one of these techniques:

Soft pedal: If you feel like you're getting sucked into the rider in front of you, take a light pedal stroke or two to adjust your speed accordingly.

Air brake: An easy (and safe) way to trim speed is to sit up and catch some wind. It'll slow you down a notch without disrupting the rhythm of the line.

Feather brake: Gently squeeze the brakes while continuing to pedal. You can scrub speed while shifting up or down as needed to alter your pace.

DON'T STARE Focusing on the wheel directly in front of you is a natural instinct when riding in a line, but it gives you zero time to react should something go awry. "Keep your head up and check about 10 meters down the road," says Ignosh. "Look through holes in the leading rider—over his shoulder, under his arm or through his legs—and ride proactively instead of reactively. This will help keep the line moving smoothly."

EASE OFF THE GAS Rather than accelerating when you pull, try to ride in the line at a steady pace and decelerate as you pull off and drift to the back. "This provides the right work-to-recovery ratio without all the punchy surges that tend to blow the weaker riders off the back," says Ignosh.

SHARE AND SHARE ALIKE Pacelines are designed to share the workload, so limit your pulls to a few minutes to stay fresh and give other riders a chance.

CONSERVE ENERGY If you feel tired, sit out a few turns until you're ready to take another pull. Simply open a spot for riders to rejoin the line in front of you, or come to the front and immediately pull off and drift to the back. You'll do the pack a favor by staying with them rather than working yourself into the red and falling off the back, which makes the group slow down to let you catch up.

Ever since Sin fell, everyone read up on trying to keep a paceline and doing it safely.  JC now rides like Grayson, steady constant 30km.  I've been trying to follow his super steady speed, not easy I must say, needs constant adjustment.  And the other thing, I tend to fixate.  And I mean, really fixate.  Usually like a moth drawn to light, I stare at the blinking red back light of the bike in front of me, not thinking anything, just following.  As it is with life, I am trying not to fixate on the immediate (usually small things), and to focus beyond (larger picture).  Funny what goes through your head during a 15km commute to work daily.

Tiring weekend

What a weekend!

Fri evening 10pm - cycled 55km with Peter through the hilly slopes of Jalan Bahar & Neo Tiew.
Sat morning - 5 exhausting climbs, included the overhang, twice!
Sun dawn - ran 7km of hilly slopes, climaxing with a run through Mount Faber!
Sun evening - cycled 65km at a brisk speed, up and down hilly slopes.  Naive me had assumed a comfortable pace when I saw 3 women, never have I been proven so wrong.

Total mileage of the week (Mon to Sun) : 12km run & 160km cycle.  A painful refrain this week - uphill & downhill!

My abs are sore now, not sure from the hilly run/cycling yesterday or the overhang climb Sat.  Or perhaps all combined!

BBC - Eat more nuts and fruit to 'help weight loss'

Hmm...  Chris has been right this whole time with the saying "stop eating crap"!  Fill up with high fibre foods leaving you little room for crap.

Eat more nuts and fruit to 'help weight loss'

Eating larger portions of healthy food is more important than dieting when it comes to staying slim, say scientists.

The US team found people who increased their intake of more high-fibre food like nuts, fruit, yoghurt and vegetables actually lost weight.

The Harvard School of Public Health researchers believe consumption of these products left less room for fatty foods.

The study of 120,000 people appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The participants were monitored over 20 years.

Unsurprisingly, the food linked to the greatest amount of weight gain was chips. An extra daily portion led to an increase in weight of over 3lbs in four years.

Similar results were seen among people who consumed extra portions of crisps, sugary drinks and meats.

Go nuts

However, there was less weight gain as time went on among people who ate more of certain foods, such as yoghurt, vegetables, fruits and whole grains.

For example, an extra helping of yoghurt led to a fall in weight of 0.37 kilos (0.82lbs) and for vegetables it was 0.1 kilos (0.22lbs).

Dariush Mozaffarian, associate professor at Harvard and lead author of the study, said the fibre content of these foods could explain their effect.

"Their inverse associations with weight gain suggest that the increase in their consumption reduced the intake of other foods to a greater (caloric) extent, decreasing the overall amount of energy consumed.

"Higher fibre content and slower digestion of these foods would augment satiety, and their increased consumption would also displace other, more highly processed foods in the diet.

Yahoo Finance - Ten Brands That Will Disappear in 2012

I remember when all my friends left Uni and joined Erickson and it was cool.  

Or being addicted to Kellogg's corn pops while in school in Oz (the Oz version is fluffier and heavenly!).  

And A&W?  I love the ice cream floats!

Fine, I'm just old and nostalgic..   

Ten Brands That Will Disappear in 2012

1. Sony Pictures

Sony has a studio production arm which has nothing to do with its core businesses of consumer electronics and gaming. Sony bought what was Columbia Tri-Star Picture in 1989 for $3.4 billion. This entertainment operation has done poorly recently. Sony's fiscal year ends in March, and for the period, revenue for the group dropped 15% to $7.2 billion and operating income fell by 10% to $466 million. Sony is in trouble. It lost $3.1 billion in its latest fiscal year on revenue of $86.5 billion. Sony's gaming system group is under siege by Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT - News) and Nintendo. Its consumer electronics group faces an overwhelming challenge from Apple. The company's future prospects have been further damaged by the Japan earthquake and the hack of its large PlayStation Network. CEO Howard Stringer is under pressure to do something to increase the value of Sony's shares. The only valuable asset with which he can easily part is Columbia which would attract interest from a number of large media operations. Sony Entertainment will disappear with the sale of its assets.

2. A&W

A&W Restaurants is owned by fast food holding company giant Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - News) which has had the firm for sale since January. There have been no buyers. The chain was founded in 1919. The size of the company grew rapidly, and immediately after WWII 450 franchises were opened. The firm pioneered the "drive in" fast food format. A&W began to sell canned versions of its sodas in 1971 — the part of the business that will survive as a container beverage business which is now owned by Dr. Pepper/Snapple. The A&W Restaurant business is too small to be viable now. It had 322 outlets in the U.S and 317 outside the U.S at the end of last year. All were operated by franchisees. By contrast, Yum!'s flagship KFC had 5,055 stores in the U.S. and 11,798 overseas. Two massive global fast food chains are even larger. Subway has 35,000 locations worldwide, and McDonald's has nearly as many. A&W does not have the ability to market itself against these chains and at least a dozen other fast food operators like Burger King. And, A&W does not have the size to efficiently handle food purchases, logistics, and transportation costs compared to competitors many times as large.

3. Saab

The first Saab car was launched in 1949 by Swedish industrial firm Svenska Aeroplan. The firm produced a series of sedans and coups, the flagship of which was the 900 series, released in 1978. About one million of these would eventually be sold. Saab's engineering reputation and the rise in its international sales attracted GM to buy half the company in 1989 and the balance in 2000. Saab's problem, which grew under the management of the world's No.1 automobile manufacturer, was that it was never more than a niche brand in an industry dominated by very large players such as Ford and Chevrolet. It did not build very inexpensive cars like VW did, or expensive sports cars as Porsche did. Saab's models were, in price and features, up against models from the world's largest car companies that sold hundreds of thousands of units each year. Saab also did not have a wide number of models to suit different budgets and driver tastes. GM decided to jettison the brand in late 2008, and the small company quickly became insolvent. Saab finally found a buyer in high-end car maker Spyker which took control of the company last year. Spyker quickly ran low on money because only 32,000 Saabs were sold in 2010. Spyker turned to Chinese industrial investors for money. Pang Da Automobile agreed to take an equity stake in the company. But, the agreement is not binding, and with a potential of global sales which are still below 50,000 a year based on manufacturing and marketing operations, and demand, Saab is no longer a financially viable brand.

4. American Apparel

The once-hip retailer reached the brink of bankruptcy earlier this year, and there is no indication that it has gained anything more than a little time with its latest financing. It currently trades as a penny stock. The company had three stores and $82 million in revenue in 2003. Those numbers reached 260 stores and $545 million in 2008. For the first quarter of this year, the retailer had net sales for the quarter of $116.1 million, a 4.7% decline over sales of $121.8 million in the same period a year ago. Comparable store sales declined 8% on a constant currency basis. American Apparel posted a net loss for the period of $21 million. Comparable store sales have flattened, which means the firm likely will continue to post losses. American Apparel is also almost certainly under gross margin pressure because of the rise in cotton prices. The retailer raised $14.9 million in April by selling shares at a discount of 43% to a group of private investors led by Canadian financier Michael Serruya and Delavaco Capital. According to Reuters, the 15.8 million shares sold represented 20.3 percent of the company's outstanding stock on March 31. That sum is not nearly enough to keep American Apparel from going the way of Borders. It is a small, under-funded player in a market with very large competitors with healthy balance sheets. It does not help matters that the company's founder and CEO, Dov Charney, has been a defendant in several lawsuits filed by former employees alleging sexual harassment.

5. Sears

The parent of Sears and Kmart — Sears Holdings — is in a lot of trouble. Total revenue dropped $341 million to $9.7 billion for the quarter which closed April 30, 2011. The company had a net loss of $170 million. Sears Holdings was created by a merger of the parents of the two chains on March 24, 2005. The operation has been a disaster ever since. The company has tried to run 4,000 stores which operate across the US and Canada. Neither Sears nor Kmart have done well recently, but Sears' domestic locations same store numbers were off 5.2% in the first quarter and Kmart's were down 1.6%. Last year domestic comparable store sales declined 1.6% in the total, with an increase at Kmart of .7% and a decline at Sears Domestic of 3.6%. New CEO Lou D'Ambrosio recently said of the last quarter that, "we also fell short on executing with excellence. We cannot control the weather or economy or government spending. But we can control how we execute and leverage the potent set of assets we have." D'Ambrosio needs to pull a rabbit out of his hat soon. Sharex are down 55% during the last five years. D'Ambrosio's only reasonable solution to the firm's financial problems is to stop supporting two brands which compete with one another and larger rivals such as Walmart (NYSE: WMT - News) and Target (NYSE: TGT - News). The cost to market two brands and maintain stores which overlap one another geographically must be in the hundreds of millions of dollars each year. Employee and supply chain costs are also gigantic. The path D'Ambrosio is likely to take is to consolidate two brand into one — keeping the better performing Kmart and shuttering Sears.

6. Sony Ericsson

Sony Ericsson was formed by the two large consumer electronics companies to market the handset offerings each had handled separately. The venture started in 2001, before the rise of the smartphone. Early in its history, it was one of the biggest handset manufacturers along with Nokia (NYSE: NOK - News), Samsung, LG, and Motorola. Sales of Sony Ericsson phones were originally helped by the popularity of other Sony portable devices like the Walkman. Sony Ericsson's product development lagged behind those of companies like Apple (NYSE: AAPL - News) and Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM - News) which dominated the high end smartphone industry early. Sony Ericsson also relied on the Symbian operating system which was championed by market leader Nokia, but which it has abandoned in favor of Microsoft's Windows mobile operating system because of license costs and difficulty with programmers. In a period when smartphone sales worldwide are rising in the double digits and sales of the iPhone double year over year, Sony Ericsson's unit sales dropped from 97 million in 2008 to 43 million last year. New competitors like HTC now outsell Sony Ericsson by widening numbers. Sony Ericsson management expects several more quarters of falling sales and the company has laid off thousands of people. There have been rumors, backed by logic, that Sony will take over the operation, rebrand the handsets with its name, and market them in tandem with its PS3 consoles and VAIO PCs.

7. Kellogg's Corn Pops

The cereal business is not what is used to be, at least for products that are not considered "healthy." Among those is Kellogg's Corn Pops ready-to-eat cereal. Sales of the brand dropped 18% over the year that ended in April, down to $74 million. That puts it well behind brands like Cheerios and Frosted Flakes, each which have sales of over $200 million a year. Private label sales have also hurt sales of branded cereals. Revenues in this category were $637 million over the same April-end period. There is also profit margin pressure on Corn Pops because of the sharp increase in corn prices. Kellogg's describes the product as being "crispy, glazed, crunchy, sweet." Corn Pops also contain mono- and diglycerides, used to bind saturated fat, and BHT for freshness, which is also used in embalming fluid. None of these are likely to be what mothers want to serve their children in an age in which a healthy breakfast is more likely to be egg whites and a bowl of fresh fruit.

8. MySpace

MySpace, once the world's largest social network, died a long time ago. It will get buried soon. News Corp (NYSE: NWS - News) bought MySpace and its parent in 2005 for $580 million, which was considered inexpensive at the time based on the web property's size. MySpace held the top spot among social networks based on visitors from mid-2006 until mid-2008, according to several online research services. It was overtaken by Facebook at that point. Facebook has 700 million members worldwide now and recently passed Yahoo! (NYSE: YHOO - News) as the largest website for display advertising based on revenue. News Corp was able to get an exclusive advertising deal worth $900 million shortly after it bought the property, but that was its sales high-water mark. Its audience is currently estimated to be less that 20 million visitors in the US. Why did MySpace fall so far behind Facebook? No one knows for certain. It may be that Facebook had more attractive features for people who wanted to share their identities online. It may have been that it appealed to a younger audience which tends to spend more time online. News Corp announced in February that it would sell MySpace. There were no serious bids. Rumors surfaced recently that a buyer may take the website for $100 million. The brand is worth little if anything. A buyer is likely to kill the name and fold the subscriber base into another brand. News Corp has hinted it will close MySpace if it does not find a buyer.

9. Soap Opera Digest

The magazine's future has been ruined by two trends. The first is the number of cancellations of soap operas. Long-lived shows which include "All My Children" and "One Life to Live" have been canceled and replaced by talk shows, which are less expensive to air. The other insurmountable challenge is the wide availability of details on soap operas online. Some of the shows even have their own fan sites. News about the industry, in other words, is now distributed and no longer in one place. Soap Opera Digest's first quarter advertising pages fell 21% in the first quarter and revenue was down 18% to $4 million. In 2000, the magazine's circulation was in excess of 1.1 million readers. By 2005 it fell below 500,000 where it has remained for the last 5 years. Source Interlink Media, the magazine's parent, which also owns automotive, truck, and motorcycle publications, has little reason to support a product based on a dying industry.

10. Nokia

Nokia is dead. Shareholders are just waiting for an undertaker. The world's largest handset company has one asset. Nokia sold 25% of the global total of 428 million units sold in the first quarter. Its problem is that in the industry the company is viewed as a falling knife. Its market share in the same quarter of 2010 was nearly 31%. The arguments that Nokia will not stay independent are numerous. It has a very modest presence in the rapidly growing smartphone industry which is dominated by Apple, Research In Motion's Blackberry, HTC, and Samsung. Nokia runs the outdated Symbian operating system and is in the process of changing to Microsoft's Windows mobile OS, which has a tiny share of the market.

Nokia would be an attractive takeover target to a large extent because the cost to "buy" 25% of the global handset market would only be $22 billion based on Nokia's current market cap. Obviously, a buyer would need to pay a premium, but even $30 billion is within reach of several companies. Potential buyers would start with HTC, the fourth largest smartphone maker in the world. Its sales have doubled in both the last quarter and the last year. HTC will sell as many as 80 million handsets in 2011. The Taiwan-based company's challenge would be whether it could finance such a large deal. The other three likely bidders do not have that problem. Microsoft, which is Nokia's primary software partner, could easily buy the company and is often mentioned as a suitor. The world's largest software company recently moved further into the telecom industry though its purchase of VoIP giant Skype, which has 170 million active customers. Two other large firms have many reasons to buy Nokia. Samsung, part of one of the largest conglomerates in Korea, has publicly set a goal to be the No.1 handset company in the world by 2014. The parent company is the largest in South Korea with revenue in 2010 of $134 billion. A buyout of Nokia would launch Samsung into the position as the world's handset leader. LG Electronics, the 7th largest company in South Korea, with sales of $48 billion, is by most measures the third largest smartphone company. It has the scale and balance sheet to takeover Nokia. The only question about the Finland-based company is whether a buyer would maintain the Microsoft relationship or change to the popular Android OS to power Nokia phones.

My 1:1 with my senior VP

He was warm, honest and really down to earth.  He asked me a few questions :
- my on-boarding experience
- my expectations of the company during the interview versus now
- where I want to be in this company, my personal goals

Of cos I answered positively - which is largely true anyhow.  Except the last question, I didn't have a real answer, and he looked me in the eye and wanted me to think hard about it.  That it would be a pity if I left this company (one day) without having maxed out my potential.

I am impressed.  Really.

Mileage

The marathon's over yeah, but last week I clocked 20km spread over Tue/Thu & Sun morning.  Not bad indeed!

No excuse living

I've always espoused living life without excuses.

Let's say running. Other than with Hon (my ex bf), I've always been a solo runner. Occasionally people run with me, Kuansie while still in HP, Viv on a few occasions last year. It's nice sometimes, but then you compromise your own pace or gameplan. The lack of a run buddy is no excuse - just chalk it down to tiredness or plain laziness.  Really no excuses.

Or the familiar, no time. We all have 24 hours regardless if you're a CEO or a manual worker. It all boils down to time management and your priorities.

Or religion. People stop attending church because the sermon's no good, or the pastor was rude to you or cell group wasn't welcoming.  These are really excuses - change churches if you must, but keep going!

Today, I'm glad I have a run buddy in Peter. Simply cos it gets me out of bed at 6am to run 12km. At this rate, the Army Half Marathon will be a breeze :)

Mobile telephones more common than toilets in India, UN report finds

Mobile telephones more common than toilets in India, UN report finds

What's a laptop?

It's been years since I said the word, laptop.  Within HP, so for the last 11 years, we've always called a notebook, a notebook. 

I realize outside of the notebook world, people actually say, laptop instead. 

Like as if anyone puts in on their laps anymore...

Another half marathon race set in the evening?

What is this?  Caught my eye today, another evening race?

http://www.marina21k.com.sg/events.html

I'm tempted!

I'm tired!

I'm tired and feeling flu-ey since returning from KL last weekend & just never had the opportunity to sleep it off cos I've been getting home only around 11pm all week.

Last night, right after Jo's housewarming party, I went to bed at 11:30pm.  Feeling better now.

Marking my first month

Has it been 4 weeks already?

Tue this week, I had my first sync session with my worldwide counterparts on the hybrid product to launch.  Wed, I had a session with the person who generates all the sales reports.  I wasted Wed afternoon and Thu I was distracted cos my new notebook (a Lenovo Thinkpad) arrived.

And suddenly it's Friday!!  Generated a few charts, put content into a few more slides of my launch plans, hopefully by Monday, I'll have something decent to share as a first version.

I am thinking now, I need to poop...  I'm a little backed-up right now. This heatiness thing is contagious, probably caught it over the weekend sitting too close to the unhygienic one.  Which reminds me of Asterix and Oberlix comics from childhood - this character in the village called Unhygienix.  Haha...

A blast from the past

Met this guy Simon cycling last night.  I thought I saw him a couple of weeks ago in the carpark after the cycle although he didn't cycle with our group then.

Ok, I digress.

So this Simon, we dated for a bit, waaay back in time, perhaps 18 years ago?  Went on a couple of hikes - I recall 1 mountain & 1 waterfall trip, perhaps more...

Anyhow, he told me last night that he is now a father to 4 kids & he cycles a lot.  (puts paid to the notion that cycling causes impotency)

I wonder if the Lord has perhaps forgotten my prayer, I need to shout my prayer out loud (maybe tonight in the privacy of home) ;)

Cubical wall decoration

Building my wall of pain...

Weekend in KL

It was a great weekend.  Thanks to good buddies, Zi & Peter!  Love u 2!

It was intended as a trip to take Maggie Lee to climb in Malaysia - I used to climb with her in the 石牌climb gym in Taipei.  Roping along Derek, Zi & Peter to make it a comfortable small climb group.

Zi very generously offered her car again, and we got to KL rather uneventfully, Peter's a really steady driver.  Straight to Batu Caves without much difficulties, Maggie, Peter & I climbed Nyamuk ; Zi went with Derek to climb multi-pitches in Damai. 

I had forgotten the path into Nyamuk and led us all too deep, beyond Nyamuk into primary forest.  We were bashing for some 20mins before retreating back to tadah! Nyamuk itself.  It's been 10 years since my last foray into Nyamuk! Thankfully we met some fellow Singaporeans at Nyamuk, so we weren't too lonely at Nyamuk and they gave us some rather helpful beta as well.

I full led 3 climbs quite easily - really happy with the technical nature of the long routes.  3 persons on 1 rope takes a while, so close to 5pm, we started to pack up.  By 5:30pm, we were happily eating ice kacangs at the Malay stalls just outside the crags, adrenaline from our day's climbing still gushing through our veins.  Peter had his first encounter with outdoors climbing,Maggie her first Malaysian climbing and I was reaquainted with Nyamuk after a decade. 

Over at Damai wall, Derek was pleased to climb multi-pitch climbs all afternoon with Zi.  He was saying he normally cannot be hogging 1 rope since we typically climb in bigger groups.

Perfect day 1 for everyone.


Day 2 we climbed at Putrajaya.  Routes were reset for a recent competition, so we had new routes to climb.  I did 5 climbs this time, all leads.  Am pretty pleased with the climbs - I'm happy!

The only down side was stupid Sai hotel giving up our reservations.  Yeah, we got walked.  But it is a small hotel and I didn't leave a credit card number to hold the room. Nontheless, at 12 midnight, with potentially no place to sleep, it was not exactly the best predicament.

Thankfully everyone stayed cool.  Using the GPS, we were led to the Pullman hotel which within the Putrajaya precinct, literally next street from Putrajaya's climb gym.  We had to pay a little more for Pullman which is a 5 star hotel - squeezed all 5 of us into 1 room.  At 1am in the night, none of us really cared too much that the cheapest available room was a "jacuzzi deluxe room" - it had a huge jacazzi by the bed in the open and the bathroom was totally transparent see-thru glass.  Totally no privacy, but then it was just 1 night and we were all too exhausted to care too much.

And my menstrual cycle was spot on.. NOT.  Coincided exactly with day 1 of the trip - no thank you hormone.  Yeah, I was little tired, didn't climb as hard as I otherwise would have.

Maggie had plenty of climbs in, and she just texted me asking me to purchase for her the Climb Malaysia climbing book and to ship it to her in Taipei.  She must like it here!

Thank you Jesus for good friends, good opportunities and good times.

2 cookie a day

There is a free flow of Danish butter cookies (in metal tins) & Ice Mountain bottled water alongside the typical coffee/tea beverages in the office pantry.  Also huge cans of Khong Guan biscuits which aren't popular.

Very generous indeed!

Without marathon training, I have restricted myself to 2 cookies a day.  I had 4 today to compensate for the weekend ;)

My dream last night

This week has been zero activity since the marathon over the weekend.

It has been raining, so all climbs/cycling has been canceled.

Last night, I got back early, vacuumed & moped the house, completed the posters/adverts for the next upcoming Cafe event to be held at St Bernadette's in July, then retired to bed early (before 1am).

Then I had this really vivid dream.  Came upon some guys capturing a long dark snake.  They placed the snake in an huge flower pot/urn-like holder, then transferred it into a plastic bag.  I carried that plastic bag with the snake for a long while, before finally deciding to feed it some water.  Funnily enough, in the dream I didn't seem to be that terrified of snakes. As I opened the bag, tipped water in, I found it was dead.  Tipped the snake out of the plastic bag into the toilet bowl to confirm.  End scene, toilet bowl with a huge dark dead snake with its dead head sticking out of the WC. 

Think I need to watch less Fringe and be careful in Batu caves this weekend ;)

New focus : work & God

Maggie from Taiwan is here on a visit and we decided to head up to climb the natural crags of KL.

My initial plan was simple, jump on a bus to KL, then public transport around KL.

I asked around and Derek said he wants to come - if I will drive.  So fine - drive.  Thankfully for me, Zi & Peter (my best friends of late) are also able to join, making it a 5-some.

Last night Zi mentioned that in asking Derek to come along, I might have pressured him into sacrificing 1 cycle (Sunday night).  I was really dismayed to hear that.  I thought I was being nice by inviting Derek and ironically, he might be also "trying to do me a favour in coming along to climb with me?!".  That's the last thing I want! Already he has been so prima donna of late... Zi said she'll speak to him to clarify.

My new mantra is not to be complicated.  I will not let this bother me.  Derek & I are still friends - I will not let this get to me.

My new focus is now less on sports (now that the marathon is over), and more on work & God.  I might need to un-clutter my work week, perhaps skip all Wednesday cycles,  for more evening masses after work.