Its The Final Countdown!!!
Its gettin nearer!! Less than 2 months to go...!!! From the day we saw 2 obvious pinkish lines on the preggie test kit, till this morning when she moved so vigorously that J's tummy just shuddered, it has been a roller-coaster ride of emotions... What about when I finally see her? ....I can't wait!!
Preparations.. preparations... will I be ready? Will we be ready? How will I react when I see her for the 1st time? Will I know how to hold her? Will I know how to provide for her? Will I know what her cry means? Will I know when she wants to be cuddled? Will I know when she just wants to be left alone? Will she recognise my voice? Will she feel safe in my arms? Will she grasp my little finger in her hand and don't let go? How does it feel to touch her little wiggly toes? How does it feel to put my nose on her soft cheeks? How will I feel when she looks me in the eye and holds that gaze? Will I see myself in her face?
Sigh... I don't think I can focus on my work for the rest of today...
To my Muslim friends, Selamat Hari Raya and have a safe drive balik kampung!!! To the rest, happy holidays!!
Let Me Tell You A Story...
Once upon a time, in a far away land, not very long ago (yesterday), 3 lil stooges decided to go up a hill. They thought it would be nice to climb up the hill via bicycles... so they made an appointment to meet at the foot of the hill at 7:30am.
At 7am, stooge number 1 (let's call him Eugene) receives a text message from Stooge number 2 (let's call him Eric).
Eric: I might be late. Stuck in toilet.Eugene: In toilet also can sms? Sure meh?
Eric: Can.. sit down only mah. Not like you so geng, cycle also can sms.. Hehe.
Eugene: #$%^&#@$&#$@
At 7.15am, Eugene texts stooge number 3 (Let's call him Jason)
Eugene: Is it raining there?Jason: Federal here rainingEugene: Heavy ah?Jason: My urine more power laEugene: #$%&@#$%&*#@$
(Told ya they were 3 stooges)
So by the time Eric picked up Eugene and reached the foot of the hill, Jason was already fuming there for 45 mins. To cut a short story even shorter, they proceeded to cycle to the hill. This particular hill is called Peres. Some say that its a killer climb, some say its okay, while others think its a speed bump. Eric and Jason have climbed it before, but it was Eugene's first time.
For Eugene, it was like losing his virginity. All the anticipation, the building up of emotions, getting a hard on (in his legs), thrusting and working up a sweat and climaxing, but not really enjoying the full experience. Before he knew it, it was over. Done. And he couldn't recall what actually happened.
But he was addicted. Sucked into the enthralling experience of losing his virginity. He wanted more. So the other 2 stooges decided to 'entertain' Eugene's new found addiction of climbing up large
boobs hills.
Off they went towards Tekala... going downhill from the top of Peres was smooth, with barely any effort required... Going up Tekala and towards the waterfall was pretty much smooth going too.. with loads of stops for photo-taking, cam-whoring and lepaking...
Nice view.... excellent ride
Stooge 3, Stooge 2, Stooge 1
Trying to look cool... keyword is trying
Pro rider and virginity-loserAfter what seemed like eternity, and every one of them stooges decided that they had enuff photos to fill their Facebook account, they continued with their journey to Tekala waterfall.
Stopping at Tekala waterfall, the 3 tiring but cheerful stooges decided to refill their hungry tummies. Luckily there was a makcik with a drinks cum mee goreng stall who was ready to wield the big gigantic parang on the necks of the hungry and thirsty stooges.
Makcik (thinking inside): Muahahahaha... ni tempat tarak lagi 100 plus... ni mesti kena beli ngan i... boleh tutup kedai la lepas 'tiok' 3 budak ni.. (loosely translated as "Muahahahaha... this place no more 100 plus.. they have to buy from me... i can close stall and go home after i whack them kau-kau..)
What to do? 3 hungry and thirsty stooges under the 12pm sun. Eat grass meh? Ma buy 100 plus and mee goreng lor....
Chit-chatting a little and discussing where else to ride... they proceeded to ride towards a some more far away place called Kajang... probably they thought there was Kajang Satay being sold there at 1pm in the afternoon (stooges ma... dead tired alredi cannot think straight... luckily still can cycle straight)...
When it hit them that it was Ramadhan month and there would be no satay to be sold at 1pm, they were already at the junction to Kajang town... wat to do? Bloody hell U-turn back lor...
So they thought... no satay nevermind la... we go bathe at waterfall la.. By the time they reached the waterfall area again... they were thirsty again... Makcik still hadn't packed up yet and left for home (she's the smart one.. knowing full well that the 3 stooges would be back and asking for more 'tiok'ness)...
It looked like the 3 cyclists never learned their lesson. Piang!!! Kena big-ass parang one more time. Tired and lighter, both in body and wallet, the 3 stooges carried on to their next destination:
Waterfall bath.
Syiokness ultimateness
Wait.. wait.. not yet refill bottle.. you wait your turn...
No... I don't wanna look.. no, don't take my photo.. I said NO!!It was the BEST feeling ever!!! The cold heavy gush of water on a hot steamy day was heaven on earth!! It really made us wanna tackle Peres again... But luckily the 3 stooges were not that stupid. After the rejuvenating water session, the ride back to the foothill was slow and leisurely. Another bout of photo-taking took place at the Tekala dam.
Know why we didn't show our legs? Cos they're shaking, and we want the photo to be sharp.
Where the hell are the other 2??? Downhill also so slow..
OBVIOUSLY taking photos more important than riding
This one no better... rather snap than cycle
Panting like a dog on a sunny dayIt looked like it was going to rain as the 3 exhausted cyclists reached the end of their ride... However the cyclo-meter only showed 95km and stooge number 1 had not done 100kms before! He was in agony! Only 5kms and he missed out on the 100km mark??? The other 2 stooges egged him on... asking him to put his big-ass back onto the bike and ride another 5km to round it up...
And so he did... 3kms to go, Father Rain peed on Eugene. Not a trickle mind you... Father Rain drank 50 liters of 100 plus and let it all go. Eugene was soaked to the skin in the last 3kms before reaching back to meeting point and ending up at 100.37km distance done.
All in all, the 3 stooges had a great time.
Ride specifics:
Actual Distance: 100.37km
Actual Ride Time: 4:20:13
Ave Speed: 23.1km/h
Max Speed: 68.4km/h
Calories burned: 3731 Cal
Do I Still Love Myself?
Careless. Careless. Careless. Dunno what I was thinking. Dunno what went thru my head. Dunno why I was distracted. All I knew was I felt myself kicking the pavement, cushioning my fall with my hands, doing a 3/4 flip-turn ala olympic-bronze-medal winning effort and landed flat on my ass.
First thing I saw was the half-dead tree staring back at me.
First thing that went thru my head was not "Shik*, how are my injuries / bleeding / abrasions / lacerations?"
No, that was not the first thing. That wasn't even the 2nd thing.
First thing that went thru my head was "Shik, did I scratch my Garmin?"
And I belek-belek my watch and heaved a huge sigh of relief when it all looked spiffy and OK. You see, injuries can heal, bleeding can be stopped. But a scratch on the watch is forever.
Immediately after that, I thought "Shik, did I tear my shoes?"
Looked down at my shoes and aside from some dirt and mud, they looked pretty fine too. That's when I saw my bleeding knee and some lacerations on my calf. OK la, sap sap sui... small stuff.
Dropped some red ink on the chicken legsBrushed off some sand and dirt and continued home. Thank god home was 300m away. At the end of a 14km run. If it had been the start of the run, it would have been a real waste of a morning.
It didn't occur to me then, but as I showered, the thought hit me. I have read in frens' blogs about them crashing on their bikes and then the first thing that they think about after sitting up on the tarmac is "is my bike ok? is my bike ok?" Their own safety is put aside and its like they care more about their bike than themselves. At the time of reading, I thought to myself "That's crazy, how can anything material be more important than your own well-being?.... If it were me, I'd be looking at my injuries, and not my stuff.."
...And yesterday morning at about 8:25am, I joined the club. I just can't believe it.
Thoughts.
Woke up early today at about 0530 cos I have been real smacking lazy lately. Felt that it was time to go for another run; weather had been playing havoc with my running schedule of late... When I wanna run, it rains. When I dun wanna run, it rains. When I think I might wanna run, it rains. When I think I might wanna bathe, it rains. When I think I wanna eat, it rains... you get the drift.
Was out the door at 0610. Roads were empty. Air was still. The noisiest thing around me was my breathing and my foot falls.. Its times like this that's best for contemplating and thinking about worldly stuff and thats exactly what I did...
"I have been kinda lazy lately... blaming my 'laziness' for lethargy and tiredness... lotsa shifting stuff around the house, getting things ready for the baby, some hard workouts and races in the past month... laziness that has made waking up early for morning runs difficult.. Prolly I'm not getting enuff sleep..."
And suddenly my train of thought shifted...
"With the impending arrival of our lil girl, I'd prolly be getting inadequate sleep every other night (or EVERY night!!)... and I'd still need to workout and run lots, cos I'm training for a full marathon thats due in Feb/March; and of course I don't wanna sport a tummy after becoming a father.. On top of that, I'd have to juggle work and other commitments, and at the same time not fall sick, cos then I can't help around the house or worse.. spread the virus to wifey and girl-girl...
With lack of sleep, I'd also probably be yawning in office ... or worse.. in meetings! (Not that I don't do that now but the yawns would prolly increase by ten-fold..)...And then I'd start to look like a panda, then my wife and lil girl wouldn't be able to recognise me anymore, and my lil girl would cry everytime she sees me and my wife would think I'm ugly and unattractive anymore and...."
And I nearly stopped in my tracks. In the middle of the road.
"Holey Shik!! How am I gonna manage?? Gotta help take care of our lil darlin', not enough sleep, not enough rest, crazy random meal-times, do housework, go to work, business commitments, run like a dog, bike on the trainer (unlikely to get much biking time on the road), swim like a hippo, take care of wifey's needs, family and at the same time stay healthy and sane...."
This is crazee. With a capital C. But I think.... this is what being a daddy means. Its probably difficult. But nothing in life is simple.
And with that thought in place, and a smile on my face, and the long quiet road ahead of me.... the morning run turned out to be a breeze.
Ooops... I Did It Again...
Do you know what this means??
Mx = Max Speed
Location: Kesas Highway
Date: 7th September 2008
Time: Approx 10:53am
Offence: Speeding above highway limit 90km/h
.....
..........
...
Result: Unconsciousness
2008 Goals Update (August)
Rocketing Sprocketing Wocketing month...2008 Goals:Distance To Run: 1168km
Races To Run: 6 Half Marathons
Weight To Lose: 6 kgs
What I've Done:Distance Run: 943km
Races Done: 10
- KL Int Towerthon- KLIM Half Marathon- BHP Orange Run- Shoe String Run- NB Klang Pacers Half Marathon- NB Pacesetters 15km Run- Port Dickson Internation Half Marathon- Adidas King Of The Road- Merdeka Unity Run- Seremban Half Marathon
Weight Lost: 3 kg
What's Left To Do:Distance To Go: 225km
What's Left To Race: 1 Half Marathon
What's Left To Lose: 3 kgs (Macam damn hard to lose the last 3 kgs!!!)
Am I On Track?Unless there's another half-marathon race in the Klang Valley, I doubt I'll be able to do total of 6 x 21km races this year...
