It's the 3rd day I'm off from running

A very happy birthday to those who celebrate their birthdays today. You're either very lucky for celebrating your birthday once every four years or you are very unlucky because other people have a birthday party once a year. Whatever you think about it, wishing you a very very happy birthday and enjoy the moment.

Anyway, today is the third day I'm off from my daily run and I should have been resting but I have been so busy instead. My last run was on Sunday which I did only 9.5KM. Sunday's afternoon I started doing some sort of "construction work". Yes it was and bloody tiring. Mum wanted me to build a garage in front of the house. The tiring part is, the garage size wasn't for a single car but for three cars. So they are quite big with the size of 36ft x 30ft and only three of us (sometimes four) work for it. Huh...it's the fourth day and today is just doing the last part and hopefully to finish it before three or four this evening so I can have a short run of 8KM. I wish I could do more than that but I don't think if I could because I am so tired.

I asked mum to give me a back massage last night but suddenly the electricity power went off so I decided not to continue it but went to bed instead. I was so tired and the strangest thing was I couldn't close my eyes although my body was exhausted. Mum should have massaged me this morning but when I woke up I had my breakfast I continued doing the work left from yesterday. It's almost one in the afternoon and now I am having a break and will take my lunch shortly after finished writing this post.

I should be running up Kinabalu Mountain according to my plan but I'm not sure if I could because my training didn't follow exactly what I've planned. My target is to get down to 61 or 62KG so I would feel lighter but I failed because my current weight is 64KG and I was 63.4KG a a couple of weeks ago. I gained almost a kilo because I was unwell and for I ate a lot. I've read an article somewhere on the internet said that when we are ill we should eat a lot to boost up our energy and metabolism level. I'm not sure how true this fact is but I did it and I recovered quickly just about 2 or 3 days.

Running up a kinabalu mountain with my current weight would be heavy. Yup 64KG is not an ideal weight to do the ascending 8.7KM uphill. I would say the best weight is under 60KG but I would consider myself if i were 61 or 62KG.

OK folks I need to take my lunch now....take care and I still need to lose some weight maybe four kilos.

PhD Conditional offer letter is arrived in Sabah

They did thoroughly checked my proposal eh

Holla guys, I hope all is okay. I am okay but updating this blog with a bit tiredness. Anyway I had only 9.5KM today this morning and was a bit tiring. I finished it in 54 minutes 30 seconds. It was a bit slow because my best record so far is 10.44KM in 54 minutes 36 seconds. This means, I could finish 10KM in 53 minutes-ish roughly. My target is to improve myself so I could finish 10KM in less than 50 minutes. I hope to take about a year or maybe a year and a half to achieve this. In the second year or third year my aim is to finish 10KM in less than 45 minutes and gradually trying to reach 40 minutes.

Anyway, yesterday when sister came from school she told me that I have a letter offer from a university. Then I said okay give it to me and I need it to find further details about my PhD course. On the letter I should start on the 23rd of Sept 2012 but then I managed to persuade my Prof to start it on the 1st of May this year. So it's a great news although it took about a couple of weeks to reach me.

In order to get the unconditional letter of offer I need to make a £2000 non refundable deposit to the university. So i hope my sponsor would be able to do it as soon as possible. I have emailed to my sponsor. After that I do need to apply for my visa then book for my flight ticket. Huh..need to do a few more things.

I need to go to bed now..I am so bloody tired!

Lunch time with my sister and her family

Together with sister, nieces, nephews and brother in law

Our delicious lunch! yummy

It was last year when we were visiting my sister who was in Kota Marudu North Sabah. We were bored at home eating the same sort of food and initially we thought we were going to a stall for lunch but at last we decided to drive up for two hours (quite far from where we were eh). I rang up my sister and asked her to cook for lunch. About 1PM we arrived and all the food were cooked and served on the table. We stayed there for a night and had a blast on her karaoke set! Singing and dancing like mad!

A poem: Someone

Here's another poem I wrote weeks after the first one you've read yesterday. I'm not a poet but I do like write a poem when I'm down. It feels like I'm telling people about how I feel but in a different form. So enjoy the poem...

Title: Someone

There was someone,
Someone who used to live in the darkness,
A life that he wish he never had,

It has been many years,
Since he used to live with little lamps,
In a little bamboo house,
The house held thousands of stories about someone,
But he feels it was like yesterday,

Someone used to live with nothing left,
His belongings were burnt out,
He had to work as a stone collector,
To carry out his life through the darkness,

Someone used to work,
From dawn till the sun disappeared,
With little rice in his worn out bag,
For a little money,

His little body was tired,
Slept on the bamboo floor every night,
Woke up before the dawn came.

After woken up by many unexplainable dreams,
Hoping to get another Ringgit in the next day,
Someone was a warrior,
In the battle of his family,
Those who failed will fall,
Those who escaped will live,

His dad always wanted to kill him,
Either with a hatchet or motorbike,
But he was strong and unbeatable,
He never wanted to be defeated,
By the hatchet held by another warrior,
He escaped every single attempt

Someone used to cry,
When he got to know he was different,
He was adopted in the family,
He never knew his real parents,
But he hoped it wasn't true.

Someone used to run deep inside the jungle,
When he was sad and cried under a tree,
He wished the tree could talk to him,
Though he knew it was just a dream,

When the pouring rain came,
Someone used to save his books,
Putting them in a plastic bag,
Because he knew,
The bamboo house was not able to protect his books.

Someone had a dark life,
Darker than when he was walking in the jungle at night,
under the moon light,
He had to go through it,
Though sometimes he lost his way,
But he kept awake and walking,

Because he knew at the end of the jungle,
There was a little bamboos house which will give a shelter to someone.


P/s: This is another poem illustrates about the blog owner

A poem: A little boy

I've written this poem in Dec 2011 when I was feeling so dawn about my life.
It was about 2 Am in the morning and couldn't sleep. So I grabbed a pen next to my bed and a piece of paper then started writing something. This has several versions until I cut off some unnecessary stanzas and finalised it. So here's the final version.

Title: A little boy

There was a man,
Who used to run and walk in the jungle,
Every morning and afternoon
Together with squirrels, monkeys, butterflies and sometimes a snake

He used to live with a little lamp,
In a little house made from bamboos,
He used to run away deep in the jungle,
To save his life from the roughness of his drunk brother and father,
Then he had to crawl back to the house to get back his things,
Before setting off to school through the jungle with empty stomach

When he had a chance,
He went to a shop and stole pencils, books, sharpener and sometimes sweets,
He never wanted to do that,
He knew it was wrong to do that,
But then he had no choice,
Or he would never be where he is at the moment

He used to cry when he lost his pencil,
It was hurt more than when he was ill,
He adored every single thing in his bag,
Though the bag was old but he appreciated it

When he was a little boy,
He never had what he wanted,
He liked chocolates,
Cost too much to afford them,
He had to steal them

When he was a boy,
He never had new shoes and uniforms when a new term began,

The pupils used to laugh at him because of his poorness,
The other villagers used to laugh at him because he always wore the
same old uniform to go to school,
He was down, but he was strong in his world

Sharp at 12.40 in the afternoon,
The moment he had waited for since the dawn,
He ran out of the class and excited going back at home,
He was hungry and thirsty,
He stopped at the little stream and took his bottle,
Filled it up and drank it.

He liked carbonated drinks,
That day it cost 1 ringgit but it was a lot of money for him,
He never had it and he really wanted to know how it tasted,
One day he was walking to the shop,
There was a bus passing him though,

One of the people on the bus threw a carbonated drink cane out of the bus,
He ran to get the can and found out there was some left inside the can,
With a thirsty throat he drank it and he was over the moon,
He thought it was so delicious and loved it so much

He knew when he got back at home,
He will end up with rice and nothing else,
Maybe some salts or black sauce,
Or something very little in the can.

He collected snails from the river or maybe some eatable leaves from the jungle,
For his lunch to be eaten with rice

His childhood was a life,
A life with not a single challenge,
But many challenges to build him,
To be someone stronger and tougher,
Although he fell, dropped and slipped many times.

Crossing the bridge of life,
But he woke up and kept walking with no one,
Even his body was tired,
But the flame of his spirit was always on,
Because he knew nobody would be with him but himself....

P/s: It's a true story of someone...

I'm like an owl waiting for something with uncertainty

Picture was taken at my mum's house

Months, days, hours...all have gone and I am still waiting for it but never came out. I have wasted many months of my life. I've done a few big mistakes last year which I shouldn't do but I was so focus and ambitious to achieve my dreams till I forgot one simple thing caused my whole life changed from my plan. I didn't realise it until when I looked back I realised I wasn't on my storyboard which I have created years ago. I quickly checked back on my lists and managed to find the faults. I am now struggling to get back on track although I knew this is the most difficult part of the stage.

Years ago, I knew this could be one of the possible situations I need to go through but I didn't give it a big attention because looking at my storyboard analysis it had very small percentage. I almost just ignored it till a few days ago I realised that I'm in it and find it very difficult to walk. I didn't regret furthered my study in England because this was one of my big dreams of my life which I always wanted to do and now I have ticked and rounded it on my list of things I want to do in life. Step by step I achieved most of my dreams although once in 2003 my plan had slipped again from the path I have planned. I was in sadness for months and I thought to myself I wasn't good enough to be like the rest of my friends. I kept blaming myself for being so ambitious until in Nov 2003 something came out and it seemed like a new life had begun.

My plan had destroyed and I had to re-plan my life again. Everything went well! until I finished my degree and went up to Penang. I worked at there and my plan went smoothly. I then flew up to a big city of London to find a new challenge of my life although I knew lots of uncertainly ahead me. Before I flew to London I said to myself that I will fight for every single challenge come to my life. Almost two years in England, I did lots of things with lots of experience. Bad and good, up and down, laughter and sadness all were there.

In 2011, I knew I was going to do a big mistake in my life. God had whispered to me to make a decision as soon as possible but I was stubborn to carry it on with me. I was happy with what I was doing although I knew I shouldn't do that. Months I've been doing the same thing not my intention but I was trapped in the middle of dilemma and my plan. Maybe because I was trying to get back on my initial plan which I have created many years ago. I saw a chance at there and I thought I could do it but I was wrong or maybe God didn't want me to go back to my plan. He knows better!

After I finished my study and received a first class master degree I started to continue my journey again. Initially I wanted to find a job in the UK and was planning to stay longer at there. Do some savings and later of my life eventually I would like to open a business. Weeks after I finished my master degree I had to present my master's dissertation at the International conference in Brighton. I took the challenge and I'm glad because I did it well. During that time one of my plans did not work. I started to worry but I quickly made a plan B. Still didn't work. I made several plans C,D,E and F! All didn't work because everything was like a chain. If one is broken the rest would be unreachable.

Later of last year, I decided to take the last option which is the last plan and I never thought I could be taking this one! I am now on it trying very hard to do it, waiting with a big hope though I knew it has a great uncertainty. I keep waiting on a brittle branch like an owl looking at the moon to come down as a dream. Every night and day I sing, I cry and I laugh but I would never knew what would be the end. All I'm doing now is waiting and hope the brittle branch won't break before the dream come true.

The stupidity of Peninsular Malaysians toward Sabah

I just logged into my facebook account and I saw this picture shared by a friend of mine. I quickly clicked it and this picture showed up. I looked at every part of the picture and the first think came up on my head was "YES THIS IS EXACTLY CORRECT" and decided to put this on my blog. I know not all people from peninsular Malaysia thought the same about Sabah but the reality is most of them especially THOSE WHO NEVER TRAVELED TO SABAH. I don't want to explain what the picture tries to explain or what the message behind it but basically don't talk about the place if you never been to the place.

I remember when I first came to KL in 2003 almost ten years ago before I flew to London. A friend of mine who never flew and never been to Sabah asked me whether "Do I live on the tree". When i first heard it I was like "What the fu*k!!". Well I laughed and I said to him "I think you need to fly to Sabah and see how exactly Sabah is".....

In fact he said, how can you come to this university? This university is only for Malaysians. He thought Sabah was not apart of Malaysia. So damn stupid he was. Anyway at last he was my best friend and we stayed in the same bedroom for a year. Unfortunately he failed two modules which were Calculus and C++ programming. Those two modules were probably the most difficult during my Diploma. But I managed to get A- and C for the programming module. It was bloody difficult because I didn't have the basic. But in the second semester I managed to catch up and see the whole concept in doing programming. At last I managed to score A-. Great for me!

I find those people are so narrow minded and most probably he didn't read anything about Sabah. But that's no excuses because Sabah is apart of Malaysia and you have to know at least a little bit about something each of the states. So basically those people are so damn stupid!!

Second week training short 2KM

My second week of training was not so good because it was 2KM short from my weekly target to run 50KM. But then it has been raining lately here and sometimes it was very difficult to after the rain because the path could be quite muddy and slippery. So I failed to achieve my second week's training. But this week looks promising as the weather seems all right. Huh by the way I am currently 63.4KG, 171CM. Makes me looks great ha..ha...

Today's training managed to crawl slowly 15.6KM

I felt quite tired today because I pushed myself to run 15.6km in total in two different sessions. The first session I ran about 12 in the afternoon. When I was running the weather was changing from one minute to another. In fact when I was was climbing up the small hills that I always do I can feel the heat was blowing when the breeze came against me. It was bloody hot and I felt even hotter. Before I started the run the weather looked fine not too hot with a bit of breeze so I thought it was a perfect day to have a run. I completed the first session of 8.3KM in less 75 minutes (four small hills). Yeah it was so bloody slow to be honest but then it was very hot and still recovering from a bad flu of last week. The second session was in the evening I completed 7.3KM in 55 minutes. To be honest still slow actually but considering my current health at the moment it should be okay. The weather was much better and it felt cooler so I ran faster.

Anyway, I felt exhausted because I also did lots of house work today...
Got to go to bed now folks...just a quick update for tonight....

Small mountain but very tough

This is the mountain. It wasn't very high but the path was so damn tough.

All right this is the top

With my 72KG weight I can't believe I can reach the top in less than 5 hours

Back in Sept 2011 my brother in law and I went up to a small mountain deep in a country side of Kota Marudu. I drove up to a twon called Kota Marudu where my sister is and saw this a beautiful mountain with pointed on top. We didn't know where to get contact number of the organisation in charging but managed to find it at last. We paid about RM88 each person. We had to walk up for about 6.7KM and another 6.7KM downhill. So in total we walked more than 13KM. Not to far but considering the difficulty of its path, hell it was a damn shit experience although it was good. It's Tambukung mountain and located in a small village called Marak Parak.

First of all along the path there were so many leaches and every five minutes or ten minutes you will stick on your legs and suck your blood. If you left them for 30 minutes sticking on your legs, after that your legs would covered with blood. Secondly, the path was covered with moss and quite slippery. So you have to be careful because you could slip yourself and fall down. You can't even walk faster. That's the worst!

Thirdly, if you were unlucky you then you would find cobra snake and scorpions and other strange creatures in the jungle. This actually could be quite scary. So basically you have to walk behind the guide and do not leave yourself too far from the guide. Fourthly the path wasn't very clear. The risk to get lost is very high. There were so many different paths and only one path could lead you to the top. It's like a puzzle really!!!

But after all those bad things about this mountain, it was a great experience and we managed to get back just before 2PM. We got our certificates!!!

First run after 3 days off from training

Hello friends, how are you? I hope all goes well eh. I have been resting for three days (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) because I was so bloody unwell. I did pushed myself to have a short run but it just didn't work. In fact, I was shivering after my run and had to take a warm shower. Unfortunately we didn't have a bath and couldn't soak my body in a warm water. Gezzz...I wish we had the bath so I could soak off my body every after run.

After three days off from my training, I restarted my engine again today. I did it in two different sessions 4.4KM each. The first session I ran at 2 in the afternoon and it was bloody hot. I ran and finished the 4.4KM with very embarrassing time in 39 minutes 26 seconds. I should have finished it in less than 30 minutes because it wasn't on a flat ground. I ran up and down hills with different elevations. Although they were not great big hills but it's always tougher to run up rather than run down and on a flat ground. If I ran on a flat ground, I could finish 4.4KM in less than 21 minutes. I was a bit disappointed with the time I did but considering the temperature of 35C I thought it should be all right.

The second session I managed to complete just slightly better time in 34minutes 18 seconds. I must say it wasn't my best time, because I usually finished it in less than 30 minutes. But I must say I am still unwell with blocked nose (the mucus in my nose). I now realise running required a lot of effort especially if you want to break your best personal record (PB) or even if you want to finish the run within your usual time. I thought I could run faster after 3 days off but I was wrong because recovered from being unwell doesn't mean you are on top of your health. Your body needs to recover another a few more days.

Anyway, in total I did 8.8KM today with a great struggle ha..ha...ha.....
Well guys, it's almost 12PM and I'm going to bed now........
I hope tomorrow gonna be a great weather to run a long run. I hope to run 16KM but again it depends with how I feel.

Tallest tropical tree in the world

Still under construction the benches they were building

I was 72KG

It's very tall. If i'm not mistaken 88M

Tall and big eh?

First of all I never thought that Sabah has the tallest tropical tree in the world. When I arrived at Tawau Hill park together with my nieces and nephews I saw a sign board "Tallest tropical tree in the world 950M"…I was like what??? really? then I googled about the tree and believe it or not it's the 10th tallest tree in the world wheres the tallest is in Canada and followed by some of them are in America but I don't remember what sort of tree they were. The park is quite large and it has two different mountains which are Magdelina and St.Lucia mountain. I want to climb the mountains. In fact I've made an inquiry about the mountains. To reach Magdelina mountain you need to walk 17KM and to reach St.Lucia mountain you need to walk 15KM. So basically you need to talk 34KM and 30KM return to reach both mountains. It doesn't sound easy it is? Ha..ha…But I personally do like a long walk in the jungle. It's actually lots of fun.

I hope to reach those mountains this year or after this year. It's quite interesting to see how tough it is. Ah by the way the park has so many different attractions such as waterfall, river, a small stream for picnic, camping base, mountains, playground, botanical garden, etc..lots lots more to see..one thing for sure is, it was a beautiful park to visit!!!

Resort on the sea in Sabah

I was with my niece

Sister and her daughters

Me..was a fat boy like a pig lol!

Mabul and Kapalai are two different islands which has its own strength in the terms of tourists attraction. I got the chance to visit those islands last year together with my nieces and nephews (also with my sister and her husband). I must say the resort at Kapalai Island was superb!!! Yes it was fantastic although it was a bit pricey. Well, we didn't stay at there but we had a tour around the floating resort. Quite big resort indeed and fantastic scenery as well as its decorations. It reminds me like an Hawaiian island. The most beautiful thing is the resort is built on the sea and as you walking around on the bridge connecting one chalet to another you can see so many different fishes and sizes under the bridge. They were beautiful and colourful. By the end of the resort there was an island build up by the resort. One thing for sure it's a beautiful venue for pre-wedding. Well it looked like the resort has its own theme colours which are green, brown and pink. Believe me, it's a great combination for a resort on a sea.

P/S: I was 72KG in the pictures lol!

Bloody unwell with runny nose

Oh bloody virus!!!! Yes a flu virus or shall I say I caught a cold?
Whatever but at the moment I do feel so bloody unwell but at least today is slightly better. Just
a little bit. The last two days I was feeling cold, shivering, throbbing head and my joints were feeling so weak. I almost cannot stand up and was spending most of my time on bed. In fact, mum had to take my lunch and breakfast from downstairs up to my bedroom. Thanks mum! I love you x

I pushed myself to run but it just didn't work. My body was too bloody weak to do running this week. What a virus eh? On Tuesday and Wednesday managed to run 16KM and 17.7KM respectively. On Thursday I pushed myself to run 8KM hardly. It almost didn't work and I was extremely exhausted. Friday which was yesterday, I tried but I was so damn weak and really bad head ace. So I thought I must give a rest to my body. Huh!

Today's weather was great. Yeah!!! was a great day to have a long distance run but I'm still unwell. I'm just slightly better but this doesn't enough for me to have a go. Well, weather wasn't too hot today. It was about 28C or maybe just a bit hotter. Should be the greatest day to have a blast of 15KM or 20KM run. So all what I did today was chit chat with my sister and mum until about 4PM then off to the night market in town.

Huh...pushing myself..I was a bit dizzy on the way but as soon as I arrived at the market I was feeling hungry. Huh I can't resist looking at the delicious food. I then quickly took my wallet and bought a piece of cake. Yeah it was a piece chocolate cake. Hell ate it quickly like I was in hunger for days. LOL! Nothing much actually because I was feeling dizzy and waiting my sister and mum in the car.

Anyway, I hope tmrw gonna be a better day for me with a better health so I could have a run. Nite nite all xxx

Great holiday and great activity. The pictures were taken about couple of months ago when I was chubbier or maybe fatter LOL! Anyway it was in Karambunai Resort and about an hour drive from mum's house. Karambunai lagoon has valley ball court it was great playing at there. Although it was bloody hot (I got sun burned ) but we all did enjoy it very much. Believe it or not we spent about 3 hours playing valley ball that's why I got sun burned. I should have applied sun blocking cream but I was very excited and forgot to put the cream. Anyway...enjoy the pictures. I don't have idea what to write today.

Kinabalu day trip challange training update

Well my little ants, it has been sometimes since my last update about Kinabalu day trip challenge training. I was busy last week with lots of things which I needed to sort out. My nephew and his wife (and their 4 months old baby girl) came to visit us for about 4 days so I was busy entertaining them. I had to cook them a dinner every night although it was a simple dinner but they did enjoy it very much. In fact, Nanda (nephew's wife) interested to know the recipe one of the dishes I've served them. It was fish cooked with spicy and sour gravy and a little bit of milk to make the fish moister. I also had to drive them around the town and see some interesting places in my town. Not much too see actually, that's why we had to drive up to another town.

Last week wasn't a good week to do a lot of running because it has been raining (the path was quite slippery ) every evening and I can only do my training in the morning. I've tried to run as much KM as possible to reach my target 50KM weekly but at the end I missed 2KM. So I ran only 48KM last week compared to the previous week 52KM. I ran up a few hills to make my raining tougher but somehow it didn't week because few points of the path were quite slippery and I had to walk. In fact I had to be very careful running down of them hill.

Anyway, it was last week. But this week the weather looks promising for me to have a long run. But guess what? Today is my third day feeling unwell and I can't have a long run at all. Yesterday I pushed myself to have a 12KM run but my body was too weak for it. I only managed to run 8KM and had to turn back before I finished. I felt so tired and weak. In fact, my body was shivering after I finished the run. I then had to take a warm shower (well not many people would take a warm shower in Malaysia). I had my dinner and checked my emails. I got a few emails from Aber Uni and some from friends also from my Bro. I replied them all and believe it or not I went to bed quite late about 2AM. I was shivering and felt so damn unwell last night. I should have gone to bed early but for some reasons I couldn't sleep. So I took pain killers so I could stay up without the uncomfortable feeling. So I'm updating my blog today from my bed and it's almost 10PM still on bed. Mum and Dad was downstairs. I went down about a couple of hours ago made myself a cup of coffee. I should have my breakfast earlier, now I'm hungry!

Anyway, on Tuesday I ran 16KM, Wednesday 17.7KM and yesterday only 8KM. I'm not sure how many KMs i could do today.

My journey losing weight

First of all here is a good news for me. I am now 63.4KG. Yeah I managed to lose another kilo last week. This means my workout plan does work and it makes me happy of course. I remember last year I was 76KG and looked so chubby although some people thought I look muscular and well build. In fact, when I got back to Sabah sisters and mum said I looked like a well build teen. But I knew I wasn't at my maximum health level because when I run my legs and lungs were not strong enough to keep run not even a kilometre. Because of that I googled the internet what is the best weight to do a long distance run/ fell running. Uncle Google answered 60KG! Gosh I was shocked because I needed to lose so much weight. When I told friends about my desire to lose 16KG to get down to 60KG they were like "WHATTHEFUCK? You would look ill".

But I didn't mind at all. A week later one of my friends suggested to find a personal trainer so I could lose weight properly and quickly. But hell!!!! I didn't because I knew those people who hired a personal trainer to lose weight clearly shows that they have low motivation and most probably would end up get back where they were. So I did an experiment to my body. Basically it's simple because you just need to do a simple math. It has to be like this, calories intake < calories burned!!!!!!

The most difficult thing is to know each meal has how many calories. Because some of them look like a small portion but contains lots of calories. So this is the main concern. So what I do is to look carefully the amount of calories on the label. If it doesn't have label shows the calories then google it and someone generous on the internet would answer your question. Remember, you will never lose weight by taking pills and eat a little without train your body with some sort activities such as aerobic, running, swimming, gym, etc. You have to do an exercise!!! otherwise you are dreaming to lose weight.

Before yesterday's training I weighed myself and was very happy when the digital scale showed up 63.4KG. Gosh!!!!! That's another achievement! Great for me. My target is 60KG which means another 3.4KG to go then I will be look slimmer and healthier. I can't wait to test my performance if i was a 60KG fell runner. Next week I will show two different pictures before training (76KG) and after training (63KG). I'm heading to 60KG!!!

Holiday at Sapi Island a.k.a pulau sapi

Last Sept 2011 my nieces and nephews went to Pulau Sapi for a day trip holiday. Our initial plan was to go to Pulau Manukan but then we were advised by our tourists guide not to go there as the beach was a bit rough and he recommended us to go to Sapi Island. We then quickly changed our plan. The boat took us to the island about 25minutes journey on the boat. It was great to see some of the beautiful islands before we arrived at our destination. The water was sparkling like a crystal. The weather was hot and the beach was so calm. What I liked the most was the sea was warm and made me feel like I was soaking myself in a warm tab. We were lucky because my niece's friend's was there and her friend's father was working at the as a warden park. Guess what??? We used most of the services offered at there freely except the scuba. Wow!!!! that was really good. Unfortunately, my nephew stung by a jellyfish. That was terrible but we managed to put some lemon on his legs quickly. His legs went red-ish but at least it didn't feel sore.

We finished on the island at 8PM. Yes bloody 8PM!!!!! We didn't realise it until the warden park came to us and told us that the park (island) will be closed shortly. It was about 6.30PM then we quickly went to the changing room and had a shower to get ready for the last boat which was 8PM. Comparing this island with Kapalai island, wow.....it's like the blue sky above and the ground where i am updating this blog.

Fruit cocktails are good tips for loosing weight

Hello readers, here i am back with my tips of loosing weight! Last week I posted about how good carrot juice to replace some of your meals during the day. Today is another juice which is good for you if you want to loose weight. Fruit cocktails are probably one of the best juices for those who are looking for a healthy lifestyle and low calories. Each of the glasses shown above contains about 150Kcl and if you drink hot chocolate it has more calories. I weighed myself last week and I am now 63.8KG compared to last week I was 65.7KG. But remember, the key to do some exercises but I recommend to go for a run. Although I share this tips but if you don't have decline then it won't work. Good luck to those who are loosing weight. I am 63.8KG, 171CM and looking quite slim but my target to go for 60KG or 59KG. Well, let's work on it and good luck to all of you ...

PhD Conditional Offer in medical Imaging is received

This week I received a conditional offer from the University of Wales, Aber regarding to my PhD application which I submitted a week ago. Of course it does make me happy but I haven't heard anything about the scholarship. I assume the scholarship and PhD application are two different things. I hope to receive another good news in the coming weeks. I must say they did pretty quick decision about my application. I met Prof.Reyer when I gone back to London last Autumn and he said it won't take long for the department to make a decision.

For the past a few months, I have been doing quite a few reading about medical imaging especially the project that I'm going to do. I hope this new field for me gonna be something that I really enjoy. So far I enjoying reading most of the publications in medical imaging. As a student who comes from software engineering academic background, this new field would not stop me from learning.

First up side down house in Malaysia

The upside down car :-)

Everything was upside down

This is beautiful

Last week I had a chance to see the first "rumah terbalik" or up side down house located in a small town Tamparuli. The house is not far from where I live with my parents. Just about 15 minutes away. This place is becoming very popular since it got on the newspaper about two weeks ago. I have seen something like this before in Europe and the houses are actually much better. But this one I saw last week wasn't too bad. In fact, the strangest thing was all the furniture in the house were upside down except two things which were CCTV and the air con. Outside the house there was a little car parked at the garage and it was also up side down. I find it was so unique.

It was exciting seeing the house because the house is the first in Malaysia. The owner is a couple with a son. The wife is a Dusun from papar (if i'm not mistaken) and the husband is a sabahan chinese. The couple created the house to deliver a message to the public about the environment (i'm still not sure how).

Anyway, it was a great idea doing this unique and create thought. Even though I personally think the purpose is to attract local (and maybe oversea) tourists, but at least it's a good start for Sabahan people to think carefully about how our environment's situation at the moment. I been there only once and that day the place was so busy with lots of people from all over Sabah (or maybe Malaysia) visiting the place. For those of you who's going to Sabah then I would say don't miss the chance to visit this first upside down house in Malaysia.

Whitney houston died at the age of 48

L.A: - Whitney Houston was one of the best world's singers died at the age of 48. Why? I don't know and the rources I've read didn't mentioned about it but would be revealed soon. I guess because of drug abused as yahoo mentioned the same. Her death was announced during last night's Grammy award. Whitney Houston who was popular with some many singles such as where do broken heart go, I will always love you, believe featuring with M.C, and many more.

When i woke up this morning I started up my MacBook and logged into my email, blog and facebook. I was shocked because so many people made entries about Whitney Houston's death. I didn't believe it at the first. In fact I googled the truth and yes she's dead.

Carrot juice is good to lose weight

Huh just to let you all know that since I'm doing my regular training I have been drinking lots of carrot juice as my food supplement. Well, I do drink lots of plain water but since I am on training I do need to lose weight. My current weight is 65.7KG, 171CM and this is actually an ideal weight for me. But I still want to lose another 5KG to make my weight 60-ish KG. This weight is the ideal weight for long distance or fell runners. Considering my current weight, when I run I do feel a bit heavier. So 60KG would be a suitable weight for me to run up Kinabalu Mountain.

So instead of eating rice every day, I replace my diet with carrot juice with cocktails. So basically, each glass of carrot juice contains 150 kcal and cocktails contains another 300kcl. This means my calories intake for each meal contains 450kcl. Lunch 450kcl + dinner 450kcl = 900 kcal. Don't forget to take breakfast because the early meal is the start of your day. So breakfast would be another 450kcl. All together 1350kcl per day. If i eat extra things in between my meals probably another 350kcl. Grand total 1700kcl per day. This is actually great because I do training running between 10-15KM per day which would burn out up to 1400kcl. Theoretically, I should be able to lose weight at least half a kilo a week.

So if you are looking for great tips on how to lose weight then try carrot juice and cocktails. Try this tip for a week and you will see the difference. Good luck!!

My Inspiration for Kinabalu Climbathon

Together with Killian Jornet the winner!!!

Together with the first and second runner up. The champion was from Sabah, Danny.

Marco - although he came second he is still the record holder for this toughest mountain race in the world

Killian Jornet of Spain won 2011's climbathon

My spirit and motivation shot up when I attended the 25th Kinabalu Climbathon last year. I saw the top fell runners from all over the world challenging them self for the toughest mountain race in the world. Yes it was very tough and I bet you none (or very few) of the fell runners would say they did enjoy the run. No..even Anna Frost a top world's fell runner who came second said she had no good feeling while she was running up and down the mountain. Spanish fell runner, Killian the champion for men open category said it was tougher than running 166KM on Mount Blanc.He added, it was the toughest mountain race he ever had.

I took a chance to take some pictures with the champion for the men open category and for the second and third place in women open. I just love those pictures above. Killian defeated Marco of Italy who is the current record holder for this climbathon. Those pictures are my inspiration to join this race. I wouldn't dream to be in the top 20 for my first participation but to be in the top 30 is more than enough. Or even to finish it within the cut off time would make me really happy.

Realiti Bantuan Satu Malaysia RM500 Di Sabah

I usually write in English but for this particular post I have to write it in Malay because my target is Malaysian especially those who are Sabahan.

Petang tadi secara kebetulan saya melalui LHDN Kota Kinabalu. Sekilas pandang melihat mereka adalah penduduk tempatan yang berpusu-pusu masuk ke kawasan LHDN untuk mendapatkan bantuan RM500 daripada pihak kerajaan. Tidak kurangnya mereka yang beratur di barisan rayuan permohonan. Saya tidak menafiakan bahawa idea bantuan 1 Malaysia yang disalurkan oleh pihak kerajaan sememangnya salah satu cara kerajaan pusat untuk membantu rakyat khususnya golongan yang tidak berkemampuan. Situasi yang berlaku di sabah mungkin tidak sama seperti apa yang berlaku di negeri-negeri lain tetapi secara peribadi keadaan yang berlaku ini adalah satu fenomena ynag dipanggil "unfair situation" atau satu fenomana yang tidak adil.

Realiti bantuan satu malaysia di sabah khususnya di kota kinabalu berdasarkan pandangan peribadi saya, PTI (pilak) atau Pendatang Tanpa Izin seolah-olah mampu menerima bantuan dari pihak karajaan walaupun pada dasarnya mereka bukanlah golongan yang layak biarpun pendapatan isi rumah kurang daripada RM3000. Saya begitu terkejut apabila melihat dengan lebih dekat dan menyedari bahawa ratusan pemohon yang datang ke LHDN Kota Kinabalu adalah golongan pendatang asing yang mungkin memegang kad pengenalan palsu atau mendapat kad pengenalan melalui "projek IC" atau yang seumpama dengannya. Mungkin para pembaca meragui kesahihan situasi yang cuba saya utarakan tetapi hakikatnya sebagai rakyat Sabah kita boleh mengenali antara penduduk jati sabah dan penduduk luar yang datang dari luar dan tinggal di sabah. Itulah realitinya, walaupun golongan-golongan pendatang tanpa izin ini cuba untuk menukar cara pemakaian, loghat pertuturan atau penampilan diri mereka tetap tidak akan sama seperti penduduk bumiputra Sabah.

Pengalaman saya tinggal di United Kingdom selama dua tahun mengingatkan saya betapa besarnya persamaan antara scottish, welsh dan english. Namun begitu bagi mereka tiga rumpun penduduk ini adalah sangat berbeza dan tidak mungkin sama walaupun mereka tinggal di atas tanah yang sama iaitu United Kingdom. Orang english boleh membezakan antara orang welsh dan orang scottish dengan begitu mudah. Begitu juga sebaliknya. Mungkin para pembaca mengatakan bahawa mereka adalah bumiputera sabah yang kelihatan seperti pendatang tanpa izin tetapi seperti yang saya katakan tadi, sebagai penduduk jati sabah tidak sukar bagi kami untuk membezakan antara dua kategori ini iaitu penduduk bumiputra sabah dan pendatang tanpa izin. Saya masih ingat PRU-12 yang lepas, kerajaan perseketuan menabur janji kepada penduduk sabah untuk memberikan ganjaran kerana sokongan padu terhadap parti kerajaan, terbukti apabila sabah merupakan negeri yang pertama membentuk kerajaan di Malaysia. Tetapi, inikah janji yang diberikan kepada kerajaan? Ibarat anak kera dihutan disusukan, anak dirumah mati kelaparan. Itulah realiti dan hakikat yang berlaku disebalik bantuan RM500 dari pihak kerajaan. Masih ramai lagi penduduk kampung yang tinggal nun jauh di pedalaman yang hanya mendapat bantuan RM500 tetapi memiliki keluarga yang besar. Mengapa lebihan duit bantuan diberikan kepada pendatang tanpa izin? ataupun pemegang IC palsu? Persoalannya adakah golongan-golongan ini terlibat dalam pembayaran cukai kepada kerajaan? Pastinya tidak. Tetapi mengapa mereka masih layak untuk mendapat bantuan tersebut? Dimanakah silapnya? Siapa yang harus dipersalahkan atau siapakah dalangnya disebalik semua ini?

Terlalu banyak persoalaan yang tidak boleh dihuraikan dengan hanya bergantung kepada 25 abjad. Tetapi saya hanya mahukan kesedaran daripada seluruh rakyat sabah. Bangunlah dan tukarlah pakaian kita yang sudah lusuh dipakai selama lebih dari 50 tahun.

My 2012 January Running report

I should have posted this on the 31st of Jan but I forgot to do it. Here is my official training report. From the 1st of Jan to the 31st of Jan 2012 I have ran almost 150KM (it shows in mile on my report) with more than 8000 feet elevation gained and more than 17 hours running. I could have run more but I had 4 days off because I had food poisoning. It was terrible because for 4 days I was on my bed and couldn't do anything. I was so weak and didn't have energy at all.

So for this month (Feb) I try to run 200KM in total and hopefully will improve my stamina and my pace. Or maybe a bit less let say 180KM. I'm just a bit worry about my left heel at the moment because I can feel pain under it. It's not too bad compared to last month but I don't want to put so much stress on it. I need to look after my left heel because when it damaged I could be in trouble. The strangest thing is it occurs only under my left side and not under my right heel.

The best translation company on web - Rosetta

While i was busy applying for my PhD application I found Rosetta a translation company based in London. This translation agency is a multi-sector specialists in legal, financial, technical and medical/pharmaceutical fields. I contacted my friend who is currently in London about this company and he used their financial expertise last year to help them to do something about their company's account. They are so many translation companies or translation agencies available on the internet but Rosetta is probably one of the best in the terms of speed, availability and reliability as well as skills. If you are looking for the best best translation company on web then this might be the one for you.

The best thing about this company is its translation services are widely used and well recognized all over the world. In fact, professional people also use their service. I know a company who is as good as Rosetta but its company translation service is not specific enough and they don't offer many services. It's so much different with Rosetta because it has variety options each of the services offered. So for those of you who are looking for an international translation agency, you might interested to contact them directly. Based on my friend's experience he highly recommend this this company.

Day 8: Kinabalu Day trip challange training

All right first of all here is a good news. I just got back from the hospital and I weighed myself. I am 63.8KG wow!!!! This is a great news for me because of the effort I put throughout the week. Yesterday's runs were three different sessions. I modified my training with a little bit different because I am bored with the same routine running 10 or 12 KM in one session. To run this sort of distance (sometimes 15KM and 16KM) it does need a motivation and could be quite boring if you run on your own. So what I did yesterday was to run 4KM per session and after that I will have a rest for 15 minutes - 20 minutes then go for a run again. I repeated this three times which made me covered 12KM all together.

Yesterday was raining and almost the whole day it was so wet! I thought I would miss my training but luckily the rain stopped at 4PM and I quickly took my shoes and put my shirt and short on. It was great because yesterday's 2 hours made me managed to complete 12 KM cross country with going up and down a little hill.

The first session is to run based on your comfortable pace. Followed by trying to complete the second session in less than the first session's time. The third session would be the same by running as fast as you can. So yesterday was a cross country with going up a little hill and down then cross country again. So I completed the first 4KM in 28minutes 13seconds. I had 15 minutes rest after and I went for a run again another 4KM with the same route and completed the second session in 28minutes 40seconds. I was about 30 seconds slower I'm not sure why. I think because I was slower going up the hill. Anyway, the last run was better because i completed the session in 27minutes 46seconds. That was 30 seconds faster than the first one.

I like this sort of training because it gives my body to build up my endurance instead of running 12KM non stop which is harder and you just training on your breathing skills. OK..ok...I'm not an athlete and I'm not sure whether what I'm doing is the correct training or not. But I'm just reading some articles and tips from the internet and try to practice them.

Based on my training and the fact that I've lost a kilo this week, my target is still the same to reach the highest peak in south east asia in less than 2 hours 30 minutes. Today's training??? well it's raining again. I should have gone for a run this morning or afternoon but I was in town. Back at home now and it's raining like the heaven is open fuhhhh!!!

My thesis presentation at the International Conference on e-Learning

One of the professors was asking me a question

My fav pic!

Explaining the historicity element

I love this moment

Holla again folks! From outdoor activities my posting back to the academic side. Last year was probably the busiest year i ever had in my life. After i completed my master's thesis and submitted it, a few days later i got an email from my supervisior telling me that my thesis has been selected and accepted by the Europen e-Learning organiser. Wow!!!! That was really great and I was over the moon. Who's not? Because my work could have the chance to be published at the international wok. I was very happy with that.

For months i was busy prepering for the conference. Everything has to be perfect and every single fact should be well proven otherwise the experts will ask you lots and lots of questions. Huh!!! At the conference, that's the moment of truth!! Because i saw lots of presentations from different countries (even from malaysia UiTM and UKM). It did surprised me because quite many of them didn't have the presentation skills although they were PhD students, professors and a Doctor.

My presentation went really good and I'm glad because I got lots of greetings form the audiance saying well done and congratulations to me. I was very happy and one of the happiest moments in my life. Wow!!!! The room was only for 30 prople but guess what??? About 60 people came to my presentation! I'm glad with what I've done and all i can say is that is the beginning of my career!

Day 7: Kinabalu Day trip challange training

I should have posted this yesterday but I was so busy in the Kitchen. I had to cook to entertain few of my mum's guests. I cooked a few different dishes for them. They were all simple but delicious. They enjoyed the dinner anyway. Some of them ate a lot which I enjoyed because it means they like my cooking. Anyway...after the dinner I was very tired because before cooking I went for a run 10.8KM in total. Just after the run I came home and mum asked me to cook something for her guests while they were chatting. It wasn't a big deal actually because for me cooking is something that i really like to do. In fact, almost every occasion held at parents' house I will do the cooking sometimes with my brother in law or sisters.

Yesterday's training was a bit shorter because I only ran 10.8KM because I had quite a distance of 15KM on Monday. So I thought yesterday was more likely a long distance jogging. I did enjoy it because jogging is usually easier compared with running. I did enjoy along the 10.8KM although I had to run up a hill for a few times. I started my training at 4.30PM yesterday with 10 minutes stretching. I brought my mp3 player this time and made sure it was full charged. I also saved a few more new songs in it so I can enjoy my run as well as the songs. I finished the 10.8KM just before 6PM.

Today I suppose to run a longer distance but it has been raining since 10AM. I'm not even sure if i have my training today. I hope the rain would stop later so i can run at least 10KM.

P/s: At the moment my target is still the same to reach the peak of kinabalu mountain in less than 2 hours 30 minutes.

2011 conquering the highest peak in south east asia

Timpohon gate before we started the journey

In front of our bed. I think this is at the 11,000 feet elevation

Reached the top with my birthday's hat

Brother in law

Brother in law and my nephew at the 6th KM

October 2011 - It was another memorable day for me, brother in law and my nephew. We reached the highest peak in South East Asia about 4.30 AM. It was bloody cold and let me repeat again very very cold. If i not mistaken it was about 2C or maybe 3C at the top. Just imagine how the temperature changed from 32C at the bottom to 2C on top. We were lucky because the summit's temperature could reach below zero degree. In fact, in august 2006 when my sisters were up there the temperature was -2C and snow all over. But must be nice right? I bet it was.

We started the journey from Timpohon gate about 9Am together with some of the climbers. Many of them have started their journey as early as 7AM. So basically we were about 2 hours late. But we trained for about a month running up and down hills and sometimes on a flat ground. We managed to overtook most of the climbers even though we were 2 hours late. We took about 3 hours to reach laban rata where the accommodations are. My brother in law was 30 minutes behind me and my nephew was an hour late (he's not fit enough cuz he didn't trained as much as we did. He was busy for exam).

We quickly checked in to our room and get ready for dinner. The dinner started 4PM. Yes very early indeed because we need to get up at 12PM and get ready the next journey which is going to the summit. We were so hungry that night and we ate a lot! Yes a lot because the dinner was buffet style and you can eat as much as you like. After dinner we took many pictures because the view from laban rata was spectacular. Finished everything, we went back to our bed and had a rest. Exactly 12PM we got up and had our breakfast. We started the journey about 2AM. The journey to the summit was very difficult because as you go further the air gets very thin and you can't really push yourself. Every few steps you have to stop. It was very difficult. Fuh!!!!

After about 2 hours hard work me and my brother in law managed to reach the peak at 4.30AM. We came first at the top. It was such a great satisfaction. That was my second time after 2004 and first time for my brother in law. Very bad luck to my nephew he didn't manage to reach the top. He stopped at the 7th KM, another 1.7KM to reach the peak. He was very disappointed.

It was a great experience to three of us although the third person failed to reach the top. For 2012, I am going to conquer the summit again but with a very tight target to reach it in less than 2 hours 30 minutes. It sounds a little bit impossible but I am on my training. If i can't reach the top within my target time then 3 hours should be okay i guess.

Holiday at top diving spots in the world

I had the best snorkeling experience

Love it

Horayyyyy!!

This is my favorite picture

Well, it's in Sabah. Yeah in Sabah. Maybe some of you still don't know that Sabah has top diving spots in the world. If not Mabul, Kapalai it has to be Sipadan Island. These three islands have spectacular views and I must say breath-taking places to go. If you have an extra money then come to Sabah and spend a night or two at one of these islands (maybe a little bit expensive - but what do you expect for top spots in the world?) and you would not forget the amazing experience.

I must say this probably the best place I ever been if not Paris. Paris is fantastic but this place has its own beauty which you could never find anywhere in the world. Having said that, it's unfair for me not to mention the beauty of the mountains in Scotland but in total this place is still number one!!! I only wish Paris and Scotland are warm places so they will be as good as Sipadan Island. Well it's unfair to compared those three places because the are in three diferent leagues.