My first stop - London

 

Running in Cold

Cold weather can't be an excuse to me as I have promised myself to run this weekend. Well, most of the time. It's tough to be as enthusiastic about running outdoors when the mercury drops to 9 degree and winds hurl on your face and hands. The obstacle from the windy weather can slow me down, lowering my metabolic heat production and increasing my risk of hypothermia.

So what I do is layering myself before I start my running. This is the different between running in the equatorial country and 4 seasons country. A thin, breathable base layer, which may keep myself warm. A mid-layer of lightweight cotton T-shirt to provide insulation. And my last layer is a wind breaker jacket, which protects me from wind. Plus a gloves which keeps my hands warmer.

I started my run around 4pm and the day seem to be getting darker and colder. It is a bit late to run at this hour because day time tends to be shorter in the end of Autumn.

It is a good experience to run in the changing seasons. Enjoy the scene while running. The windy weather really killing. Anyway after 10 mins run, my body become warmer. The air seems to be quite dry and thin. Having a difficulty to breath but then my breathing slowly back to normal. I managed to run 1hr perhap just 6 miles and sweat a bit. Sweating seems to be precious to me now. :P Anyway it is a good start.

Here I come UK!

It was a 14 hours flight from Malaysia to UK. My first thought is I can travel 7 times back to my hometown. Gosh! Can you imagine, it is really a suffer for me. Basically most of the time I was sitting in front of the TV and waiting for the food to be served. :P The stewardness are so friendly.

Landed in London Heathrow Airport at 18:35pm (11/11/06), which is around 2.30am (12/11/06) in Malaysia. London Heathrow Airport, often referred to as Heathrow, is the third busiest airport in the world, after Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Chicago O'Hare. Heathrow, however, handles more international passengers than any other airport. Heathrow is the United Kingdom's busiest and best-connected airport, as well as being Europe's largest.

It was a drizzling, cool night where it is only 10 degree. I feel excited even though very cold and tired. I guess it may take me few days to overcome the 'jet lag'.

(pic) Rochester Castle view from River Medway. A castle that I will see everyday on my way back home. It is such a nice view where my house is facing the river and it is very clean. I can't resist to run in the town when I got my track suit. I believe I will enjoy my business trip very much.

Running Forever!

Since young, running has become one of my hobbies. There was a time when becoming a marathon runner was the farthest thing from my mind. Runners were, or so I thought, a lost group of tortured souls with tortured soles, achy muscles, and creaky knees. They were as best I could tell from the safe distance I kept from all matters requiring movement either pain addicts or fools. If they were the former they were to be pitied. If they were the latter, they were to be unmercifully mocked.

Most of the time I was running leisurely around my living place until I met up with one of the members from OX group in a swimming session 3 years ago. This is where I got a chance to involve in the outdoor activities like cycling, hiking and rocks climbing before I did something I never thought I could do. I ran my first marathon in 2004 with the motivation from the OX gang but without much training. Everyone has their first time and with that my life changed.

I joined the pacesetter members for the 10km or 21km training in Lake Garden every Sunday. Weekend is always the day I am looking forward in a week.

I loved the morning runs, starting out in the pitch dark, praying for firm footing and deliverance from danger. Due to we started so early and were finished before most of the civilization was brewing coffee, the running had a surreal quality to it.

I'm lucky to have some great friends as my running partners. They created my training program and led me through it. I never wanted to know much, not the distance or pace, none of it - a welcome escape from the pressures of too many other decisions. During weekend, I met them at the appointed hour and put one foot in front of the other until they told me I was done.

Like most beginning runners, I ran too much too soon. I ran too fast and too far. I discovered what I was running from. I was running from where I had been, where I was, and where I was headed. But like so many runners, no matter how far or how fast I ran, I always ended up right where I had started, with myself.

It's an odd thing, when your body says no and your mind and your spirit say yes. It's frightening, empowering, clarifying and even beautiful, all at once. It was the past year of my life, shortened into a span of 42km. It was the culmination of experiences, the knowledge that my body can be pushed past its breaking point, just like my passion and determination in running.

My running shoes had become giant erasers on my feet. Each foot strike wiped away the memory of some earlier indiscretion or failure. Each new pair of running shoes carried the potential of unlocking some secret place. Each pair of worn-out running shoes carried the scars of a healing soul.

It was more than a novice athletic achievement, a journey of friendship, the healing power of sport, and the confidence of achieving a goal. It was a reminder that with good company and hard work, a regular people can do something special.

Running is both a reward and an education, a chance to learn something about a new community and renew myself for the job ahead. The wisdom, tears, and laughter we shared gave me an insight and appreciation for my friends that I have not had since I was in college. It is a good thing too because come to race day, I ended up needing these friends more profoundly than I expected. Thanks mates!

I have seen life as a non-runner and as a runner. I can tell you with complete assurance that I’ve chosen, and will continue to choose, running. Without running, there are no runners and I have learned that a runner is everything I hope to be.

The pm day!

DER PACEMAKERS #41 (PM41)

Finally, I have become one of the pm member. The excitement was filling up my mind. To me, pacemakers club is a club that consists of runners that full of talent and passion. They run with passion, determination and pia spirit which really inspire me a lot.

It is really an honour to be one of them. October 17, 2006 is definitely another day which will be marked as a significant day in my diary besides my birthday. :-) I would say it is a lottery to me. ^-^

When You Believe

I like this song very much as it is very motivated. With the confident and belief, you can achieve your targets and overcome whatever obstacles in your life.

I would like to dedicate this song to all my friends and who ever that are in the battle of life. Hope you like it. :-)

Many nights we prayed
With no proof anyone could hear
In our hearts a hope for a song
We barely understood
Now we are not afraid
Although we know theres much to fear
We were moving mountains
Long before we knew we could, whoa, yes
There can be miracles
When you believe
Though hope is frail
Its hard to kill
Who knows what miracles
You can achieve
When you believe somehow you will
You will when you believe
[Mmmmmmmmmyeah]
Mmmyeah
In this time of fear
When prayer so often proves in vain
Hope seems like the summer bird
Too swiftly flown away
Yet now I'm standing here
My hearts so full, I can't explain
Seeking faith and speaking words
I never thought I'd say
There can be miracles
When you believe (When you believe)
Though hope is frail
Its hard to kill (Mmm)
Who knows what miracles
You can achieve (You can achieve)
When you believe somehow you will
You will when you believe
[Hey]
[Ooh]
They don't always happen when you ask
And it's easy to give in to your fears
But when you're blinded by your pain
Can't see the way, get through the rain
A small but still, resilient voice
Says hope is very near, oh [Oh]
There can be miracles (Miracles)
When you believe (Boy, when you believe, yeah) [Though hope is frail]
Though hope is frail [Its hard]
Its hard to kill (Hard to kill, oh, yeah)
Who knows what miracles
You can achieve (You can achieve, oh)
When you believe somehow you will (Somehow, somehow, somehow)
Somehow you will (I know, I know, know)
You will when you believe [When you]
(Ohoh)
[You will when you]
(You will when you believe)
[Oohoohooh]
[Oh...oh]
[When you believe]
[When you believe]

My maiden LSD in Miri

One of the uphill route around 4km

Date: 1st October 2006
Time: 7am - 10am
Distance: 20km (From Tua Pek Kong Temple to Luak Bay Esplanade and back)

Woke up around 5am Sunday morning, feel excited for the first LSD in Miri. But I just found out that it was raining since 2am in the early morning. Nothing I can do, just hope the rain will stop soon.

At last, the rain getting smaller around 6am, meet up with Fook at 6.30am, we head towards the starting point at the 1910-built Tua Pek Kong Temple situated at the intersection of China Street and Bendahara Street which together with the area bound by Jalan Kingsway and Jalan Brooke formed the Old Town. Beside the temple, there is a fish market. So it is a bit crowded with cars and people.

It is a breezy day after the rain. We slowly ran toward the outskirt of the city and not many cars on the road. The refreshingly green and pleasant surroundings certainly pleased me. We came to the first uphill when we were about 4km mark. I tried to run up slow and steady. Most of the time we ran at the pedestrian area where it is safe for the runners. After 7km, there are few newly built seaside mansions of which are owned by timber tycoons who use them as weekend homes. It just a keeping-up-with-Joneses and lifestyle diversion for them. Voila, we reached the 10km mark where the Luak Bay esplanade is located.

The first thing which crossed my mind the moment I reached the seaside was follow the move of one of the scene from 'Bourne Supremacy'. My favourite movie that motivate me to run by seaside all the time. I think I am addicted to that already.

We spent some times enjoy the beach side view. This is the best natural and break site that you don't want to miss it. A great place to escape from the hectic life. The water is wild with big waves. No bikini gal as it is still early I guess.

Luak Bay esplanade is where locals meet for a relaxing evening; where children gather to play with sand, splash around in the sea and frolic under the cheerful sunshine. A good place for barbecues, seaside picnics or simply just strolling on the beach while enjoying the cool breeze.

On our way back, it started to rain again. It is quite heavy so we were forced to stopped by at Taman Selera. Taman Selera is the oldest recreational park in Miri, it is situated in Brighton about 3km from the city center at Tanjung Lobang. Besides the golden sand beach, children's playground and outdoor facilities, there is an open air hawker centre which is a popular eating place with all sorts of delightful local food. You may enjoy the beautiful sunset and feel the cool sea breeze as you listen to the sound of the splashing waves.

We continued our journey after the rain became smaller. Our LSD ended around 9.45am. Although it took longer time as we did but it is indeed an enjoyable LSD I have ever had. I would rate it as a 5 stars LSD route with the combination of uphills and downhills, seaside and greenery view plus windy feel. Thanks to Ah Fook for the leading and route survey.

Communication

Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus is a book by John Gray offering many suggestions for improving husband-wife relationships by understanding the communication style and emotional needs of the opposite sex.

Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus, or so it seems, when you consider the widely different ways we think, feel, and act. The problem is we too often forge our differences by expecting our partners to think and behave as we do.

Men and women, quite simply, don't usually have the language it takes to communicate effectively with one another. We place different values upon different emotions, different ways of being. And then we get so frustrated when our significant other doesn't behave the way we think they should!! How frustrating and difficult for our relationships and also unnecessary.

Take an example, a woman relieves stress by talking about it, which the man may interpret as an accusation or request for a solution. In terms of woman it is just sharing a problem which she wants to be acknowledged. The man on the other hand has a basic instinct to give a solution because men do not discuss a problem unless they want a solution.

Sometimes the war between the opposite sex can be as terrible as the real war. Do you think so?

松下的人生观

当我翻开“悟－松下幸之助的经营智慧”的目录时，我深深被松下的人生观所吸引。“把坏运看成好运”的积极人生观。好有说服力。综观松下的一生，其实他的运气并不好。由于他对人生抱有非常积极的态度，所以每次都能突破层层的困难，而有今日的成就。是问有多少人能做到。危机就是转机， 灾祸能变成运气，任何困境也都能转变为好机会。只要人还有一口气，就有希望。加油吧！要走的路还长呢......

My second English Novel Book!

Yeah, finally... I have finished my second fiction book after Da Vinci Code today.
The book - Angels and Demons which written by Dan Brown (the bestseller of The Da Vinci Code) is another book that the story line is almost the same as The Da Vinci Code. I read it quite slow at the beginning. Quite boring. Anyway it turned up quite exciting in the middle part.

The story involves a conflict between an ancient group, the Illuminati, and the Catholic Church.

This book deals with moral issues such as the debate between science and religion. It outlines many of the internal workings of the Vatican as a plot to blow up the Vatican unfolds during the conclave.

Angels and Demons has many similarities with Brown's other books -- all events happen within 24 hours, it starts with a murder, and then takes a breakneck pace through many European settings. In this book, much of the artwork is by the noted sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

Just as with Brown's other novels, there is a mixture of fact and fiction that some readers find entertaining, but others find inaccurate and misleading, to the point of promoting conspiracy theories.

The book's popularity has led to a corresponding increase in tourism to the book's locations in Rome.

Ok, stay tune for my next book .....

路

路是自己走出來的，走條快樂的路吧！快樂與否都是自己負責，何苦為難自己？

选择或抉择

关于选择或抉择，不知道该如何说好，也很难用一个公式表达出来。情感婚姻是人生 最大的选择和抉择之一。一些人出现在我们的生活中，都可能成为自己未来的伴侣，当然只能是一个，且只能是一次的选择和抉择。所以在进入婚姻之前要慎之又 慎，认真地从各个方面去考察，两个人是不是适合做终身的伴侣，不仅包括人格，兴趣，生活习惯，家庭背景，相互的吸引力，更包括信仰方面等等。若忽视自己内 心的感受、兴趣、爱好、等等，导致在婚姻中有痛苦是无法回避的事实，不管他/她有多属灵；然而也不可过之，要合乎中道。掌握不好就是弱处，之后再若处理不 好便成为恶者攻击的破口，那时我们自己会在其中受很多苦。所以，要坦诚相见自己内心的需要，看自己合乎中道，不勉强自己，也不定罪自己。

记得婚前选择你所爱的，婚后爱你所选择的。

人生的旅程

每个人的生命旅程，路途遥遥漫长，顺景丶逆境……有时事情能否想得通，都仅只一线之差。许多时候，只是换了一个不同的思想角度，又或是通过一组文字带来的反射作用，从心底里感受，回响，简短的几句话语，却足以使人得到一些新的启发，甚或是黑暗中的一线曙光；过後，人和事亦随之而看开了丶想通了。

人生之中 ， 未必每段路都尽然能够走得很如理想 ，只要自己有去向 ，有目标 ，有清晰的前景；每个阶段 ，都就像踏在一块跳板之上 ，只要自己在任何时候都一样的把握 ，和同样的勇於付出 ；过程中， 每个人都 一定有迷惘的时候 ，只要你不放弃；那麽 ，任何时候都是你突围而出的时候 。

爱情语录(2)

生命是一种过程，“决定”并没有对错，只是人生无法重来，分手的理由有千百种，有人因贫穷离开、有人因 背叛、有人个性不合……，通常听到别人的故事都会赞叹“天啊！他这么好，为什么你不要？”然而看看自己的故事，总认为全世界最可怜的人就是我，总认为自己 的故事可以写成小说，还可以搬上荧幕拍电影……。

人喜欢把自己塑造成悲剧的角色，获取同情的眼光，然而这样的心灵种子只会再度吸引到悲剧的故事上演，就像身上有块磁铁只能吸引铁钉而不能吸到美丽的宝石。

爱情语录

很多人习惯把爱交给别人决定，有时是奉父母之命，有时是奉子女之命，有时是朋友，有时是媒妁之言，甚至是毫不相干的命理老师；古代的人即是如此，亦是相安一生，原因是古人三从四德，嫁鸡随鸡，认命不强求，再者封闭社会，别人也无法了解你真实的生活如何。

幸福是一种感觉，一种境界，不是物质可以表达，不是金钱可以衡量，不是名利可以炫耀，所以每个人都配拥有幸福，它并非专利。

靜思語

人生不一定球球好球，但是有歷練的強打者，隨時都可以揮棒。

不要抱怨

对于已经发生的不幸，对于已经造成的错误，你当然会懊悔，会心怀不平，后悔莫及。

但是，不要抱怨，除非这样做能帮助你改变事实，或是为你解除烦恼，否则，千万不要抱怨。
因为无谓的抱怨，只会把你自己陷入一个更痛苦的深渊，愈来愈无法自拔，让你再也看不到外面的世界。

没有人喜欢听到你喋喋不休的抱怨声，没有人喜欢看到一张怨怼不满的脸。这是一件损人不利己的事。

对命运也好，环境也好，要不然就欣然接受，要不然就默然忍受，如果都做不到的话，那么就反抗吧！只是千万别抱怨。

忍耐

忍耐，是一种涵养，一种学问，一种人生境界
在愤怒中安静，
在激动中自持，
在冤屈中沉默，
在危险中镇静，
在贫困中安然，
在寂寞中恬然自得，
在苦难中泰然自处。
你要把眼泪收起来，把笑脸摆出来；
把伤口遮起来，把胸膛挺起来。
你要在心口插着一把刀的时侯，还能笑得出来。

Thorn of flowers

每株玫瑰都有刺，正如每个人的性格都有你不能容忍的部份。
爱一朵玫瑰，并不是把它的刺除去，
而是学习如何不被它的刺刺伤
及不让自己的刺伤害心爱的人。

" We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person"