Conquering Kuala Lumpur International Marathon 2008

The phone alarm woke me up at 2am yesterday. I didn't realise I had any dream. Surprisingly, with merely 4 hours of sleep, I don't really feel tired or sleepy. My body always told me that she doesn't get enough sleep when I woke up around 5 or 6am during weekend for my usual run. Maybe I am too excited. Anyway, I still took few sips of coffee in case I fall asleep during the run. For food wise, I wanted to try different things this time. One cereal bar for me but not powerbar as this things really upset my stomach with their ingredient and taste.

I was there by 3.30am, the Sultan Abdul Samad building was beautifully lit up. Hundreds of participants were already there. Some stretching, others chit chat or wait for the time to come. I met up few of my gang of friends. The feeling was good as they are still here to support the race even though some of them are unwell and not physically prepared. The group started to become smaller and things have changed after all these years but their passion for sport never change.

Marathon is always a mind over body activity - however, enough training is still essential. We're all gathered at the starting point . My mind was all cleared up. Adrenaline pumping high. I have no expectation or target this time but hoping to complete the race within 5 hours.

BANG! The timing chip set off a beep as I crossed the starting mat. Everyone was quickly passing through me at this point. We paced each other at the beginning before I went ahead. They are not here for the glory but for the friendship and promises.

I started my 10km to 20km slow & steady as I have learned a mistake to run too fast but end up too tired at the end. Thanks to CTH who paced with me for the first 20km. Anyway I have to continue my journey without stopping too much at the water station. I'm all alone. The traffic control was bad compare to last year. I hope there will be some improvement next year. I earned a powergel after 30km mark. Anyway my stomach still refuse to take it. I didn't suffer too much in term of mentally or physically after 30km. Legs were ok.

To keep my mind occupied, I tried to look at things along or in front the road. Too bad, nothing entertaining. People are too stingy to cheer for you but only stare at you with an unbelievable expression. Sad... I saw 8km mark which really motivate me. I was more confident with the flat and downhill route in the last few km. Another 1km to go, I decided to push further. The finishing line in sight! I looked up just in time to see my finishing time on the timeboard... I crossed the finishing line in 4hr20mins. A huge sense of relief came all over me. It was unbelievable. Jubilant. I could not believe myself. It was just lucky. Till then, I will see you again next year.

生于斯长于斯

Panoramic view of Miri

Miri Airport
Library Miri
Dewan Suarah
Grand Old Lady (Oil Well No. 1)
Miri High Court
City Fan
Tua Pek Kong (100+ yr old)
Taman Bulatan
Marina Bay

Taman Selera
Crocodile Farm
Curtin University
Miri central

Circuit Run 3

I was late and so do some runners who are going to take part Circuit Run 3. I guess the authority started late due to few reasons. 1) Wait for more runners to turn up as they expected some runners were staying late for the General Election result which turn all the Malaysian in shock. 2) They hardly start on time. But I must say thank you to them. What a sun rise run which gave me a hard time. I almost melt under the sun but luckily I survived by completing 11th laps. Thanks to Lee and TM for pacing with me in the last 2 laps. Can I complete KLIM with my performance today? I doubted...

别让那只鸟飞了

（转摘自一篇非常棒的文章)

我和先生结婚 10 周年那天，一位移居加拿大的朋友给我寄来一份礼物→『一张游戏光盘』，名字叫《别让那只鸟飞了》。 我没有玩游戏的习惯，因此就把它当做一份纪念品收藏了起来。 一天， 8 岁的儿子在我书房里乱翻，发现这张游戏光盘。 玩过之后，儿子对我说：" 妈，这里面有一只鸟，弄不好就会从窗口里飞走，一飞走，游戏就砸了。" 在儿子的提醒下，我打开了计算机，执行那张光盘。 这时我才知道，原来它是一张针对成人而开发的大型游戏软件，总投资 8,500 万美元。 游戏打开之后，映入眼帘的是一栋具有皇家风范的豪宅。豪宅里各项生活设施应有尽有。游戏者进去之后，可以以主人的身份在这里生活。 你想打高尔夫，可以去高尔夫球场；你想看书，可以走进书房；想喝咖啡，可以让仆人给你送去；想举行舞会，可以邀请包括马丹娜在内的 100 位世界级影视明星； 想去旅行吗？车子就在门口；上了车，沿着门口的路，你可以去埃及、法国、中国等世界任何一个地方； 假若你有一位情人，还可以秘密地约他出去，到附近的海滨或南美的哥伦比亚大草原。 总之，在这里，你可以随心所欲地生活，可以按照自己的意愿想怎样就怎样。

但与现实不同的是，这栋豪宅里有一只鸟在飞，它嘴巴上叼着一只篮子，从客厅飞向卧室，又从卧室飞向书房，飞向餐厅，飞向豪宅的每一房间。 这只鸟有一个特点： 不论你是外出旅行，还是在家读书，或是在公司处理商务，你都不能忘记往这只鸟的 篮子里放东西。 假如你忘了，到了一定的时间，它就会从某个窗口里飞出去，一旦出现这种情况，屏幕上就会出现这一个画面： 豪宅倒塌，野草丛生；夕阳下，一个孤独的身影慢慢地消失在黑暗中。 那么，该向那只篮子里面放些什么东西，才不会使鸟儿飞走、豪宅倒塌呢？ 游戏里有一份菜单，那上面有包括金钱、花朵、微笑、哭泣、亲吻在内的 152 种日常用品和日常行为。

它是赫利克斯公司耗时 3 年，从全球 50 万对金婚老人那里征集的，每一件东西，每一个行为都按照这 50 万对金婚老人票选得票的多少， 被赋予了不同的时间价值，有的代表一个月，有的只代表 3 分钟。至于哪种代表一个月，哪种代表 3 分钟，上面没有明说，得完全由游戏者根据自己对它们的认知来判定。
自从打开这个游戏，我就被它迷住了。 只要有空，我就要玩上一阵。 起初，由于不知该向鸟儿的篮子里放些什么，所以那栋豪宅经常被我弄得从屏幕上消失。 有一次，实在是不知该怎样侍候它，就随便挑了一个吻放在篮子里。 结果大出意外，它让我大书房里看了整整一下午的书， 有几次它甚至还把篮子放在我的书桌上，然后自己跳到里面打一个盹。 还有一次，我送给它一个亲密的拥抱和惜别，就去了墨西哥的古玛雅城市遗址奇琴伊察。 这次更出乎我的意料，半个月后，我回来了，鸟儿不仅没有飞走，当我到达家门口时，它还热情地迎接了我。 这到底是怎样的一只鸟儿呢？ 我送它金钱，它只在家里待 3 分钟，我送它一枝花朵，它竟可以待上 3 个小时。

后来我终于发现，它是一只婚姻鸟，并且它有许多不起眼的救星。 一个轻吻，一个微笑，一个拥抱，一句关切的话语，一份小小的礼物，一段短暂的离别，都可以把它留下。 现在我已能非常熟练地玩这个游戏，并且越玩越觉得它不再是一个游戏， 而是 50 万对金婚老人在婚姻生活中的感悟和发现。 它告诉我，一句微不足道的赞许，一杯顺手递去的热茶，一枝 10 块钱的玫瑰， 这些日常生活中微不足道的东西，具有滋养婚姻的神奇力量。 前不久，一位朋友结婚，我把这张光盘送作礼物，转赠了出去。 我想，我应该让更多的人从这个游戏中，悟出婚姻中的一些道理。

把心带回家，不要把一生心血精华卖给公司，留给家人的却是破铜烂铁 。

Au revoir et tout le meilleur

We never know where life will take us.
I know it's just a ride on the wheel.

I know I'll never see you again.
But the time together through all the years
Will take away these tears

I know you have to go
And it it the time to say goodbye

All the best to you my friend!

Circuit Run 2

Yahoo! I have got a free entry for KL International Marathon (KLIM) in the Circuit Run 2. This has been the most I have run (22.4km) after the 30km practice run organized by pacesetter since last year. Luckily the weather only turn to sunny after I completed the run as the test run lasts for 2 hours 15m which end at 9.45am. I have 3 weeks to catch up the training before the real battle really take place. Gosh! I can't imagine how I will suffer if I didn't run for at least two 30km before the KLIM.

Awareness

I always think that user education is the toughest part when come to security. I know lots of us are constantly asked by friends and family how they can keep their computers safe. Unless you have a ready made list it can be time consuming to give them all the tips they need. Well here is a pretty good list that you can give them and if they follow it they should be in pretty good shape. PC Magazine has a list of 72 Tips for Safer Computing that I wanted to point you to. Hope it helps.

Incident Response

It just happened that I involved in the incident response job recently. The incident is the breach of security. It is the responsibility of the security team to respond to the problem quickly and effectively. The response depends upon how the security team reacts, what they do to minimize damages, and when they restore resources, all while attempting to guarantee data integrity. None of us have the experience to deal with this case. But we have to face it.

Think of your organization and how almost every aspect of it relies upon technology and computer systems. If there is a compromise, imagine the potentially devastating results. Besides the obvious system downtime and theft of data, there could be data corruption, identity theft (from online personnel records), embarrassing publicity, or even financially devastating results as customers and business partners learn of and react negatively to news of a compromise.

The only way to stop a hacker is to think like one, time to think out of the box.

Family bonds!

Time flies. The Chinese New Year that I'm looking forward almost come to an end. It has been a wonderful Chinese New Year to me. Spend some precious time with my family and friends. Bravo that I manage to complete the so called rat track in the first day of the lunar year of Rat. It is just crazy and you will never love it. Spin the track until I almost fainted. Anyway, it is a good way to measure the distance if you didn't lost count the number of loop you have run.

The month of Aquarius and Pisces

On this day, one of the determined runner in Bukit Jalil park some say Bukit Aman, is born. Sorry to go over big with myself. Anyway, thanks for all the birthday wishes from all my friends and family members.
By the way, I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very Happy and Prosperous Chinese New Year.

The 365th day of 2007

It has been a busy month for me since my last update. Most of the time I was based in customer site. It is so nice to be back to my lovely desk. Today is the last day of 2007. Time flies! It is going to be 2008 in less than 24 hours and another 6 weeks to Chinese New Year. How am I going to celebrate it? I don't really have something in mind yet but definitely not going to join the crowd for countdown. Maybe I will go for a swim as I really miss the water. My friends always say I am a sports mania, it seems like I train like an athlete. I know I am not but I really enjoy the time. My passion for sports and the energy i have just make me can't stop it. When you enjoy something you can always do better. Happy New Year 2008 to all! May you get a clean bill of health and enjoy each day in comfort. Cheers!

Futsal day!

I had my first futsal game last two days. Futsal is an indoor version of football (soccer). The field is kind of small. It is played between two teams of five players, one of whom is the goalkeeper. The official ball is a special low bounce ball that is heavier and smaller than an official soccer ball. It is no fun if you being hit by the ball. The impact is quite big. As a first timer, it was something new and fun to me. I always reluctant to join even though being invited for couple of times. This is because it is quite rough and I might injure my ankle easily. Besides, running in the small field for a ball is just kind of funny. Anyway, I have a new perspective after the game. I was truly amazed of the skill level of the players (my colleagues). Futsal is a complete skill game that rewards technical proficiency over raw athleticism. Space is at a premium, so players are forced to develop tight ball control, lightning reflexes, and pinpoint passing skills in order to keep the ball under pressure from defenders. One and two-touch passing is a must, so players need to develop vision, anticipation, awareness, while also constantly moving to offer support and passing angles. Futsal is a game that will help to develop individual skills, it continually put players in 1vs1 situation which is great for developing offensive and defensive skills as well as quick decision making.

Tempo 30km run

It was a cooling early morning where fellow of passion runners join the pacesetters 30km practice run which started at 5.30am. The objective for this practice run was for those who taking part in the Singapore marathon which held on 2nd December 2007. It was a good run for me. I am happy with the timing. I guess enough sleep plus a cooling weather did add some points to it. The Adizero tempo shoe gave me a lightweight yet an excellent cushioning for up to 30km+. No blister on my toes even though a great fit feeling due to the thick sock. I will probably use it for my next marathon racing.

What are u searching for...

For many, life would be amazing if they could just get rid of their problems, fear and worry. Overall, there are 3 main pieces to an amazing life: Health, Happiness & Success!

• Health: This includes our physical, mental and emotional health. No matter how wealthy you are, without our health, the rest of our life can be really challenging.
• Happiness: Everyone wants to feel and be happy. You don't have to wait or plan for happiness. Looking at those important aspects of our life that really matter, but which we can forget about in the frantic pace of life today. Maybe you can start from looking for someone that you love and spend the rest of your life with him/her.
  
• Success: Don't confuse success with money. You don't have to be a millionaire to be considered as someone who are success. Ask yourself what do you want in your life and try to achieve it. Whether for better health, more happiness, a better job, better relationships, or feeling that life is worthwhile.
  

Magic!

It is all over now. *Breathed a sigh of relief* I have tried my best for everything. Now it is up to the clients to decide whether we will get the job or not. It has been a stressful plus challenging week for me. It took me few days for the preparation and make sure everything is working but it only take half an hour for the live demonstration. The effort I have spent is just worth when I can impress the clients with the so called magic or the help of the tools. :-)

Tempo 20km run

Yeah! I am back on track again after the mishap. I managed to survive in a 20km run last Sat with my fellow running friends in Bukit Aman. My stamina has dropped a lot but I had a good sweat. Adizero Tempo is definitely a shoe for lightweight trainers. The cushioning system is just nice to protect my feet from 20km long run yet it is not too heavy. I am wondering whether this shoe is suitable for the mileage that more than 30km. If yes, it will be a good news for marathoners.

Tempo 11km run

I just managed to try my new Adizero Tempo in the double hills run last Saturday with few running friends. What a good run even though I need to wake up early. This is always worth than you sit at home for a wonderful Saturday morning.
There is no more excuse to skip after 3 weeks rest. I can't stand anymore even though my ankle is not fully recovered yet. Only run will make me stronger to fight the pain.
The shoes is quite light and it gives me a soft touchdown. No hard feeling as a new shoes. I will do a 20km run for a better feeling. Stay tuned!

adizero Tempo W

Finally I have got my shoe from the Adidas seeding program. Thanks to Mori - the person who in charge of this program and my friend - SCT who collect the shoe for me. Thanks a million.
Adizero is the ultra light series for competition runners and serious training. This shoe incorporate Japanese technology that allows wider last to accommodation the Asian feet structure. Sound cool. Let me try it out and let you know soon. :-)

Blood donation!

It has been a while I didn't give blood when I was in UK. The reason is I can't meet one of the requirement where you have to be 50kg at least.
I always feel excited for the moment to come. It sounds crazy because most people afraid of the blood, needle and the pain. Anyway, not for me.

A day trip in Bruges, Belgium

Bruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is one of the Europe's most important landmarks as the city centre has hardly changed since the Middle Ages. Bruges is known for its lace, beers and chocolates like truffle.
I found that there is no custom check from France border to Belgium. This is quite normal if you travel within Europe countries.