Whimsical city

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Run, Turtle, Run!!

I did it. 

Yes, I have a nickname called Turtle. But, No, I didn't live up to its name.

I participated in the Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2011 and completed it.

the categories

the sweating and panting 10km runners

Oookay, I ran the 5km fun run so it's no biggie to many but to me, it's a good start! It's my first time afterall yoh!

The morning sun on a Sunday morning


That's the reason why I was amazed by those who ran the 42km run. Yes, 42km! When I saw the signboard, I was like "Holy mackerel, how'd they do it?!"

No kiddin'!

To rewind back to the night before my run, I was out with Cherrien (one of the runners) celebrating Catherine (also one of the runner)'s birthday. We told ourselves that we should be in our beds by midnight in order to recharge our bodies for the run but we were still sipping our cocktails at EurAsia past midnight! 

So, we did have a pretty hard time dragging our arses up in the morning and for the record, I am definitely NOT a morning person, let alone a morning athlete. A few major roads including Jalan Parlimen in KL were closed for the Marathon so it was indeed a HUGE thing. Dataran Merdeka was the start-off point - we did reach slightly later than the time we were supposed to reach due to the closure of roads and the silliness planning of us to reach there.


Running in the middle of the road in KL, it's sumthin' sumthin', aye?
the "creatures" who happily posed for me when I ran by

Despite my knees getting rubbery and wobbly during the run, I did enjoy it. In fact, I had the occasional occurrence of goosebumps during the run. Reason? Hmm..beats me. I guess it must be the running with a cause kind of feeling that overwhelmed me and triggered the goosebumps. LOL! Okay, we went there for the fun-Lah but there were runners who really ran for a cause and some ran for charity, if you know what I mean. And not to mention the bliss of running in the bright daylight in the heart of KL, without cars, halo?!

                  Runners rule this time!

Running to the finishing line
Yay! We completed it!
We queued up for a good 20 minutes to collect our goodie bags where sweaty skin met sweaty skin. Ok, gross, I know. In anticipation of what's inside the bag, there's only a banana and a can of 100 plus. I was like "Hey, I friggin' ran for just a banana?!" LOL!


Our award! ^0^
goofing around with our goodie

the mandatory group photo




















AND now, I have to prepare myself for my [2nd] marathon next month... [*gulps*] Stay tuned..

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Craft-TEE Mode

My friends were actually amazed with me. 

I signed up for a Craft Party thrown by Murni (the lovely blogger/craft maker whom I've just known and whom I have been "stalking" - not in a freaky way Murni, so don't be alarmed okay? ;P) and I actually woke up early on a Saturday morning to this Craft Party. It was held at one of the lovely places that I've always loved - Wondermilk!


One of the lovely walls at Wondermilk

The Craft Buffet!





A variety of delicacies to choose from

let's get down to some serious work!

I loveeee the "craft buffet" Murni prepared for us. I felt like I was having a real buffet - no idea of what to eat because of the overwhelming variety and hence having the urge of tasting everything!

Our assignment was to re-design/re-model/re-create our old TEE which we brought along. Dear Murni has already suggested to us to check out the videos in YouTube for inspirations but naughty me has not done my homework! So, I brought my old TEE with not the slightest idea of what to do with it!

My original old TEE
ALrighty, let's collar-away!
Added some lace ruffles by "copy-cating" one of Murni's sample TEEs

The design inspired by one of the designers, Lynette, who graciously taught me how to do it
And with some pulling and tangling
Ta-dah! The finished re-modelled TEE
Not too shabby huh? Haha
And after further modification back at me home ^0^

I enjoyed every bit of it. Thank you my dear Murni for throwing this Craft Party! I'm awaiting for your next event! Pleaasseeee reserve a spot for me when you do!
Me and Yours Truly, the Lovely Murni =)

The 2 awards to be voted upon-
Congrats to Lynette and Shelby!
Yeah, it is, in't it?

I love Wondermilk's cupcakes!

Thursday, June 9, 2011

To KK with Love

I miss Kota Kinabalu or KK to be short.

I miss -
1. the food;
2. the beach;
3. my buddies;
4. most importantly, the feeling of "going home". [Okay, I'm a Sandakan-ian to be exact but going anywhere in Sabah is considered going home to me =)]

My trip back home this time is to bring my dear friend, Jazmyn to have some fun there. We boarded the 2+1/2 hours morning flight from LCCT to KKIA and were warmly picked up by my dear Feiyi and Carmen. The 1st thing we did.. well of course.. was to EAT!

The amount of food that we consumed throughout our trip this time was beyond the maximum capacity that our stomachs were able to consume. I'm not exaggerating!

I think I was the culprit (if the girls read this, they would have nodded their heads viciously because after every meal, I would have suggested to continue eating somewhere else). Oh well, that's the fun of it, in't it? [sly grin]

Ok, so the 1st day at KK was to stuff ourselves silly.


Ka Hiong Beef Soup Noodle

Prince of Egg Tart


Me and Feiyi with YOYO Bubble Tea

"Mongolian" style crab at
Welcome Seafood Restaurant

Roti Kahwin at Fu Yuen, Damai

Sinsuran "Sang Yuk Mien"

Mr Waiter serving the delicious hot buns at Kedai Kopi Jeong Hin, Inanam











Pre-made Kopi 'O' bing in Carlsberg bottles



Just-Out-From-The-Oven buns


Our itinerary on the 2nd day included a river cruise at Kelias to watch the infamous Proboscis monkeys in the day and to dance with the fireflies at nightfall. I felt like a tourist back at my hometown! LOL! Credits must be given to our dear tour guide, Joel.  The cruise was not too bad but frankly, I won't go the second time (unless I have to accompany another visiting friend of mine). The monkeys were quite difficult to spot 'coz they were all hiding themselves way up on the trees.

The tour groups boarding the boat for the river cruise

I enjoyed the night cruise though (probably because this was my 1st time seeing real-life fireflies). I think we gushed like kids when we saw the trees lit up like Christmas trees. Yeah, we did. Just wished ALL of them were the Christmas ones.
The firefly that "flew" to us
Our "pro" in action. Some of the pictures here are Jazmyn's contribution =)

 

We didn't bother to wear life jackets or the raincoats. We just wanted to fool around. Okay, we were the monkeys!

AND a trip back to KK is not complete without basking under the sun on the BEACH! Feiyi arranged for a trip to Mantanani Island. An hour's drive from KK to Kota Belud and another 45 minutes boat ride took us to the island. The island was loveeeeeely - clear BLUE sea, clear BLUE sky and quiet with an easy number of visitors. That's what I'd like; a congested beach is never appealing. A day trip to Mantanani Island (inclusive of lunch and snorkelling) cost around RM180-RM200.

Mantanani Island
The fisherman and his son back from
the sea with their catch of the day
 


Catch of the Day for RM65 only!
Mr Lobster, sowieee, we "HAVE TO" eat you!
Cooked and served

The meat was juicy and sweeeeeeet! Goshh, the 1st time I had such a fresh lobster!

Carmen obviously did a better "kissing the fish"pose compared to me!

Fishy o' Fishy

We didn't dive 'coz none of us have a diving license yet, sadly speaking (except Feiyi)! so we just did some snorkelling. Frankly, there was not much to see inside the sea. So, we went back and chilled on the beach after that.

Followed by a series of photo-taking sessions by our talented photographer/director, Ms Joel, our day was very much completed. Let's just say, the pictures were definitely for private viewing only! Those were some hilarious moments though. Hahahaha


Hammock-ing with a good read under the sun
 

Caught in action by Jazmyn!

I had a nasty sunburn but am loving it!

"Longgang Panggang"

A stop we made on the way back to KK
Once back to dry land, we continued our eating expedition. Stopped for cold pudding in coconuts and grilled clams on the way back to KK. Our final stop was Tanjung Aru Beach. This is the much congested beach in KK where families or everyone else who wanted to stroll along a beach without having to take a boat ride out, will visit.

We had a durian, a variety of "jeruk", "sotong" (which Feiyi MUST eat if she goes to Tanjung Aru Beach) and a good view of the sunset before heading to the airport to board the plane back to KL.


Corn and Peanuts at Tanjung Aru Beach
Given that I was going to board the plane, I had only 1 'coz I wouldn't want to poison the passengers with the after-effect of durian consumption!




























The variety of "jeruk" we can get

Sun-setting at Tanjung Aru Beach

So, well yeah, I miss KK!