Christmas gifts

I've been lavishly loved this Christmas. I must say i'm a lucky lucky girl. Christmas this year i've been showered with expensive gifts by 2 boys i love very much. *wink*

From the boyfriend:

When i took a picture of this I kinda promised myself that i would not post this up on my blog. So i don't come off like a little princess spoilt by her prince charming. So i don't make other girls jealous. So i don't seem like i'm showing off.

But i must say i do feel very much spoilt and pampered and immensely grateful. So, yea, don't be embarrassed by me k, dennis? hehe...I really could not ask for more.

From the big brother:

Timex Women's Ironman Triathlon Sleek

I've been running without a proper stop watch for some time now. Because mine broke and i somehow could not save up enough to buy a new one. It's not that I have problems keeping my cash. I just have problems with my priorities. :) Anyway, thanks the the generosity of my brother, I didn't have to spend a dime!

But alas, the first day with this and i sprained my ankle 3 kms into my run. haha....

Phuket Day 4

Day 4 was the last day. I was pretty drained from sleep deprivation and non stop touring. we played in the beach for the 2nd and last time. we rented a car and drove to town (which was dead...on a Sunday...weird). We went to Wat Chalong which is one of their more famous buddhist temples. Then we went to Promthep Cape. Which is the best, more gorgeous place in the whole of Phuket. It's the southern most point of Phuket, so it was a sunset viewing bay. Gorgeous.

thus ends the Phuket adventure. Missing it like crazy. :)

See also Phuket Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

Phuket Day 3

Day 3 was spent at James Bond Island. This time around we had a tour guide with us, and he was quite a guy. He was an avid traveler and backpacker, so i had a good chat with him about his adventures (and misadventures). I personally liked this tour better than the PhiPhi island tour. There was more to do for this one.

At night we had dinner at a barbecue steamboat buffet. What started of as harmless friendly dining became a vicious game of scissors paper stone, whereby the loser eats a raw egg. 3 matches were played between steven and i. I ate 2 eggs. haha...

Read also Phuket Part 1 & Part 2

catching up

let's put the rest of Phuket on hold for a bit. it's time to catch up.

i've been travelling quite a bit of late, which explains the long absence. i was in Singapore from 20th December till 22nd December. Went there with my family, to fetch my brother on the 22nd, at 3 am in the morning. then we jet straight off to Fraser's Hill, stopping in Subang for a few hours to rest. I of course slept most of the way. :)

Fraser's Hill was quite an experience. For one, it was the first time in a long long time the family tree was 99% complete. For another, we ate in Ye Olde Smokehouse for dinner, where the food came really late, the service was less than satisfactory, so was the food, and the electricity tripped like a gazillion times. And finally, the place we stayed in wasn't the cleanest place in town. but, the company was good. :)

Christmas eve was spent back here with Dennis. Christmas eve was awesome. Dennis met pretty much the entire maternal side of my family. I really do wonder what I've done to deserve him.

Dennis, you're amazing.

Christmas saw me at the Acts Church christmas play. They're really good. My hat's off to the production crew. In the afternoon was the yearly Christmas treat by Uncle Peter. Food was truly scrumptious! turkey and shepard's pies are slices of heaven. :)

it's 5.22 am. yup...feels like the festive season alright. :)

Phuket part 2

Day 2 saw us up at 5-ish 6 in the morning to join the Phi Phi Island tour. We went snorkelling, which i honestly did not like very much. Fish aren't my favourite living things unfortunately. They're meant to be on my plate, deep fried or steamed. :) At night we took the liberty of watching a live Thai kick boxing match. quite an eye opener! Feast your eyes...


see also Phuket Part 1

phuket part 1

The Phuket trip was amazing. i never imagined having so much fun and peace and serenity and comfort in a place that is so amazingly gorgeous. words mean nothing. so check out the pics k?

Phuket Day 1

water in Phuket (1) tastes funny and (2) is dirt cheap

first meal we had in Phuket was Thai food at Hemingway's

we paid for this shot...and they aren't even that good looking...

I'm a grad!

click for larger image

that's 2 credits and a pass. not the best. not MY best. but when u slog through a 3 year course u do not particularly enjoy, it becomes more than a chore by the time u hit the 6th semester. so i'm happy. with the amount of effort that i put in, this is better than i expected. :)

I'm a GRADUATE!

prawn pasta and oreo cheesecake

nothing says yummmm better than simple pasta with prawns and mushrooms sautéed (this is my new favourite word whenever the topic of cooking arises) lightly with virgin oil, garlic and minced meat. and to top it off, oreo cheesecake for dessert. 100% made by moi. :)

i cooked for the secondary school bunch last night, also a table of 7, and it was almost flawless. the pasta lacked a bit of taste, but nothing a sprinkle of salt couldn't fix.

no broken plates. no hot oil scalding. no negative feedback.

:)

p/s: i should take photos of the food next time. and of the satisfied stuffed faces. hahaha...

trying to be the woman of the house

ever since my parents left for Kuilin on Sunday I've taken on a whole different persona around the house. It was as if my mind had suddenly switched to woman-of-the-house mode, being in charge of everything, overseeing anything that comes and goes within the 4 walls.

i walk around the house and pick up things and put them back into place. i bring in the mail. i sweep the floor. i make sure my brother mops the floor. i straighten floor mats. i check the water dispenser. i make my brother fill up the water dispenser. i wash, hang and dry, bring in and fold the clothes. i rise in the morning with minimal help of an alarm. i shut and lock all windows and doors at night. i arrange things on tables and counters. i straighten up the sofa cushions. and i cook.

now now, don't need to drop jaws. i may not have in-born culinary sense but i have cooked edible decent meals before, none of which i've heard any complaints from my victims. but they were always simple dishes, which require minimal use of pots and pans. and they may have lacked a little taste and finesse but they aren't all that bad.

today i decided to be brave. i invited my friends over for dinner. i cooked, for 7 people, chicken chop with mashed potatoes and fries. sounds like a mouthful rather than a handful, but believe you me, i am exhausted.

i marinated the chicken chop myself. and i sautéed (learned a new word today) it. but it turned black waaaaay too fast resulting in me removing them from the pan before the insides were cooked. thank God for microwave ovens.

i boiled and mashed my own potatoes with butter, mayo and salt. this was pretty good actually. i didn't have a masher, so i worked up quite a sweat with 2 forks and a spoon.

fries were deep fried. they were...well fries...so yea...was alright.

the gravy, i made myself too. it smelled amazing as it was simmering. i threw in chicken stock, garlic, button mushrooms, oyster sauce, some other stuff i can't quite remember. i kinda remixed 2-3 different recipes. here's where it went wrong. recipes showed chicken stock in ml while my chicken stock concentrate was in gms. thus it was hard for me to gauge. which resulted in me using waaaaaay too much. in the end, you could rub salt into every square centimetre of your tongue and it'd still taste less salty than my gravy. it was that insane. which was a pity coz i didn't get to eat my mushrooms.

and...i broke 2 plates. from microwave heating.

so yea...today i cooked for a table of 7. cleaning up after was a chore.

i think i'll stick to running.

thoughts

u crossed my mind today
when i woke up in the morning
it got me smiling
sent my head a spinning
sent my heart a racing

u crossed my mind today
when i was walking around the store
i looked n stared at the floor
so others never saw
the radiance from every pore

u crossed my mind today
when i sat in front of the tv
my thoughts were far from reality
the strength drained from my knees
i wished u were there with me

u crossed my mind tonight
as i sit here by my computer
thinking of words that sound better
remembering times spent together
hoping the next time would come sooner

u crossed my mind tonight
and i can never be more true
all my thoughts today were thoughts of you
wondering if i crossed yours too...

and so it came

THe Ultimate Prom Nite was shown LIVE on 8TV last night from 11pm to 12 am and yours truly, in all her grace and poise, dressed in diamonds and stilletos and fake eye lashes, had to topple off a stair on stage. classic. :)

anyway, the entire prom night was great. we all arrived in a limo, pair by pair. i came in first with Chay. Riding in a limo is pretty magical, even if we sat in it for like a minute tops. we had the typical red carpet treatment whereby we step out of the limo and were greeted by flashing lights. then we move on over to a photo booth, so to speak where a tonne of other cameras were snapping away. talk about living the celebrity life! and all these were projected on big screens within the hall for all to see.

the first time i was on stage itself, i almost tripped doing a twirl with Chay. uhuh....3 inch heels...no joke. :)

the show only went live from 11 pm. i was nervous as hell, anticipating what kind of question i'd have to answer. lucky for me, mine wasn't too hard. i think the rest of the night went pretty well. i could see all my friends and family. friends from college were there, friends from school were there. friends ive not seen in AGES were there. felt really touched. :)

so did i win? sadly, no. but it's been a journey i didn't regret taking. it was an experience i'd never forget. would i go through it again? mm...maybe, maybe not. there were a lot of moments whereby i felt so out of place that i thought i'd made a mistake. so, yea, i'd think twice. :)

winner was Amanda and Reagan. i have...no comments. watch it here to see for yourself. :)

special kind of something

if i could say to you
that there's an extra special something
that comes when i see your face
a sparkling, dazzling sort of something
that seem to light up any place

if i could say to you
that there's an extra bit of amazing
that comes when i hear your voice
it puts the zest into the songs i sing
doesnt matter what was my song choice

if i could say to you
that there's an extra buzzing feeling
that comes when you're holding me
a head-over-heels kind of tingling
that i wish would go on endlessly

if i could say to you
that there's an extra special something
in everything that involves you
a bedazzling, amazing, buzzing kind of something
would you go on doing what you do...

kids these days

i did it. i changed into my running gear. put on my trainers. stepped out of the house. drew in a deep breath of air. and begin pounding.

started off a little hard. the hills came. they used to be helluva lot easier. but i pounded on. all the way up. controlling my breathing. watching my pace. focusing my mind.

made it past the hill. my pace became more comfortable now. i was trotting along without a care. breathing was good. from several feet back, i heard the cries and laughter from some young boys. 8-9 years old tops. they rode their little bicycles, 2 each.

the sound of wheels drew closer. the laughter gradually died down into cheeky whispers. they rode along me, slowing down. i smiled and waved. one of them laughed.

slowly they trudged a little ahead of me. suddenly their eyes were full of mischief. the boys were urging one on. "cepatla...cepat...". out of nowhere, this little back seater LIGHTS A MATCH STICK and THREW IT MY WAY. to which my respond was to scowl my foulest scowl. they burst into laughter. to which my reaction came in a resounding "OI!!!!"...

the match missed me. but it got me a little upset. they were young kids! man...and to think i thought they were cute! hmmph!

drama aside...
i've started running again!
and crunches too!
100 a day.
yay me! :)

TV-shy

Being on The 8TV Quickie yesterday was...freaky. I was really really nervous, for a reason. It didn't turn out as i had expected, and i have no one but myself to blame. I just saw the video on the website and i noticed how my body was stiff and uptight. I spent a lot of the time looking on the ground. and my eyes are so puffy, i don't know why!

I screwed up. To me, i did. I had one chance to prove i could be on TV and i blew it. But that's what i think. You be the judge. Watch it HERE.

Judged and Be Judged

i became a judge today. i know what you're thinking.

"Didn't you fail your judging course?"

yea i did. or rather, i was not informed of my passing the exam. but the coach has faith that i will "not do much harm" and that at most all i need to worry about are "raging parents". geez. anyway, today was Mrs Khaw's Holiday Villa Gimrama Grading and Competition. and Mrs Khaw was one judge short. so she upgraded my position from emcee/dj to Judge. She initially said i'd be judging Little Gymnasts only. Which was great! I know the elements by heart, and since there were only 3 routines, I was done in a couple of hours.

Just when i was starting to have fun, she plonks another stack of judging forms on my table. Grade 1A and 1B. Okay, not too familiar with this grade, but it's not much different from LG. Plus there was a guide which comes complete with symbols, so I did okay. :)

Done with the Grade 1s. I was really enjoying the power that comes with deducting marks. Though 9 times out of 10 i had to look through my forms again because i was deducting way too little as compared to my co-judge. Then came the more senior grades. Running short of time (as always) Mrs Khaw plonks another stack on my table. Grade 5! crazy! I didn't even pass my Level 1 judging course and that's up to Grade 2 only!

You can pretty much tell i was stressing my way through. I was so afraid to deduct but i was even more afraid to not deduct. coz that would mean i missed a mistake the gymnast made. and judging rhythmic gymnastics is all about spotting mistakes. I was so afraid i may pass/fail someone who did not deserve to pass/fail.

Well, i survived. Judging is not easy. But it is also not all that hard. I had fun though. Loads of it. Plus the pay is higher. a LOT higher. :)

***

I'll be coming on The 8TV Quickie tomorrow(Monday, 26th November) night at 11.30 pm! Tune in to 8TV at said time to catch my TV debut with Jordan. haha...

busy bee me

i have been in and out of the house far too often of late. it has come to a point where i feel like a tourist, and my home is just a bed i come home to sleep on at night. of course, it leaves me feeling like an ignorant ungrateful daughter, because if i am not at home, house chores will be done by my mum alone.

and if that is not enough, i haven't been running either. or cycling. i haven't been doing anything that would raise my heart rate for even a minute. since the Powerman. and it has come to affect what i eat. because with every bite, i can almost envision the little clouds of fats forming at rapid speed. not to mention my stamina has probably dropped to an incomprehensible level. incomprehensible by people like me, once upon a time.

and because of that, i come home at night feeling awfully tired, extremely guilty and insanely unfit.

i need to get out of this rut. all it takes is to put on those trainers, and hit the road....

Grow, already!

About 2 weeks back i took what i believe to be a random and reckless leap under the influence of boredom. I stepped up to the plate and got myself a haircut which resulted in the loss of long, silky hair which i took months and months to grow. It's all very me to do something like that. Classic Karen Siah moment. "Who wants to volunteer?" "Me! Me!" *waves hand ecstatically*.

anyway, i had my doubts about these stylish modern day hairstyles, but the moment i was drowned in praises and flattery i totally forgot about them. I ignored every scream in my subconscious mind telling me that it would be a pain to deal with when I'm running, and an even bigger pain to deal with every darn morning. and so, clad with the determination to make this hairstyle work, and armoured with the ego to be responsible for my stupid actions, i tried desperately with the hair dryer and a tub of "moving rubber" from Gatsby.

It was tough. Not only do i now take a longer time to get ready before leaving the house (which i really hate because i pride myself as being a ready-lets-go girl), but the amount of blowing and hair drying i subject my hair to has made it really really dry and damaged. And to top it off, I'm not even good at what I'm doing. The result almost never look like the picture above, and even if it did when i leave the house, it falls apart an hour into my outing.

The above picture is one such occasion. Then again, this picture may be a little subjective considering i'm posing next to beauty queen Ms Kristin Kreuk. But yea, focus on the hair. It's limp, it's frizzy, it looks horrible.

I want my hair to grow. like now. I want long straight hair again. I want hair which i can walk right out of the house any time of the day and it'll still look okay. I want my hair to hide as much of my ginormous shoulder frame as possible. I want hair which can be tied up, let down, braided, and so on. I want hair which won't mess up when i pull a t shirt over my head.

Maybe I should pay Yun Nam haircare a visit...haha....

***

Anyway, sms voting has started.

i feel so loved!

Ever since the online voting started, a lot of people have been showing me a lot of lurvveee. It's all very touching, really. Both my mum and dad have been asking all their friends to vote for me through emails and texts. Even Keith's friends started circulating emails to vote for me. I am extremely flattered by all the support!

And some have gone the extra mile to blog about me, reaching an even wider scope of people. Here are those who shamelessly promoted me to their readers to help me gain some votes:

melanie "mellyboo" ho
marco "sooperstar" soo
wendy the ipoh cyclist
ah fook the miri runner

Also, some of my friends in the running circle have been sending out emails, which were forwarded to other running circles. I'm really speechless! Thanks Uncle Choi!

Anyway, i'd just like to thank everyone for all that has been done. Really appreciate everything. Just so you know, online voting isn't the only determinant. It constitutes 25%, while the other 25% and 50% come from sms votes and judicial votes respectively. the sms code can be found on 8TV. I wonder how many people actually watch 8TV but yea, if you happen to spot me on 8TV, please spare me RM0.50. And while you're at it, spare another for Sean too.

Thanks again.

*hearts*

D to the O to the N-E!

right...say what you like but I am DONE with the degree! DONE! it feels good. :) It feels like finishing a marathon. No like i ever did, but i am sure it's a similar sensation. or not. i'm guessing finishing a marathon is waaaaaaay more euphoric. but till that actually happens for me, i think this is the best feeling in the world!

and i am....home. by my computer. it's quite sad, i know, but a bunch of my friends have not finished their exams. so till then, i am to act like i still have exams too...that is, until tomorrow. coz tomorrow is Thursday *winks*.

***

anyway, there is no way in hell that i can say this without sounding like i am pimping myself out on my own blog. But there's a HUGE carrot at the end of the stick and a wise man (actually a few wise men) told me that it isn't about the best, it's about the marketing.

and having completed an entire degree in that particular field, I, of all people should know a thing or two about marketing. so here goes it!

Vote Sean and I as the Ultimate Prom King and Queen!

Powerman Malaysia 2007

*edit* photos added

For those of you who are still under the impression that i chose Genting Trailblazer over the Powerman, well I didn't. I was happily cruising to Seri Manjung, Perak on Saturday morning with Andy, Sue and Chiat, with the Colnago and all. :)

At 5.15 am on Sunday morning, Chiat woke me up. I had an early night (midnight-ish, that's early for me) so waking up wasn't all that hard. I had a tough time deciding what to wear the night before, but I settled on wearing the zoot suit. For the pockets. The plan was to down 4 powergels. :) so a little after 6 am, we set off to the race site which was about 8-10 km away from Lumut, where we stayed.

The place was already bustling. I saw a few other regulars which i missed the day before. The likes of Jason Foo and dad, Uncle Peter, Prof Tee, Mr Cheng, Krishma, Mr Goh Choon Aun (individual wei!), Mr Loke and family, Mr Jason Thiang and family, and many many others were stretching, chit chatting, exchanging luck and what not. I should be worried. I really should. Training was definitely insufficient. Shoes were brand new. Sunnies were not comfortable. Weather didn't look promising. Black clouds were hovering over our heads. But for some reason, i was cool and calm. I somehow knew I was more prepared for this than for my OD Triathlon, eventhough this was a 4 hour plus race for me.
Anywhos, at the race start I was with Fong and Isaiah, and we all 3 set off with a comfortable pace. Isaiah broke off a little later, and Fong and I ran side by side the entire 11 km. I had wanted to go a little faster than her because i knew she would thrash me in the bike easily. But my conscience made me conserve a little energy for later. Coming in from the 1st run, Uncle Peter told me I was in 3rd position. Hard to believe, hard to maintain too.

Fong next to me, looking intensely focused. Note to self: tie hair or risk looking like a lion

sunglasses on

Going into the bike was easy. During the transition i took my own sweet time to stuff the gels into my pockets. Adjusted the helmet on nicely with my hair tucked behind my ears (took the risk of not tying my hair up). Wore the sunnies, which fogged up instantly. And off i rolled. Riding the Colnago was heavenly, as always. :) The ride was long but I could feel that I was going a lot faster than expected. It drizzled a bit, but it didn't pour. The gels helped me with extra spurts of energy whenever fatigue felt like kicking in. People were still zooming past me, but personally I wasn't doing too shabby either! Few people yelled "Keep going, Karen!", which was always a good encouragement. I don't know who they are, but it's good to know that I'm not exactly an anonymous racer in the scene. People actually know who i am. The first lap went by pretty smoothly, the 2nd lap even better. The first lap was about 34 km. But the second lap was shorter so the total was 64.6 km.

sunglasses off...they hurt my ears.

After the bike, my legs were wobbly. I was pretty breathless and exhausted. Again, i took my time to hydrate myself. I walked slowly out of the transition. Friends were snapping photos of me, i wonder how it all turned out because i think my jaws were too tired to manage a smile. Grabbed a drink and gobbled down a banana. Was starving! The weather was no longer drizzling, and the heat was actually building up. There was no sun, but i felt enveloped in heat. When I started running I i felt my thighs cramping up a little. Which was odd, because i honestly never got cramps during races. But the muscles were tightening and I got a bit worried because, though i know what to do should it happen, i've never actually experienced it. i stretched the thighs a little, but it didnt seem to help much. Running along, i made a mental note to stop should i see the next St John's volunteers. 10 minutes went by and i saw none. I had overtaken a few men, saw no women. By now, my pace had eased itself into a comfortable speed. I was feeling quite strong and the cramps had disappeared. I trotted happily along, until about km 4 i saw the St Johns and all of a sudden the cramps came back. Was a bit reluctant to break my momentum, I decided to pummel on, hoping that the cramps would subside. They did. On to the second lap and I actually never felt stronger! I strained my ears to listen out for music and announcements and when I finally did, a big smile was plastered on my face.

Being awfully shy and conscious of the short suit top which was riding up, I pulled it down, smiled my widest smile and ran into the finishing line. I clocked 4 hours 15 minutes which was a 30 minute shave from last year's Powerman. And considering that this year's distance was longer, I have improved greatly if I should say so myself!

Fong commented that my cycling had improved a lot, so I'm guessing it's the RPM and the weekend rides. Chiat snapped a whole lot of photos for me, so I'm waiting to get them. Mr. Tey, as always, was there so i've got photos there too.

Thanks so much everyone! A good race indeed!

*edit* thanks Mr Tey for the photos!

***

I got into top 5 of the Ultimate Prom Nite! Tune in to 8tv more often alright peeps? and vote for me!!

Tan Shirlyn

Happy 21st Lyn!
Missing u like crazy here!
xoxo

my boyfriend bought me shoes :)

thank you. you're the best. :)

What leave?

My study leave hasn't exactly been used for its rightful purpose. I have in fact been doing everything but studying. But i'll get to it, don't worry (daddy, i know you'll be reading this). Here's what I've been so busily up to in the past couple of days.

Monday saw me rising in the early hours to be at Sri Pentas with Sean for a grooming session. This was when i met the top 10 guys and girls for the Ultimate Prom Nite nominations. I swear, the girls were gorgeous. and Miss Kristin Kreuk got in too. 2 of the guys couldn't make it, so there were only 8 of them, among which were a couple of hot ones too. Looks like competition is pretty tough.
Kristin Kreuk in red.
Grooming session was fun. It was as exciting as International Management 375 with Miss Eileen Yap. In fact I had no trouble at all trying to bulge my eyes open...grooming session!?!? what the hell? We were made to sit through a 4 hour lecture on Image. The moment the speaker, Sharifah Shawati, spoke on chipped off manicures and moisturizing skin I knew I was in the wrong place. Then we were taught how to cleanse our face with circular movements of the finger tips and wet sponges, how to squeeze the sponge dry the right way, how to tap on our cheeks and forehead in an upward direction, how to get rid of double chins...I was surprised I actually stayed on.

But anywhos, they asked for a volunteer for a makeover. And I was bored out of my wits, plus, I love change, and this one involved a free hair cut, so I jumped at the opportunity. Shawati took a look at my face and hair and decided "I think you could take on a Vic Beckham. And you have the attitude to suit it too". Me? a Vic Beckham? haha...you be the judge.A lot of good feedback i've received from friends. I personally liked it. till my mum and a few others mentioned that this is the style that's in now, and a lot of people are spotting it. I am the last person on earth to want to follow an in style. So that made me not like it very much now. And Dennis misses the long locks. So, yea...I'm growing it long again! :)

The poor guys who came along with us in the morning only started their session after ours, while we were let free. I felt bad for leaving Sean behind. They ended only at about 8 pm. that's a 12-hour day they've spent on something that isn't even certain. I hope Sean gets in!

Today, was Shakti's 21st birthday. I spent the afternoon singing in Redbox along with a few others from 2-7 pm! Shakti's treat. :) I know, how on earth can I sing karaoke for 5 hours? Try it, 5 hours is no enough!
Then dinner was meant to be a surprise for Shakti, but it didn't turn out all that surprising. Nonetheless the food was great, there was Tiger beer, and i loved the banana choc cake! Even the post dinner shisha session in Hartamas was good. I think the woman enjoyed her 21st. I could see she was happy. Good. Operasi Hari Jadi Shakti berjaya!
So here's wishing the birthday girl Happy 21st Birthday one last time! Love you Ati!! *hugs*