Saturday, January 31, 2009

If I Kissed You

If I kissed you
Would fireworks fly
Would angels sing with lollipops
Would dinosaurs cry
Would babies all gurgle in laughter and surprise
If I kissed you

If I kissed you
What would Michaelangelo say
Would he still have sculpted David
Would we be immortalized in clay
Would the poets write of love like ours
Would John Donne have his say
If I kissed you

You could be one in a million
You could be the one for me
But l guess I'll never know if I never try
I guess I'll just have to grab you in my arms and kiss you

If I kissed you
Would you lose track of time
Would you feel a surge of happiness
Running up your spine
Would you run naked in the street
with a tattoo of my name on your behind
If I kissed you
Oh, if I kissed you
Yeah, if I kissed you..

-Corrinne May-

Thursday, January 29, 2009

CNY 2009

CNY this year isn't quite like it used to be. It was a little quieter and a little less festive. I guess the mood kinda dissolves when you hit the 20s. Ang pows just aren't all that anymore. haha...

anyway, CNY this year was made fun by these 2 little girls. Cousin Yi Lin and cousin Kelly. One speaks cantonese and one speaks mandarin. Neither of them understands the other, and quite honestly I don't even understand half the things they say to me. =)
and that is me Ah Kong, smiling for the camera...=)

Hope you all had a great Chinese New Year!
Keong Hee Huat Zhai!!

Friday, January 23, 2009

And then you hold my hand

I guess sometimes I need to be reminded
I need to hear you say it aloud
Sometimes I tease and tug and nudge
Just so you’d tell me again what we’re about

I guess sometimes I tend to forget
That you think of me just as often too
Sometimes I sit around and wait
For that short simple heartstring tugging “boo”

I guess sometimes I get a little selfish
I want to have you all to myself
As much as possible for as long as possible
That my heart sinks when the clock hits 12

I guess sometimes I take for granted
The time we have together each day
And like a lovesick fool I start missing you
The moment you drive away

I guess sometimes I feel a little doubtful
That all this goodness could not be real
And then you reach out and hold my hand
I guess then I know just how you feel

Monday, January 19, 2009

Ironbound Challenge Taiping 2009

So it was like this. Rose tells me about an adventure race in Taiping with no mountain biking involved. And that there are only 8 teams in the women's category. And that prize money was up till 5th place. I did some simple math and realised i'd be silly to miss this opportunity.

So on Saturday morning, after borrowing heaps of climbing equipment from Beatrice, Lydia and myself, alongside Am went to Kamunting town to race in this Ironbound Challenge. The name itself, sounds pretty daunting and if I had known any better, I would never have underestimated it at all.

The race consisted of trail running, uphill road running, rafting, river scrambling, abseiling, kayaking, orienteering and some mystery tests. To put it simply, the race was really really really challenging. The trail running was like non of the other trails I have trekked. None of my previous trail running adventure races even came close to this running route and for that I give the officials two thumbs up! I had heaps of fun running through the trails, and getting myself slashed, graced, poked, gashed and whipped in so many places. Loved every moment of it. Dennis thinks i'm a masochist now. heh.

River scrambling. Now this I really enjoyed. It was a first time for me and honestly, it was one of those things that had crossed my wildly wandering mind to do knowing well that people would think of it as the craziest thing to do. If I saw a shooting rapid river, with its crystal clear water gushing through ever so quickly, crashing and sloshing across rocks of all shapes and sizes, kinda like the picture below, I'd think to myself, Wouldn't it be fun to run across that, tiptoeing on rock after rock? and i'd chuckle to myself because the idea of it is absurd. Just like i do, when I see a mountain skyline and imagine a silhouette of myself prancing along the tops of it in the middle of the night.But SNR Adventures made my little daydream come true that day and made us go through probably 5 kms of river scrambling. And, by golly, did i CRASH. I slipped and flipped and crashed my knees and shins and ankles into the rocks like a Wild E Coyote cartoon. And yes it was mighty painful. But oh so fun! I loved every moment of it! no i'm not a masochist!

so anyway, the race went on pretty long. We got lost somewhere, made some new friends and managed to pull through everything till it came to the orienteering part. The race had a cutoff time of 4 pm and eventhough we wanted to finish all our checkpoints, marshalls were after us on motorbikes asking us to go back to the finish. So, we were forced to give up and go back.

What happened after that was a bit of a mood dampener. We were actually in 2nd place almost all the way, with Fong's team being in the first place. But some miscommunicated information made it possible for 2 other teams that were behind us to clinch the first and second prizes while we got nothing. Haha...it was my first time actually debating and arguing for a prize. I've never been so sure of myself. But I guess there is no one to be blamed in this. At the end of the day everyone wanted a fair and just race and it was a pity this had to happen. I just hope we are given due recognition for our efforts, that's all. Our results are yet to be determined.

Anyway, Lydia Tan was a greaaaaat partner. You should so see her on the river scrambling section. That's a pro river scrambler if i ever saw one. People say we're very similar. So it's only natural that we either compliment each other or start battling at loggerheads with each other. Lucky for me, it was the former. We made a pretty good team. Thanks Lydia!! Oh btw, I want pictures!
nuff said...=)

Saturday, January 17, 2009

change of plans for the weekend

A trip down to Powerbar in PJ, and a brief chat with Kak Rose made me switch my mind about going for GE30K. An adventure race without mountain biking is all that I can ask for before going back to Auckland and when there was a potential to win I guess I just couldn't resist!

So everything that needed to be done transpired in exactly 24 hours. I got myself a teammate, sold my GE30K bib, called organizers to register, made arrangements for transport & accomodation (which came with the teammate) and even squeezed in a training session. This has got to be the most last minute decision to race in my history of racing. And perhaps it is all this spontaneity, all this "in the nick of time" events and "lucky me" incidents that made this race all the more attractive.

So I'm about to leave with Lydia Tan, my new teammate, for the Ironbound Challenge 2009 in Taiping, Perak! Looking forward to heaps of good fun in the mud and sun! =)

Best of luck to every GE30K and 20K participant out there!

***

last night i caught up with a bunch of girlfriends from school and it was like a blast from the past.=)

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Great Eastern 30 km Bib FOR SALE

Hi all, this is actually the first time I'm doing this. But I just found out there's an adventure race this weekend in Taiping and I LOVE adventure races more than anything in the world!

So I plan to sell my 30 km race bib.

30 km WOMEN'S OPEN CATEGORY
18TH JANUARY 2009
LAKE GARDENS
RM25

drop me an email @ karsiah@yahoo.com. I check my email everyday don't worry. =) oh and please spread the word!

Monday, January 12, 2009

Brazilian meat, Island delights and Japanese buffets

If there were a sin I am guilty of ever since I got back, it would be the sin of food binging. I have been stuffing my face non stop since i stepped on Malaysian shores, and trust me, it shows. Nevermind the fact that I haven't been training much. I am growing into a blimp. And Dennis isn't helping!

***
On Thursday, for our usual Dennis-Karen day outing, we went to Carnaval in SS22. It was a Brazilian place where you pay a nett price and they come out and serve you meat. All kinds of meat! They were on skewers, grilled/roasted to perfection. I really loved it, because the flavours were awesome! I think the both of us stuffed ourselves silly. I was so full I couldn't even move no more. And yet I wanted more and more because it was delicious! Ah! I need to stop this.
This is Dennis's cannot-eat-anymore face...hahaha

***
Taman Negara Penang, where we hiked in to Pantai Kerachut. Lovely place, has a turtle sanctuary as well, which we didn't know about.

Anyway, for the weekend I joined Jackie, Jolvin, Wen Ching, and Wei Suan on an all you can eat trip up north to Penang. Nicholas and Qian Ee joined us the next day. It was...one helluva makan trip. And I had great fun! It started out a bit disappointing, food wise. Food in Penang was supposed to be good, and cheap! But it started out with really overrated overpriced food. We had a tally Subang vs Penang, and in the beginning, Subang was actually winning!
The infamous Lorong Selamat Char Kuey Tiaw that cost me RM8 a plate. I think the one they sell in USJ 14 taste heaps better and costs half the price.
Crepe Cottage, a cozy little place serving waffles and crepes on Gurney Drive.

It only got better when we met up with Mei Hui, my lovely OB girl from Penang! She brought us to some of the best places to eat and to chill out! It was really great seeing her again, since I last saw the tip of her nose 2 Valentines ago.
Mei and I at Sunset Bistro, a really awesome place at Batu Ferringhi.

On the way there as well as back, we even treated ourselves to some Ipoh delicacies. Those were pretty satisfying. =)
Salted Chicken from Ipoh

***

Today I tagged along to Tenji with Dennis and friends for the much talked about Jap Buffet promo. I think it's amazing how WOM (word of mouth) advertising is so so so effective because there wasn't a single ad on this restaurant and yet reservations had to be made days in advance if you wanted a spot. The verdict? It was good. Very worth the price. The boys had some things to say, comparing it with Jogoya and all. I honestly think they're all good. And today's buffet was no different. Oysters were ginormous. Cheese baked crabs were awesome. And Haagen Daas ice cream was the cherry above it all. =)I wonder if there are implications to stuffing my stomach to its fullest potential so often. I mean, stomach walls have muscles don't they? What if this constant overstrain on it will cause hypertrophy and then my stomach will bulge out? hahaha...wait...that's a scary thought.

I need to run, I know. I will. I will =)

Thursday, January 08, 2009

How old is too young?

Last I checked I had just turned 22 years old and would be turning 23 only this May. To me, at age 23 I can only wish for heaps more friends in Auckland, a couple of As in my exams, less rain in winter and many more monthliversaries and anniversaries with Dennis. The last thing I'd imagine getting myself into at age 23 is an engagement.

But that's just me.

Because i seem to have quite a few friends my age who are engaged now. And I think...i think it is...um...well, I honestly don't know. What do you think? How old is too young to get married?

How many of you are the believers of the "Love will conquer all" theme? You could be broke as a pauper and still ask your girl for her hand in marriage because you believe that all you need is to lie in each others' arms and life would be bliss. You wouldn't mind living with parents. Unemployed? We'll do part time and double shifts...Don't have a car? We'll walk or cycle; sets the romance anyway...Still studying? what better way than to have spousal support to boost our confidence through those gloomy exam periods...Love really is all we need to live happily ever after...

How many of you are in the 5 Cs camp - Cash, Credit card, Career, Car, Condo? I'm a man, I should at least have a steady job to support my wife. Or for some women, they believe in being independent and self sufficient. Any Miss I-don't-need-a-man out there? Some people feel they should be able to afford their own home before they can build a marriage. Not too bad an idea to be sufficient i guess.

Then again, there's the question of what do engagements entail? What IS an engagement? A promise? How different is an engaged couple from a couple? Are the lines drawn a little closer, a little tighter around the couple if they're engaged? And what if it doesn't work out? Would breaking up with your fiance be a bigger sin than breaking up with your boyfriend?

Oh, and do engagements have expiry dates? Is there like a 1 year period, 2 years, or any particular time space for an engaged couple to get married?

You know I think it's cool that I have reached the age where my friends are getting engaged and all. I love weddings! =)

Wednesday, January 07, 2009

How I Met Your Mother is such a maternal show. The more I watch it, the more I want to marry and have kids.

=)

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

on love

love. that blasted word. a four letter word, so simple in meaning yet so deep in value. so great is its influence on the human race in every corner of the world.

i, of all people, detest it when people try to sound all philosophical, coming up with their own theories and perceptions on love. i hate it when they try to write something on something we know is guaranteed to either touch you, enrage you, sadden you, amuse you, affect you in one way or another to a certain degree - usually by large.

everyone relates to love. everyone. and maybe the reason why i have chosen to blog on love tonight was because i intend to win back some readers, regenerate some interest and increase those blog hits. maybe the reason i chose to discuss love tonight was because in the past year i have learned a thing or two about love and would like to disseminate that piece of information to those of you out there in search of love.

maybe.

but i know nothing of love except that i've been given an abundance of it throughout my life. yes, i am a lucky girl to begin with, born to a family who's extremely loving and giving. i have friends who love me very much, friends who have stuck by me through thick and thin.

people say i am an idealist in a lot of ways. i believe in all things good and kind and the power they bring. but i think it's because of the environment that i was brought up in that was so full of love that hatred, vengeance, sadness doesn't really come very often. now i'm beginning to sound like i was raised by the Care Bears.

Truth is, tonight i'm talking on love because of a certain someone. This person is someone i've only known for less than maybe a year and a half. Yet his presence in my life has a great impact on me.

This person loves me. And I see it through his eyes what I mean to him. I feel it through his words when he writes to me. I know it through his actions.

And when I first found myself loving him back, I never knew how deeply I'd be loving him. I never knew how deeply i'd be falling in love with him. Now that i have, i never want to fall out of it.

Tonight this very dear person would be turning 25. And I could be selfish and conceited and wish that he continues to love me this much for the rest of his life. Or I could be generous and kind and wish that I continue to love him this much for the rest of my life.

I think I'll sleep on that tonight and see what I feel like tomorrow. =)
Happy Birthday, Boyfriend.
xx