The Perhentian Island Challenge

I finally found time amidst my convention-insanity-stricken thoughts to do a race report. however, it is exactly my insanity-stricken mind that led me to wipe out my entire camera memory, causing me to lose all my Perhentian Island photos. it was in a moment of careless haste that i decided to reformat my memory card a moment ago thinking i had transferred all photos out of the camera. and that is why, this post would be 100% picture-free, much to my dismay. *sniff*

Anyway, without further ado, here's what happened last weekend.

On Thursday night, we boarded the bus at KL Sentral. What was supposed to be an 8-hour bus ride became a 10 hour plus road trip to boredom. And that pretty much killed me for the day. By the time we got to Kuala Besut, and finally to the island, I was so ready to drop dead. But, one does not sleep precious hours away when one is on an island as gorgeous as Perhentian. No, seriously. If i had my pictures, i'd show you why. The sky was a bright blue, the sea even bluer and the entire scenery was just amazing. Thus, swimming we went! Dinner that night was...edible...as were all the other meals during the trip, but that's besides the point. Allan and I slept on the beach that night coz the tent was too hot. Ah...brings me back to Sekadeh on Pangkor...

Next morning I was all geared up for the race. We had packed about 8 gels to last us for the potentially 6 hour race. I was psyched! So after the speeches and the opening toasts and what nots, I was on my toes already. Approximately 11.30 am, we were flagged off!

Kayaking was first. perhaps it was the start and we have not warmed up, or perhaps i've not touched the paddle in almost 8 months, but we started out pretty weak. So in the beginning, I think we were quite far behind. Then the trail running begun. We managed to outrun a few teams here...that is before we got lost....again....and again....

Yup, that is the MAIN essence of the race. getting lost, losing the markers, going around in circles and ending up at the same spot we were about an hour ago, meeting teams we left behind aeons ago. It was as if testing our physical strengths wasn't challenging enough, our mental strengths had to be tested too. Every wrong move found us making executive decisions on which route to follow next or which team to trust. I personally found it rather hilarious when 6-7 teams were stranded at the same spot wandering what to do next. hehe...

Anyway, loved the trail running nonetheless. The mystery obstacles were kinda dodgy though. I found them a tad too telematch-ish. But any challenge is a challenge worth taking. There was a commando crawl, a rope climb, a mystery drink, a fin run, and a 3-legged run.

But i digress. Back to the race, there came a point whereby we were so sick of getting lost. The sun was high up in the sky, beating down our backs. We were trudging up a path that was unmarked and this male team threw their hands up and decided to give up. They climbed into the adjacent sea and started to swim back to Bubu Long Beach. Allan, being pessimistic about the route, wanted to call it quits too. I reckon the clear blue sea was beckoning him to go in. But i refused. Several teams have already decided to keep on going up that path and it may not be a good chance that it was right, but it was a chance nonetheless.

"I have never DNF-ed in my life, and I am not DNF-ing now!" [DNF = Did not finish]

Yea, that was my argument. Selfish I know, but it worked. *grin* We went back on track, met a guy from the Novice category who was walking back to Bubu, and who confirmed that that was the right route. A flicker of hope rose in me, from which i gained the strength to keep my chin up. We met another woman from the Novice who also affirmed our decision.

After what seemed like an eternity, we finally found ourselves on the sandy beach again, did our 3-legged run and crossed the finishing line! Little did I know, we actually came in 7th place, and scored ourselves a cash prize of RM500!

So i'm RM250 richer. I had a fantastic race. I met loads of people, namely, Neeza (5th place elite), Fong (3rd place elite), Krishna (2nd place novice), Richard (1st place novice) and Mr Goh Choon Aun (2nd place novice). And made some new friends. Thanks Allan for making the race!

Sigh...I love racing...:)

i'm back!

very burnt, fairly scathed, extremely exhausted...wishing i could do it all over again.

why do i have to go to college tomorrow?

8 am. monday morning. ineternational management.

*sighhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh*

race report up soon!

Merdeka Day @ Metropolitan College

I know it's a bit too early but Metro's all about beating the rest to it this year what with it's 20th anniversary and all. So yesterday and today, we celebrated Merdeka Day at college level. It was actually the biggest celebration ever, lasting two days and having so many companies joining in on the celebration. Here's a photographic tour:

Circle K-RSO Joint Charity Drive

Prema, who helped me with my saree

Dektos, my co-mc

some of the other dressed up students

Dewa looking photo taken with the aid of 2 Chinese fans and Tisha's photographic skillsPosing with the Merdeka Man!
Prudential Services Challenge

click for more photos

will be back on sunday with more pics from Perhentian!

i think sometimes adults are so hard to manage. you'd think my weekly encounter with 20-30 hyperactive screaming 7-8 year old girls would more than prepare me to face suited up corporate business men and women in a democratic and civilised manner. but through their bombastic words and between their polite sentences; words ever so cunning and sharp slices through their every toothy smile.

seriously...i'd take the screaming little girls, or the whining 13-15 year old participants in OBS over this group of adults anytime.

***

on a lighter note, i'm going to Perhentian Island in 3 days!

eat NatCon...sleep NatCon...

if you've spotted me staring off into space, dreamy eyed, or looking right past you, keeping very quiet....one word. NatCon.
NatCon is short for National Convention, which is short for the 1st National Circle K Convention which my club is organizing. Ever since i took on the project over a month ago, it has been all about NatCon. The very sound of it sends shivers down my spine. The very beat of my handphone ringtone causes me to hold my breath, for fear that it would be the Kiwanians calling me to ask me for reports. The very sight of my directors and members walking along the corridors of college sends my brain into a rumbling rollercoaster ride, racking to discover any stone unturned, any issue not addressed.

NatCon is the sole reason I haven't been running since PJ half because I come home from college dragging my two feet. NatCon is the sole reason my throat is scratchy and my nose is stuffy. NatCon is the sole reason my handphone credit is critically bruised.

September 1st 2007 is one date I could not ask for more, yet I wish it is ages from now. When NatCon is over and done with...mark my words, this Organizing Chairperson is clocking in a 12 hour sleepathon....

table for two for 5 minutes

I was surfing around for Malaysian Dating Agencies when i came across Gay.com.
102 Malaysian gay profiles? Man...that's a lot of gay men in Malaysia....and a quick glance through their profiles will tell you that 90% of that figure is in KL. Needless to say, that the chances of bumping into one is awfully high. Which is good if he was average looking, because i've always wanted a gay best friend. But if he was hot...then i'd so hate his hormonal levels.

anyway, before you start giving me the what-the-hell-are-you-doing-looking-for-dating-agencies look, let me clarify. There's this unit i'm doing this semester called Marketing of Services. For this unit, the group component requires us to pick a service industry, choose 2 competitors, and evaluate their services. And so, we (Me, YanYee, Dektos, Nick), wanted to do something entirely different, deciding to pick the dating services scene.

Yes, i am psyched to do this project. I've always wondered what it'd be like to go for speed dating. I've done a bit of research and i've found that you're only given 5 minutes to get to know the person across from you before the bell rings and he has to move on while another will sit down. 5 minutes. that's like...300 seconds. Seems too short a time to decide whether u'd like to see that person again or not right?

So i have this theory, that the initial 5 minutes it's superficial attraction. In other words, it's got to do with appearance. In lay-malaysian-man term, "face issue". if he's hot, yes i'd like to see him again because out of the 5 minutes, he took 1 to sit down, 2 to introduce himself, and the next 2 minutes you spend on evaluating every inch of his face and hair. 5 minutes? *tsk tsk*

as for matchmaking agencies, i wonder what would happen if only one party falls in love, while the other doesn't. would be awfully hard wouldn't it? and i wonder if there were cases of the guy being a deranged sex maniac or something. hmmm...

but judging by the number of speed dating agencies there are in Malaysia, i'm guessing that its pretty good business. either that, or there are that many lonely, desperate people out there. *shrugs*