Larian Malakoff 12km

selesai sudah....

It was the last run for the year. What's more interesting, the event was held in our own 'backyard'. Initial plan was to run from Taman Rimba TTDI to Sri Hartamas via the KLGCC route, run through the Penchala link tunnel and back to the finishing line in TTDI. Unfortunately, there was a last minute change. Instead, we had to run the TTDI-Sime Darby convention centre route in 2 laps. Quite a 'boring' route, at least on paper.

But it turned out to be fun! Azad and Ruslan had this challenge between them to finish ahead of each other. They've been having secret training and they wanted to end the year with a high note. Adrenalin were pumping but Azad had a bad start. When he was at the parking lot, he realised that he accidentally left his running shoes at home! The vision of Azad running with his slippers, is just too ridiculous. So I loaned him my Crocs! At least it's not slipper jepun! Actually, the Crocs is more expensive than some of the running shoes that we were wearing! hahahaha

Crocs at 1 o'clock!!

The run itself was satisfying. With 2 laps to complete, we get to see how far back we were from the pros. By the time I finished the 1st lap, the African runners had already lapped me heading for the finishing line. I don't think they were running, they were sprinting! It did have a physco effect on me, pushing me to be a bit more competitive..macam bagus..hahaha

I didn't properly clocked my run so I'm depending on the organiser to do this (I'm gonna get myself a proper runner's watch). We used the timing chip provided by them so the timing should be accurate. I felt good running this time despite the lack of preparation. Perhaps it's the final run for the year so I tried pushing my self towards the end. The downhill section really helped me to pace faster than usual.

After the run, we head to the Mohsein restaurant and had roti canai for breakfast. What a way to close this year's 'account'. Fun run, great friends and good food. I'm looking forward for 2009. We've targeted to participate in at least one run every month. Next stop, January's Great Eastern 20km!

kumpul banyak-banyak, boleh jual besi kati nanti! hahahaha

Maid dah balik..

Hhhmm...we just can't live without them can we? Our maid decided to quit last weekend (she gave us a 7 days notice). After working for us for 11 months, we send her back to her relatives house in Pandan Jaya. If they want to leave, just let them leave. No point trying to persuade her to stay in any longer. Wiwi was our 3rd maid for the past 7 years.

Fortunately, we managed to get a new helper quickly. Just a day after Wiwi left, Ayu picked up this new maid from the agent introduced earlier by my aunty. It's her second day now and I hope she can handle the boys especially Zidani. As long as she can get along and understand his condition, I'm ok with her. I'm also thinking of sending her to Zidani's school so that she can learn how the teacher's there cope with him.

Personally, if I have a choice, I wouldn't want to hire a maid. I think you understand why. In my case, we've been lucky so far that no unwanted incident occurred with our maids. Even so, the thought of having a 'stranger' in the house makes me somewhat uncomfortable. I feel more freedom when only us the family is in the house. Besides, I love to see the family doing the house chores together.

But we just can't live without them can we? Me and Ayu, we both have a hectic schedule and we do alot of travelling too. We can't be bothering our parents too often when both of us are on our working trips. So hiring a helper eases our already heavy burden, especially with the house chores. I just hope that they value the trust that we put to them and realise the responsibility that they're carrying.

Transformers outing...

Raidi's favourite music...

I was helping Raidi to setup his blog. Yes, I'm teaching him how to blog (both the kids spend too much time on YouTube). He's really excited about it. I filled up his profile details, his favourite movies, cartoon and so on...

Then it came to his favourite music. In the past, I've not seen or heard him listening to any kind of music as he always watches cartoon on Astro. He's only 8 years old, so who would expect him to have any musical orientation. Even if he does have preference, I would think it's from his favourite cartoons or movies.

So I asked him about his favourite music. What he said later really made me numbed and speechless. For the first time, I didn't really know how to react to this. He said, "Emmmm....Black Sabath". Hahhahahahahahaha

Raidi told me that he got hooked on Black Sabbath after watching Iron Man movie repeatedly. He loves playing his favourite super hero on PlayStation (which plays Black Sabbath tune in the background).

Washing my car..

It's either you wash the car yourself or you send it to the car wash. I try to wash the car myself once a month. By putting some labour into it, it strengthen this 'bonding' we have between car and driver. Not only that, I usually let the kids join in the fun for some quality time (although they're more interested in water play). Remember the movie Karate Kid? Wax in...wax out?? Character building I tell you...

Anyway, we all have our own favourite car wash centres. My personal favourite is located at the Caltex petrol station in Tmn Tun. I go there almost every week. Here are the reasons why:

1. Location - Very close to where we live. I'd leave the car there in the morning and pick it up in the afternoon after I finished doing my weekend chores.

2. Service - The main reason why I like this place. The wash itself is very good. Sometimes, they put 6-7 people attending to the car and each one of them has specific job to do. It speeds up the whole process, but with more manpower, they have smaller area to clean. This allows them to be more thorough and detail inside out.

Before they hand over the keys, the boss would circle the car for final inspection. I like this part. He does it as if he owns the car. Only after the car is squeaky clean, he'll pass the keys to you. By the way, only the boss has the authority to carry the keys and drive the cars. That gives me a piece of mind knowing that the car is in trusted hands.

Once, I was picking up all the rubbish from the car, the bos quickly came and offered to throw them away for me. I was surprised to say the least. Most other car wash centres are 'operated' by foreigners and they couldn't care less. They don't go the extra mile. This place at Caltex, the business is run by passionate people. It's no wonder why you get to see Ferrari owners send their cars here for a little TLC.

3. Price - Wash and vacuum for a sedan will cost you RM14. I know it's a bit pricey, but I got nothing to complain really.

The best part of all is when you drive out of the car wash. Every time, the feeling is fantastic, your car look fantastic. I would drive back slowly, letting others to have a good view of my car..hehehe..kasi jeless sikit...hahaha. To me it's not just a car wash. You don't believe me? Send the car there this weekend.

Closer...and closer...and closer...

MMBBUAAAHHHHH.... J.CO DONUTS IS NOW IN KOTA DAMANSARA!!!!! ....SSLLLUURRRRRP...YUM YUMMMMMM YUMMYYYYY..... HOHOHOHO .....HAHAHAHAA...DAH GILA NI!!!

Servicing my car

Sending the car for service is something that I always look forward to. I'm not really a grease monkey, but maybe it's a habit that I picked up when i was still schooling. Back when I was in secondary school I love dismantling my BMX bike, wash, clean and polishing the parts, grease them and put them back together. It's something that I would do on a weekly basis. That's why I always go to the carwash center every Sunday, come rain or shine (I'll blog about this carwash experience one day).

I get excited every time I had to bring the car for service. I love to drive and making sure the car is in tip-top condition, gives me the confidence that the car is safe and perform well to expectation. When there's a major trouble shooting to be done, I'm willing to stay at the workshop the whole day and just watch them doing their thing.

pantry with bottomless kopi and milo

I'm actually blogging this entry at Mazda service centre in PJ. They provide free wifi service and individual workstations. The waiting lounge is huge and very comfortable equipped with a 50 inch TV. That's not all, I get free flow milo, coffee and biscuits as well! Unfortunately, here, the service bay is a restricted area. I'm not allowed to 'disturb' the mechanics which is a major letdown for me.

It's already 11am..dah 2 jam! Haiyaa...bila nak siap keta ni!! perut dah kembong dengan milo!!

"What to do with RM10k?"

Nor asked me this question one day through google chat. I said I would like to clear off my credit card bills! Hehehehe..

It turns out that she was actually writing a cover feature for the December08 Personal Money magazine. She inquired whether I would like to be interviewed and I said no problem.

To me it takes some guts to make public that you are debt-ridden. But to Ayu, this is one heck of way to perli her spending habits!!

p/s: Nor, maybe you can feature the rest of the geng for future issues..hehehe..boleh buat magazine friends and family! mmbuuuaahhh