Loftus Road: QPR vs MAN UTD

Nak percaya ke taknak, the fact is I was really at the Stadium watching QPR vs Manchester United from directors box!

First I was welcomed to the executive lounge (I don't really know what they called it but channel on tv is all about football), up there Tony Fernandes personally greeted me. WOW. We had picture, he then tweeted it. WOW lagi. Offered a drink, I asked for wifi password and went for a toilet. It's only 11am+ by that time. Oh wait, did I tell you Sir Bobby Charlton was also there?! Siap salam tangan lagi neh! Coolness eh? David Gill pun ada with his children. We had brunch then straight heading to the game.

At the C-Club, the most exclusive hospitality within QPR

View from the stadium is the best ever lah! Tony actually give his designated seat to me. Lost count on my WOWness already. Within two minutes to the game, Rooney scored! The fact he is my captain in Fantasy League this week really fired me up! I got it right once again. Hee.. Try to cover the excitement as much as I can but yeah Tony knows I'm United fan anyway. Between Tony and I was Mike Jones (also a MUFC fan). Another cool guy; Vice President of GE Aviation, based in Singapore. In front of me was Philip Beard, a QPR CEO. So passionate I can tell you. So does the fans. Malaysia football needs to emulate this.

By the time Carrick scores (after many years?), United slow downed the game; yes SAF already looking for the next match. Welbeck, Rooney and Nani out for Chicharito, Giggs and Ashley Young respectively. And yes Manchester United won 2-0. Happy

 After the game. He is OK with the result (come January, Warnock lost his job)

Back to executive lounge, post match refreshment. Bit conversation with Tony (he told he will be in Labuan somewhere in January). I thanked him and went downstairs and met few more AirAsia/ Tunes top guns. And everyone was like "Oh, this is the twitter guy!" Awesome :)

Later I met Rozie, she wanted to pass up the theater tickets (Rooney Shrek the Musical). Chit chat, gossip here and there, I'm back at Victoria station then to the Gatwick airport.

Balik. And I write all of these while flying. Sangat unbelievable the whole experience.

Gatwick 18 Dec 2011 ETD 2250 hrs

Road to Loftus Road Pt 3

Immediately after we arrived and took our luggage, we went to Gatwick train station to get a ticket to Victoria (I bought return ticket actually). It was already dark by then.

Being a winner, I think I did well in promoting the BIG card. It just sometimes photo taken where my face looked hideous, especially the first picture just before departure. Ahaha.. Did I care? Hell NO! Janji gi London tengok bola kan..

So after Victoria station, we split and went to our hotel, mine at Central Park Hotel, so near to Malaysian Hall (I had Nasi kandaq kambing twice). Upon check in, I get assisted by Rozie (a friend doing PhD in UCL) which leads me to Whitelys (a mall). At there, I ended up with Zara winter coat; the customer service was tip top. The manager (Jorge) helped me out to find which coat suits me well. With tips, opinions and what not, I feel appreciated so yeah I bought one. Was looking for a decent winter coat actually. So case closed.

Back at hotel, so tired I sleep early. Woke up in the midnight, called my wife, sleep back and by 4.30am I'm already up. Eager for the game!

Road to Loftus Road Pt 2

I CANNOT SLEEP
As if it requires technically gifted person to do so. The more I tried the harder it became. I text my wife every one hour I think. Went to toilet for numbers of time.

Now I kinda regret it. I should calm down a bit and take it easy. Apparently I was accompanied by one of BIG staff, a marketing guy I believe; sebijik muka cam Eric Casa Idaman ~Surprise..!!
Tak tahu plak. Dok risau all the way alone, meet up TF, how to behave etc

Still I prefer my dearest wife to be around.

So far everything just fine, you shouldn't be complaining much when you get stuff for free. The custom officer I deal with was nice. "2 hari je? Tengok bola, minat QPR ke?" Err.. United :)

I sit beside one lady (from Liverpool) who just finished her 14 months stay in Vietnam, teaching English. Her boyfriend wants her to return (and settle down as one family; ok ni aku memandai :P). Basically my respond "Yeah, I understand long distance relationship challenges"

Her name? Stephanie

Gatwick 17 Dec 2011 ETA 1440 hrs

Road to Loftus Road

Incredibly unbelievable!!!
Out of all people, I am the lucky winner of twitter contest by Tan Sri Tony Fernandes (TF). Hard luck. I have no qualm or blame anybody as I never won any lucky draws, contest etc previously. The one I remembered most, masuk peraduan Mamee berangan menang PlayStation or something. Of course I didn't win. The other one zaman makan junk food tikam2 I actually managed to get a card that entitled me kereta control tapi tauke kedai tukar dengan extra keropok. Sigh. That's me being such a good boy.

But when I get DM from TF I was like OMG! OMG! He told me I just won the contest but don't tell anyone just yet, send him an email for details. The rest is history (until i come back lah). To be honest I just tweet without putting any real hope. Stan Bowles. Got to remember that name for a long time.

I told my wife, friends (currently housemate), my brother and the other family members. The reaction? Quite funny and interesting. Most of them terkejutlah, so do I. "Confirm ke bukan penipuan sms@internet!" Haha that's from Along.

Come on, to win a seat in directors box, who would ever thought that? To watch BPL; Manchester United plak tu?? Via Twitter only!!
Fuh, still cannot believe my luck.

TBC

Self Reflection

She once said, "It's too soon" and I can't agree more. With preparation and determination i just finish the race. Not an easy one I must say but it is doable. This gave me another prove that impossible is nothing. Even if you have to do it in a hard way.

From now on its about getting PB (no, no. Not Premium Beautiful). Personal best. It's been a week without running. Boo! Too much PS3 I must admit.

Quote of the Day:
It’s easy to get discouraged when things are going bad, but we shouldn’t lose heart.

Next chapter: Winter in London

Penang Bridge International Marathon 2011: Half Marathon

Too tired to write up. Probably I will NOT do it again next year :) ok not now to decide. Let's London next! Meanwhile, summary as below:

Preparation: Tak pernah rasa seatlit sebegini

Up early in the morning, tak (boleh) tidur langsung beb!

Full marathon: The Kenyans. You can tell how laju they are

Starting Point Half Marathon: Easily beat Bersih gathering, at 3 o'clock kau mampu??

Running (yeah, somehow loss concentration at 13km+)

Where mental strength extremely required

Ok, most of runner already walk, knowing they can achieve below 3.5 hours.

Woohooo!!! Once again, a proud finisher :)

A Day Before PBIM

Today, I told almost everyone I met that I'm going to run in Penang Bridge International Marathon 2011. Some of the response: What? Crazy! Seriously? and just Oh.. (haha, peduli apa kan). All the hard work (literally) will be scrutinized. Worry not, my objective is simple; to finish that freaking half marathon (my first ever) within the time frame.

And yes the run starts at 3am. Talking about breaking dawn too much?? This is the real deal! :)

Done talking & typing...Bring it ON! Wish me LUCK!

Weekly Thought (While Flying)

Stuff I like being a Malaysian is that we complaint 24/7 and I'm also part of it. It just another indication to acknowledge our country is developing and the people really know what they want. Impact of knowledge and technology huh?

For point of discussion, these three stooges did caught my attention; OWC, Seksualiti Merdeka and PPSMI.

The first two, sorry gang, badly timing or maybe you can give another try next time? On OWC, proper tag line I supposed? (wait a minute; the book distribution is only for members ok) Selamatkan Mat Rempit, Selamatkan Pulau Pinang is a NO NO. Haha. Funny indeed. Seksualiti Merdeka is beyond our norm I would say. On PPSMI, please don't screw our education system. I know it's a tough call. Be firmed.

Whatever it is, I'm here not to judge. To answer all that, it depends on how you view it. If you proud to be Malaysian, let's work together and contribute something to the nation.

Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Adha.

October Round Up

It will be overrated statement to say I'm up and ready for the PBIM. Anyway once I finished the 10km I think I have general idea lah what awaits me on 20th Nov.

*dahaga tak ingat, lutut sakit, tapak kaki cam terbakar etc*

From now on whenever there is opportunity, I will run 5km #SelfPledge. Ok AidilAdha is fast approaching. A good break indeed (can see the running kit!). That left just one week before the event.

Argh! This is exactly why I cannot have tv/astro at home. Tulis tahape-hape je. Oh, that will be another news! I'll be living somewhere else (yeah, still in Labuan) until year end to give an opportunity to a friend to bring his newly expanded family. Don't have to make a fuss about it because l just understand living separately from your other half.

Anyway, there is bigger plan than that :P woot...WOOT! Maybe later.

Oit, let's concentrate on PBIM first!

1-6 And How You Take It

It is a hard time being a MUFC fan right now. Extremely rare the team got beaten 1-6 by the noisy neighbors at OLD TRAFFORD! Let's see what went wrong:

• Line up: Even before he ended the game with red card, you always worry on his ability. The only logic I can find; SAF try to put locality sense in the derby (with Welbeck partnering Rooney). Valencia can play RB, so Rio-Smalling will be fine. Or Jones. No Vidic at all is a surprise.

• The game: the team never recover especially after Evans sent off. Pure disappointment. Potong gaji and community service will justify just that. Kau main at OLD TRAFFORD with 18 MONTHS unbeaten record kot!

• Opposition: Their game plan works well.

• Man of the Match: David Silva. Enough said. Balotelli, yes you are just fire starter.

#SIXintheCity
#TheyMustbeSIXtoday
#DontHaveEnoughOnSIXES

All the bashing is fun indeed. I can't recognize any of them as MCFC hard core except MUFC haters. Just enjoy the moment. Rare. So rare...

My opinion, accept the defeat and move on. We are not Liverpool to linger on history and chasing our own shadow.

Personally I want to see Berbatov back to team & what else can Cleverly offers.

LOVE FOOTBALL

When OK is Not Good Enough

Oh yes, I did another charity run last Sunday. Organized by Curtin University students, they called it e-Fact Run (fair enough I get a T-shirt). The fact that I'm not really prepared for the run does not lessen my disappointment. Yeah, I finished the run without stopping, after all it just a 3km+ route.

1) Pancit, siapa suruh kau lari 5min/km awal2
2) Attitude during the run cam asshole. Banyak songeh nak jalan! 7km steady jek! Huh.
3) Running time 00:21:34 for 3.29km. OK la tuh!

That's that. Ok is not good enough kan?! As a result I ended up today with 4.01km  [pengajaran peribadi]

Hard work begins now! Petikan di bawah untuk renungan bersama:

But a half marathon could be done basically every weekend. In fact, many runners cover the distance every weekend in their long runs.

Tu dia aih!

 Little Update

What a day! Was away from office. Getting to know Steve Jobs was dead is rather shocking. I wish I can thank him personally on what he did to the world. A legend.

Apart from that, I tried heart rate monitor (HRM) while running today. And it works. Next to learn how to benefit from it lah.

Also will take part on another charity run this Sunday!

Off to a Flying Start. NOT

Everything went well until I reached that gym. Ok, long story cut short the gym was not well maintained. I'm not a gym-guy but then bagus bilik tu buat bilik rehat staff je kalau wujud sekadar hidup segan mati tak mahu.

So I decided to run outside and the result was not that bad. Actually I want to monitor my endurance and breathing first before taking big step.

Let's see what will tomorrow bring us.

Post-Ramadhan Reflection

A week away from office couldn't be better than this (well except you go to Europe; where A/L is applied). Apart everything is taking care by the company, you still have to pack by yourself. Wonder how those nomad people doing it or maybe I can already categorized myself into that group.

Wait, spies do it on hard way! Went to unknown area with a lot of risk (life at stake!). Then to adapt environment almost immediately. Nak-nak encounter dengan alien pulak! #pengaruhmediamassa

The point is, we should be grateful. Life can't be like you want all the time. IF you owned stuff or have been to places advertised on TV, magazines etc YES you certainly have to BERSYUKUR. Hopefully I am.

On Your Mark...

Alhamdulillah..puasa 6 dah selesai. So boleh move to the next objective.

For the past week:
1) Upset with things beyond my control but let's put thing into perspective 

2) Ah, got my new IC but somehow picture quality so bad la. Dah la muka tak photogenic

3) Man Utd performance is absolutely outstanding! A lot to be learnt from SAF especially in managing player. He simply can let players go (get good players in exchange). And still get the result! #HRMtakeNoteOK

4) I'm cool on life without TV (yes definitely astro-less). But that has to come to the end soon

5) Ok people don't watch Buletin Utama (BU) then korang nak komplen itu ini etc channel beratus, tukar la! Btw memang kecewa pun dengan content BU sekarang ni (aku boleh komplen sebab tak tengok!)

Oh, ke KL lagi kita minggu ni yo!

My Weak so Far

Yes, read it as weak people coz I'm so weak to type the proper word. How irony right now I'm reading "Happiness in Hard Times". Pffftt.. Wait, wait. I'm good. It just the people I'm dealing with. Emotionally I'm ok -ada rasa sket nak pelempang budak-budak celebrate birthday kat McD; makan kat dalam bilik tu dah la, kau nak lari sana-sini apahal? Bukan 3-4 tahun umur. See how fine I am?

Nevermind. The most important thing I will spend my weekend at MIRI.

Next:
1) I will be running
2) I'll be me again. Magic

Seronoknya Balik Labuan! 

Ok now Raya leave is officially over. So fast time flies. From the last post, been busy with stuff. So no updatelah from last post.
Let's review on Ramadhan first. I've lost 3kg+ which is so surprising (all this while dok lari, 1kilo pun payah-payah). Don't get too excited because in no time all the losses will count for nothing IF I keep eating and eating (plus sleeping). The point is, looking at what Ramadhan did to us externally, it is equally important to evaluate what it did to us internally..Right?

Then 31st Aug, Raya came. It's my second time to beraya at my other half places and I'm ok with it. Different experience. Hari Raya is for us to bersyukur and make others happy. As many as possible. Not that I'm really good at it but hopefully I'm in the right direction. Amiiin.

Oh, one thing for sure, I'm really good on Foursquare this Raya. Will share later if possible :P not that so proud with the achievement, it just to document my journey. So don't get me wrong people.

To conclude this entry I have to admit that I have super good of selera makan (coincides with the yummy foods)when I'm away from Labuan. That's the challenge now. The desire to run is burning inside me (part of me said: boleh blah). So it's time to hit the ground but let's start and finish the Puasa Enam first.#ThingYouShouldntMiss

Just Before Take Off

Ok this is funny (yeah right!). One moment I tweeted "avoiding familiar faces" the next thing I know, my boss sit next to me!! Out of many seat available, dia boleh pi check in dok tengah2?! Warghhkh! Adoi. TBC

Quickie!

Ok, what you fear most?(besides death)
1) Run out of money
2) Fall from Tower of Terror
3) or Trapped in a bathroom in a house that you rent ALONE??!

Crazy meh! Where smart phone is NA, half naked and it's all because of your own fault!
Lucky enough, I survived..ha, go and tell the landlord lah you wanna change that freaking door.

Fasting is ok-ok (4th day)..only look forward to be in Miri. And I also decided not to run during Ramadhan. Too hot! And I have to prepare my Iftar.

Manisnya Kurma, Indahnya Ramadhan

Alhamdulillah bertemu semula dengan Ramadhan al-Mubarak. Bulan yang tenang dan masa yang sesuai untuk kita muhasabah diri. Sasaran umum sudah tentu nak perbaiki diri. Harap-harap tak lupa bersyukur dengan segala limpahan rahmatNya.

Insyaallah niat yang baik, hasilnya pun baik. Amin... :)

July Round UP

July has been kind to me I must admit. FOUR times went to KL to start with! FGR, family event & the other two were official trip. Getting tired is part of the game. That explains why I only managed to run LESS than 20km! Tapi kalau dah Qadha' dengan menebas & mencangkul di hujung minggu, dimaafkanlah kan?! I can see future of me doing gardening already. Fun!

Other than that, summer movies galore! Transformers 3, Harry Potter 7.2 & X-men First Class not disappointed (Kungfu Panda as well). The winner to me was Super 8. When you watch a movie with zero knowledge (tak baca review) and that movie did well, you gotta give credit. After all it was Steven Spielberg thingy (lupalah director betul!). Ah, not to forget.. KL Gangster. RM11million+ is really something. TETAPI kalau harga tiket wayang dah RM14/person..hmm you do the math la kids. Macam manapun movie tu bagus & berani.

That's all for July.

To Honor the Harry Potter Saga

This is the least you can do if you haven't read the books and yet wanna catch the Final movie.

When it's Not About Winning

10 days after FGR and I only managed to run twice..sigh. Average only 2.5pm per session. But heck! I wasn't that lazy..my schedule doesn't fit the plan. So I'M OK with that lah :) the best advice I had in running

"Always listen to your body"

and I did!

I'm gonna slow down a bit. Yeah with Ramadhan is coming #stillPlantoRun! Instead of pace now it's time to focus on durability. Ok let future Zukry to decide on this :P

Remember

"It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop" - Confucius

Another great advice huh?

ntv7 Feel Good Run 2011

A truly well organized event

Hey, just went back from ntv7 FGR and I successfully finished the race. Non-stop running. The most important part, i enjoyed my running! Summary of the event:

• Wake-up early in the morning. Get ready. My stomach didn't help much, went few times to the toilet.
• Around 6.15am together with wife, heading to Sri Pentas via DUKE highway. To find car park, she just dropped me in front of Sri Pentas. Totally stranger to the place I just follow those wearing white shirt
• Thanks to portable toilet, I'm all up for the run by 7.20am :)
• About 5,500 runners particapated. Most of them Chinese. Glad that I'm not intimidated by looking at the runners, just keep my cool and calm (event though i don't strech up properly; too many people no space!)

See how ramai it is

• 7km runners was released at 7.30am and i think i started well. Then start to follow others pace (which is WRONG!)..Halfway of the race at water station they gave Gatorade (mesti la nak try!). I know contestant in the Biggest Loser Asia forced to drink it but again it was WRONG to drink this water while running (to me at least) . With only 2km to finish I feel like gastric attacks me! Luckily I managed to finish the run ahead of planning time :)

The route. Super satisfied with the running time!

• It was totally new route to me, just keep running. I don't listen to iPod this time. What I thought during the run??

1. Early in the run at the housing area: the dogs keep barking *if someone intentionally lets the dog out and chasing us* kan best? hehe..
2. Steady, steady...find your inner peace a la Po the Kungfu Panda
3. Don't be so fast la.. you are not going for the world record
4. Oit don't ever think to walk!
5. It is not that far anymore.. Common make your foot massage worth the pay!

AND finally...

Proud finisher with the medal! Wohooo

#Rain did the trick plus everyone busy queueing for the freebies

• It was raining, so we can't really check out the carnival after that. Heard was awesome too. Went straight to home and had a nice nasi lemak for breakfast
• It was a good day indeed. Thai food for lunch.

Others caption I would like to share:

Naz carried his child all the way in 3km route. Cool right

Source: ntv7 twitter

Look what Izham Omar wrote! [Get out of my way] On his left MZul, MHI presenter.

Source: MZul twitter (follow him!)

Proud to be part of the good cause :)

Conclusion: Must do it again next year (wife has to join lah!)

June Round Up

Most impressive record for a month so far

I just wrap the preparation for ntv7 Feel Good Run yesterday. Only did 2.0+km for the last run. My body feel good, I can feel bit pain at my sole (thank God it wasn't the knee) but that's normal I think if you went for extra km. So in June alone I accumulated 38.09km (hnnssp!)

So bring it on FGR! My target: to finish the run non-stop regardless the pace. Hopefully it goes as planned. Wish me luck!

Football Talk

Stamford Bridge

Old Trafford

Inside Old Trafford!

Man Utd really mean business in this transfer window. SAF said they require 3 signings to strenghten the squad. Phil Jones, Ashley Young & De Gea (almost there). I think we need another one (not a striker please). Sneijder (#difficulttospell), Nasri will do the favor. BUT if Man Utd able to get Luka Modric signature,  I'm definitely getting MUFC jersey next season!! *Kitbag can smile*

On another unrelated note, André Villas-Boas becomes new Chelsea manager is really something. Google to find what this young and smart coach has achieved. Impressive indeed. Will the history repeat? Only time can tell

Fun Fact

Everything in my life is run on Google, and so they have so much more intelligence about who’s important in my life.

Gasp!

Fact of the Day

According to Running USA, the number of road race participants increased from around 4 million to more than 9 million between 1998 and 2008

Pictures!

 Skypark of Marina Bay Sands as background

Must do pose on vacation!

Trial.

Ok this was at Singapore (da..) where I discover kids wearing marathon shirt with pride. #inspired


Well now i know how to post pics la basically (YES) on mobile device :)
Today i did 7km in 52min in preparation of FGR 2011 and... foot massage!

On the Run (Bored at Airport)

Yeah, tomorrow Labuan people will be running for their life LOFSA Run 2011. As I mentioned I'm bit frustrated but looking at public reaction, it's really encouraging. My company sponsored those registered (hey do the justice by running #bukanamekbajuje). And there are many many many people running at the sport complex prior to the event! It moves me :) there was a girl (standard 5-6 I guess) running effortless that evening really caught my attention (beside another uncle, pro runner without a doubt!)

Nevermind, I got my own plan!

To runners who's running this weekend, best of luck & get sweat yaw!

#need to put pics in my post but cannot with this so called smart phone. Pffft

People can't change the truth but the truth can change people

Time Semangat Kenalah Menulis

Pengenalan

Berlari adalah sukan yang paling basic di dalam dunia ini selepas berjalan. Apa yang kau perlu, sepasang kasut. Makna kata semua orang mampu bukan eksklusif untuk golongan tertentu sahaja. Syaratnya pun mudah, kau lari ajelah!

Namun begitu, banyak teknik yang perlu tahu kalau nak mengoptimumkan faedah berlari ni. I'm not yet the expert to advice on this matter. Adalah baik disoroti kembali, kenapa si xitane suka berlari.

Jujurnya aku benci berlari. Buang masa, buat penat, macam orang sasau nak seksa badan dsb (ala2 testimoni bengang dengan MLM). Kalau ikut ranking kebencian, atas sket dari benci Liverpool je (last 3yrs macam kesian sebenarnya). Pap! Tetiba sentap "apa lagi yg aku boleh buat?" cakap nak achieve work life balance, takkan lepak KD je pepetang. Futsal seminggu sekali tak cukup bai.

Lalu bermula kecil-kecilan (always start small) terjebaklah... Beli running shoes dulu (harus Nike time sale). Pun nan-ado je larinya! Then jam Puma (dari siapa lagi kalau bukan pemberian terbaik Hartini). Slowly but surely I build up the tempo. 8-10min nonstop, 15min, 20min...

Cuba muhasabah balik, dulu kat London ko cebek orang lari-lari, padahal kat sana best kot jog siap ada park yg nice lagi. Kau ada??!

Sekian.. Renungkan ini
It is so simple to be happy. But it is so difficult to be simple

Blog Revival

Greeting people,
I'm about to make a comeback. Hopefully there will be "woh, lamanya x update!" kinda stuff. Obviously nobody reads my blog. Da, I'm not selling stuff, promo ad banner, apatah lg jual tudung. I don't even bothered

So why am I doing this?
1) I'm bored with no astro (it's kinda cool actually; will elaborate later IF I want to)
2) Facebook is so yesteryear. Twitter more to follow updates rather than expressing my thought
3) I'm inspired by wife blog (even she won't believe it; ok la plus other blogs I went to)

The content?
Incase you don't know it yet, I'm kind into running lately. It's about a year ago (2010). Yeah, it's suprising me as well. Terperanjat nok!
So this blog will be part of my journey & to track my progress.
Other blogs, articles about running simply inspired me. It is what it is #random quote

In between I will be rambling about life & stuff. Expect topics like football, E!, world news in general etc

As starter, I'm bit pissed off knowing LOFSA Run to be organized this very weekend. They only announced it last week & open for registration for a week. Boo! it's unfair to say bukan aku hadap sgt nk join..inform earlier lah, at least a month before. Oh not that I'm not ready it just not suit with my arrangement. Setidak-tidaknya boleh perbaiki rekod peribadi :P nevermind I'll stick with the plan.

Standard chattered event pun not in my calendar; don't mind. I'll prepare myself for FGR 2011 on 3rd July. Can't wait for the date :)
As of now I'm satisfied with my non-stop 5km. To improve the pace is the target