How is Your New Year so Far?

Hello 2012. I am supposed to write about how fun London trip was but an unfortunate event occurred. My loyal iPhone 4 was stolen at my workplace! I can be raging all day about this... like seriously. I know at certain point I have to reflect back; semua benda terjadi ada sebab musabab dan hikmahNya.

Let me bitch about it first. It certainly hard to read criminal mind and at the same degree it is hard for me to accept someone is actually on purpose come to work place to steal stuff. Not at my working place at least! Now semua orang kau tengok macam orang jahat. It disturbs me BIG time and I’m not kidding. And the reaction from security guard irritated me the most! Boleh buat derk je until policemen came to witness the crime scene (It’s a crime la kan!). Barang hilang dalam kawasan kerja yang patut kau pantau kot, bukanlah aku nak ganti rugi terus dari korang, tunjuk la courtesy sikit! Dah la tak membantu nak defend diri sendiri tak tentu hala apa hal???

HR told they will investigate the matter. You don’t need to be Haratio pun in this. Paling basic, ambil list in-out dari 0730 to 1230 hours, interview. Like I said before, if this can happened to me I don’t see why it cannot happen to someone else if no action is taken.

Now, you have to admit once you own a smartphone your life automatically attached to it. Your emails, contact, pictures (NO I don’t have gambar terlarang), online booking, personal record etc. My running log certainly will be missed. MAS/ AirAsia booking and check in will be a hassle for now. Social media like whatsapp, twitter, Flipboard, FB etc. Weekly update of fantasy league team; it sounds silly but hey I’m leading the chart and winner doesn’t quit.

With that iPhone, I start to write my blog again. My travel plan simplified. I am so into news and interesting article (what astro?)... Ok i need astro to watch Raja Lawak BPL live but even if I missed the game, LiveScore is always there for me. So booo astro! Together we braved Penang Bridge for half marathon at 3 o'clock early in the morning. Oh, the phone even won me a trip to London (for FREE) and opportunity to meet Tony Fernandes! In less than a year you can see the significance of it. Someone Like You of Adele never be so relevance until this point of time. It still harsh to sing “Never mind, I will find someone like you...” as I’m getting an iPhone 4S. 

Let me be clear, it is never my intention to get every new iPhone model. I still think I will be using the same device beyond iPhone 5 or 6. It just the value you paid is worth the product you get. Ok we don’t have to go to androids, nokia lumia etc debate. People will crack a joke something like “Wah kayanya kau, pergi London, balik hilang tepon terus 4S”. Heck, kalau aku kaya aku pergi bercuti ke bulan terus, Virgin tengah offer. Boleh?

Whatever it is, I still don’t feel safe coming to work. At least for now. And to valid your stupidity (or desperateness) wahai si maling brangset, apple already blacklisted that device so nobody can use it. Semoga tuhan dapat membalas segala perbuatan anda.

Dalam kenangan. iRIP iPhone 4

Note: For the record, dah 3 kali hilang telefon, sekali hilang motor, hilang duit loss count dan banyak kali hilang pemadam, gam, gunting, pen etc (zaman belajar, kes kawan pinjam terus)

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!