Distractions-Paul McCartney

What Is This Thing In Life That Persuades Me To Spend
Time Away From You?
If You Can Answer This You Can Have The Moon.
This Is The Place To Be, Anyway You Can See
There’s A Lovely View.
Why Are There Always So Many Other Things To Do?
Distractions, Like Butterflies Are Buzzing ‘Round My Head,
When I’m Alone I Think Of You
And The Life We’d Lead If We Could Only Be Free
From These Distractions.

The Postman’s At The Door
While The Telephone Rings On The Kitchen Wall,
Pretend We’re Not At Home And They’ll Disappear.
I Want To Be With You, Tell Me What I Can Do,
Nothing Is Too Small

Away From All This Jazz We Could Do Anything At All.
Distractions, Like Butterflies Are Buzzing ‘Round My Head.
When I’m Alone I Think Of You
And The Things We’d Do If We Could Only Be Through
With These Distractions.
I’ll Fond The Peaceful Place Far A Way From The Noise Of A Busy
Day

Where We Can Spend Our Nights Counting Shooting Stars,
Distractions, Like Butterflies Are Buzzing ‘Round My Head.
When I’m Alone I Think Of You
And The Things We’d Do If We Could Only Be Through
With These Distractions, Like Butterflies They’re
Buzzing ‘Round My Head, When I’m Alone I Think Of You
And The Life We’d Lead If We Could Only Be Free
From These Distractions

I would normally relate the old as beautiful. And this applies very much in my appreciation of music. I stumbled on this song yesterday on YouTube and was playing it over and over like a kid watching her favourite cartoon on the tv set. The song ‘Distraction’ was first featured in McCartney’s 1988 ‘Flower In The Dirt’. [That's like when I was 6 !!! LOL.. And now listening to it 24 years after it was released.] A slow and easy melody to accompany you this beautiful, bright and sunny Sunday Do sing along to the video ! Love & peace ; missjewelz . 

“]

Gong Xi Fa Cai

missJewelz wishes all her Chinese friends, readers and fellow bloggers a very happy, prosperous and ‘ong’

 

Gong Xi Fa Cai

May the ushering  of the Year of Water Dragon gives all of you (and us !!) a better perspective to our lives and positive vibe in our everyday undertakings. May important decisions be made not in vain but with patience and wisdom. Mean time, let’s continue to foster and strength relationships and friendships.

God Bless

CNY 2012 with 2 former LeTua riders at current tandem rider Razif Salleh a.k.a. Panjang and Malaysia/Azad University cyclist, Ng Yong Li. Yong Li will compete in his maiden tour with his new team at LTdL 2012.

Chinese New Year 2011 with Yong Li and family. I guess that t-shirt Yong Li is wearing, is 1 of his favourite t-shirts la.. hihi..

Raya 2010 : Another celebration :p With the oldsters.

Deepavali 2009 : With my schoolmate Geeta who recently got married. Congratulations dear !

missJewelz feels very lucky (yes, lucky is an understatement). She’ll sentence that again. missJeweLz is very privileged to be a Malaysian. MALAYSIA is a multi-racial and ethnicity country which holds a rich history, cultures, treasures it takes some historically and politically correct understanding of how and why we have been able to stand as a nation. It is in our very dear value and principle that we keep together no matter how harsh and testing the time and situation can be against us. If you think you have benefited as a citizen, you’ll find it effortless at most times (if not flawless) when communicating, relating and associating yourself of those different from you in terms of culture and religion. As a Malaysian, culture and religion fits and complements us on a wider scale, where it plays a role as something that binds and adheres us to each other. Not apart, just closer and stronger. This she finds it so apparent and embedded in her core values that she finds there’s no exact apparent need to associate any sort of numerical form in front of her country’s name for whatever purpose it maybe. How does 1Chinese, 1Hindu, 1Islam, or 1Malay.. err..or 1Blogger sound? Not too correct. Nevertheless,  missJeweLz is a Malaysian through and through.

Makan-makan lagi with the oldsters

 

There’s something about Julie

I woke up at 5.39am today. Half wondering where’s that tea-essence facial mask I applied last night gone to. It must half slipped off. I have been sleeping quite soundly. Its the only get away,apparently, which is free, refreshing and available without any reservations or deposit. Most of the time upon waking up, the first thing that I try to do is say a prayer to thank God for getting up from my deep slumber into another day of living. It is simply one of the ways to remind myself that my soul isn’t solely mine though I do have the right to utilize and make the best of it through my able body and mind.

The second thing I realized upon waking up, is me reaching my Viao laptop. I HAVE been trying to update this favourite blog of mine but time kept slipping away from me nearly everyday. For the past couple of months. I tried to write in the morning, yesterday, and again in the evening, and before I slept. If there’s a will, there’s definitely a way I can figure out. I lost my favourite phone 4 days ago. Never in my life I’ve lost this communication turned life gadget. I messed up the internet setting for the laptop, and wasnt able to get a broadband service in time. Lucky me, there’s a backphone. Haha.. So here I am on my old HD7. Staring at this screen while lying down, hands together holding the phone while my right and left thumbs receive directions what to key in and relay to all missjewelz.wordpress readers.

Okay! On to the meat of this post. I have a good tiding to share on this merry, blessed and joyful Saturday I am getting married today. Yyyeapp. Life takes us through leaps and bounds. But this one !! But this one is another kind of leap routine. A distance stretched and a dose of faith to fuel me through. And walla here I am. It’ll take me a lot of faith, strength and determination to take me through this novel phase and journey.

I’ll definitely not take it as another race, though I will pass thay start line. There’s no timing chip. My faith will replace my Polar heart rate monitor to check that I am okay to go , in the zone. There are no other competitors except for myself and this is certainly not about a medal, prizes or even scoring a PB.

Talking about PBs, I ran the MultiPurpose run last weekend. Haha.. No preparation as I was just lacking it on the time sheet. But I ran just for mileage, ‘some’ training and just finish my last 12km stroll as a bacheloress/rette. A stroll it was through Bukit Tunku. 57mins for the first 10 clicks, and 1hr 7mins ish in total. Hey, legs are still there !! I took some fotos with friends, and new friends I met (Annitha and cancer survivor Masha Macey[truly sorry if i got ur names wrong]. Took some photos which can’t be retrieved anymore since I lost my phone( and all my contacts !!). Some of my friends congratulated me on the good news. Oh ya, I know there’s a run tomorrow morning. I initially wanted to register as a volunteer only to realize that I will be getting married that weekend.

I am another blessed soul half of the time not realizing it. I have to splash cold water on myself and wake up to the real world, and live it more meaningfully and responsibly. Half of the time dreaming. I was lost in transition the past 2 months preparing for this auspicious occasion. And of course, juggling it with work.

But I’ll simply and happily be me. I suck at being or acting something that I am not. I realize I dont have to pretend to be somebody else to be a responsible and useful person. I’ll just be Julie. Julie who is learning more and more of herself everyday. Unique on my own right, and happy to be blogging away before I hitch on my next ride in a couple of hours. Will catch ya in future races and events, insyaAllah. To all friends who greeted happy wishes for the new journey that I will be embarking on, syukran jazilan, Thank You from the bottom of my cardiac muscles. have a beautiful weekend y’all ! Salam.

Adios.

Juliana Ali @ missJeweLz

(14.1.2012).

All smile !

Sunset Silhouette

Posted from WordPress for Windows Phone

There’s something about Julie

I woke up at 5.39am today. Half wondering where’s that tea-essence facial
I applied last night gone. It must half slipped off. I have been sleeping quite soundly. Its the only get away,apparently, which is free, refreshing and available without any reservations or deposit. Most of the time when I wake up, the first thing that I try to do is say a prayer to thank God for getting up from my deep slumber into another day of living. It is simply one of the ways to remind myself that my soul isn’t solely mine though I do have the right to utilize and make the best of it through my able body and mind.<

The second thing I realized upon waking up, is me reaching my Viao laptop. I HAVE been trying to update this favourite blog of mine but time kept slipping away from me nearly everyday. For the past couple of months. I tried to write in the morning, yesterday, and again in the evening, and before I slept. If there's a will, there's definitely a way I can figure out. I lost my favourite phone 4 days ago. Never in my life I've lost this communication turned life gadget. I messed up the internet setting for the laptop, and wasnt able to get a broadband service in time. Lucky me, there's a backphone. Haha.. So here I am on my old HD7. Staring at this screen while lying down, hands together holding the phone while my right and left thumbs receive directions what to key in and relay to all missjewelz.wordpress readers.

Okay! On to the meat of this post. I have a good tiding to share on this merry, blessed and joyful Saturday I am getting married today. Yyyeapp. Life takes us through leaps and bounds. But this one !! But this one is another kind of leap routine. A distance stretched and a dose of faith to fuel me through. And walla here I am. It'll take me a lot of faith, strength and determination to take me through this novel phase and journey.

I'll definitely not take it as another race, though I will pass thay start line. There's no timing chip. My faith will replace my Polar heart rate monitor to check that I am okay to go , in the zone. There are no other competitors except for myself and this is certainly not about a medal, prizes or even scoring a PB.

Talking about PBs, I ran the MultiPurpose run last weekend. Haha.. No preparation as I was just lacking it on the time sheet. But I ran just for mileage, 'some' training and just finish my last 12km stroll as a bacheloress/rette. A stroll it was through Bukit Tunku. 57mins for the first 10 clicks, and 1hr 7mins ish in total. Hey, legs are still there !! I took some fotos with friends, and new friends I met (Annitha and cancer survivor Masha Macey[truly sorry if i got ur names wrong]. Took some photos which can't be retrieved anymore since I lost my phone( and all my contacts !!). Some of my friends congratulated me on the good news. Oh ya, I know there's a run tomorrow morning. I initially wanted to register as a volunteer only to realize that I will be getting married that weekend.

I am another blessed soul half of the time not realizing it. I have to splash cold water on myself and wake up to the real world, and live it more meaningfully and responsibly. Half of the time dreaming. I was lost in transition the past 2 months preparing for this auspicious occasion. And of course, juggling it with work.

But I'll simply and happily be me. I suck at being or acting something that I am not. I realize I dont have to pretend to be somebody else to be a responsible and useful person. I'll just be Julie. Julie who is learning more and more of herself everyday. Unique on my own right, and happy to be blogging away before I hitch on my next ride in a couple of hours. Will catch ya in future races and events, insyaAllah. To all friends who greeted happy wishes for the new journey that I will be embarking on, syukran jazilan, Thank You from the bottom of my cardiac muscles. have a beautiful weekend y'all ! Salam.

Adios.
Juliana Ali @ missJeweLz
(14.1.2012).

Posted from WordPress for Windows Phone

Still got it !

MALAKOFF 12km

I finished the run in once piece !!! I was really worried if I would shatter my legs into a thousand pieces yesterday due the fact that I have been off from any sort of training for the past few weeks ! Though I did manage to slot in a few sessions of treadmill and cycling here and there, it was nothing to really prepare me physically for the 12km hilly run yesterday. Mentally, no problem, as I kept the race ‘off my mind’ from Monday to Saturday last week. The only ‘real’ preparation was to prepare and pack the apparels and gears I would need the following morning : shades check, running top check, Zoot shorts check, watch + heart rate monitor check, socks, shoes, Nike headband, plain water, towel, a change of clothes, CHECK. Race number?? Esok pagi ambil coz I didn’t have the time to collect it the whole week !!!! [but, still, I am less busier than you! heehee..].

Sunday morning : another awaited reunion with my sporting friends at the Bukit Kiara Equestrian Club for the annual MALAKOFFF 12km run. Arrived around 6.20am, quickly made my way to the official tent to collect my bib, back to the car, put it on, geared up, some quick warm up and back to the crowd which was waiting at the start line. Caught up with Syazaril Azha, Fadzil Ikhwan, friends from Kuantan; Tan Wah Sing, William and Sharon <<– I miss my running kakis from the East Coast ! Jason Thiang, Sook Ying and Jaja were also at the start line.

The run took me an hour and 10mins, that’s almost 8 minutes slower than last year. Not a surprise at all as I have not been training regularly lately. My heart rate remained plateu at 170 bpm.. that is definitely pushing it… *not good..* eventhough my feet and legs picked it up and ran like it was any other run. To all of you who took part, congratulations !! Results here

First shot in the morning courtesy of Chan Wing Kai. Thanks !

 

mj on the run. Picture courtesy of Chan Wing Kai.

Pink and flushed ! Happy to earn the medal. My final medal for 2011 ! Next medal awaits me next month. ahaks..

 

Catching up with Agnes and her friend Agnes completed the Sundown 100km. Incredible feat !

 

Posing for a post-run pic with Azri and friend.

 

Syazaril Azha, follower of missjewelz.wordpress, runner, singer and musician ! Google 'gemalay.blogspot.com'. Yup, his band plays at functions and weddings !

 

with Jeli of BJCC

 

with members of the IIU X Team ! Well done !

Catch up with la extended familia. Pic courtesy of Kam.

 

CK, Jaja, Pipi and aunty Julie Pipi sangat cute ! Thanks for the photo Kam

The coming month : January

Many important events have been taking place in my life of late in both work and my personal life. The transitions? Well, some smooth, some not. Just adapting where, when and however possible. January will be even busier than this month and I have been slowly shifting all the energy and vibe to prepare for January. I am adapting with the new work, will have more on my plate when the new project kicks off, and personally will embark on something that is novel to me, etcetera etcera. To those in the know, wait up for more happy news that I will avail to you. I would like to thank all of you for the positive and supportive response. Spread the luvin’ missjewelz style !

Bob Marley : "Legalize It"

Work etcetera

I have been pounding my head if not my neck to cope with my new job. Pretty interesting as what I am currently doing ties back to what I did during my study years in Psychology, and also being able to utilize my experiences and even hobbies. Apparently a project which falls under my team is, ehem, social networking. Though I miss my old company and my ex-colleagues there, I see this chapter of my career as another stepping stone challenging me in various aspects. I love challenges, especially those types which motivates you intrinsically. The satisfaction achieved after getting through a challenge serves as precursor for positivity, something which I pretty much rely on in whatever I do.  The satisfaction can be so overwhelming that it can leave me clueless saying ‘Ok, Done! What’s next…?’ And that was exactly how I felt when I crossed the finish line at Ironman Langkawi 2009. I was too concentrated on the journey. So let’s not get lost in our own little (or big) ‘syokness’ in life whether it be a work related or personal achievement. You can stay motivated by recalling how you were once able to achieve those tremendous milestones. Ask, why can’t I do it now?

And since I mentioned ‘syokness’ here, (which I didn’t plan to), I want to discuss briefly on the issue of bragging.. ahakzzz… It happens everywhere. At home, at work, during sports training and meets. Self-complimenting and bragging are two different things. There is nothing wrong with pointing out what you are good at and the recent achievement you went through. Do it at the right time and place. Jumping to pop it out the minute you have the chance to does not guarantee that somebody does not get annoyed. Bragging, especially if its consistent can be bad not only to the bragger (whether he or she realizes it or not), but also the unlucky individual who is left to listen. Know where to draw the limits, and be sensitive who you talk  all your good deeds to. Doing good and achieving success does not give us the right to brag to anybody we wish to. Nuff said. Adios !

Random photo : Somebody sleeping on the job yo !

Balls and Wheels

 

El Team !

Balls

Took part in my first ever futsal tourney 2 weeks ago for my department. Despite making it through the finals and eventually coming up 2nd for the Ladies category, my futsal skill is terrible if none ! Hahaa. Seriously, I may kick balls during tri events, but I know nuts when it comes to errr, kicking, receiving and passing a small futsal ball. Haha.. But my team (whom most are also new to futsal like me) have agreed that we will be playing for fun. And fun did we have ! I fell twice during practice, thanks to the slipper far end of Court 2 at the Ampang Sports Center. Other than that, all was perfect and practically tiring. I even got myself a pair of futsal shoes/boots.

Man, I need my fitness back *working on it..*. My heart rate just flew chasing after the ball, tapi tuh la.. dapat je, passing skill tarak..

 

El Pink Mercurial by Nike.

 

Khusyu' berdiskusi..haha..One with the tiang gol

 

 

 

Salam Ma’al Hijrah

رأس السنة الهجرية – The Islamic New Year is celebrated by Muslims worldwide at the beginning of the Islamic calendar year/ التقويم الهجري‎ which consists of 12 lunar months. The first month is Islamic Calendar is المحرّم (Muharram), named after the word ‘haram’ (forbidden) — to signify Allah’s Command that prohibits any fighting during the sacred month. Muharram and Ramadhan are 2 among 2 most sacred months in Islam. Many holy and significant events in Islamic history has taken place in these 2 months.

MA’AL HIJRAH

Muslims mark the arrival of Muharram and the New Year by congregating in mosques for prayers in ushering the new Hijri year (hence ‘Ma’al Hijrah), together with various acts of worships — new year duaa’(prayer), fasting and donating to the needy.

SIGNIFICANCE

‘Ma’al Hijrah’ also signifies the emigration of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) and his followers from Mecca to Medina in 622CE/AD. The remembrance of this significant historic event serves as a reminder for Muslims to better themselves in all aspects of their lives, leaving and moving from the bad to good, and from the better to the best, all in the name of Allah.

Islam does not serve only as a religion, but it is, indeed, is a way of life no matter what angle we take it from. From this point, when a Muslim declares and renew his creed, that there is no God but Allah , and that Prophet Muhammad is Allah’s messenger, he, the Muslim bears all responsibilities of a person who holds on to the One- ness of Allah, and all that is expected of him, including that of being a successful person in duniya and akhirah (world and hereafter).

WE ARE NOT PERFECT HENCE..

Man was created to err. We are not perfect. We are constantly committing mistakes and sin, hence Muslim should at all time make aim and effort to be a better person , and leave behind all his thoughts, behaviours and actions which brings nothing but Anger from Allah Ta’ala. Hence, the word Hijrah covers all aspects of our lives , be it religiously, morally, behaviourally, physically, mentally and spiritually. Of course, as a communal relligion, Hijrah also demarcates that the success in this world and current life that we live in has to be hand in hand with the success for the akhirah. Balance is key, and to be a successful Muslim we have to focus not only on our worldy material success, but also on our akhirah.

REFLECTION & GUIDANCE

InsyaAllah we will be the best of Muslims and nations. InsyaAllah the generations to come will be the best of Muslims too. It is not too late to renew our vows, hopes and prayers as a Muslim. Allah is Ever Forgiving and Ever Loving. Show Him Love and He Will Love you 10 times more, InsyaAllah. If you have children, spouses and loved ones, be a responsible Muslim, and share with them the ‘ilm ;knowledge) that a Muslim should know regarding the holy celebrations in Islam, and far more importantly the significance of each celebration and how it should be used to reflect and guide us as a Muslim.

All that is lacking in this article comes from me, and all that is good happened to be the ones that Allah has reminded me to relay your reading eyes, mind and soul. InsyaAllah. Have a blessed, beautiful and.successful year.

Salam Ma’al Hijrah to all Muslims.
-Missjewelz-
1433 A.H.

What’s Next ?

Malaysia 1- Indonesia 0

Okay, hands up any of you who did not catch the Indonesia vs Malaysia quarter final match 2 nights ago? We won 1-0. thanks to the goal from Syahrul Azwari. Catch the telecast repeat on Astro (if any/if you can). I made sure I was in front of the TV last night at 8pm, and boy oh boy did I have a lot of fun watching Garuda playing the Harimaus !! While I may not be a football die-hard, (except for *ehem* World Cup) I still do follow the national football team’s progress. From time to time that is. So Malaysia won 1-0. Good thing they did. Both Malaysia and Indonesia will advance to the semis (right), where Malaysia will be playing against Myanmar. Wishing the team ALL THE BEST. Malaysia Bisa? The points tally aside, it was indeed a psychological game (slash war) that the whole team had to endure for at least 90mins last night. The ultimate was tested when Ong Kim Swee, the Malaysian coach was asked to leave the technical area and stay in the stands for the last 25minutes of the 2nd half. Still the boys pulled through despite the stronger attacks from Indonesia, and poorer defence and passing by the Malaysian boys.

But even way before the match started, if you watched the game 2 nights ago, of how defeaning it was in the Gelora Bung Karno (the stadium is named after Indonesia’s first President, Sukarno) when ‘Negaraku’ was played. The audience just couldn’t hold it but blast out their trumpets, shouting and making noise as to show how much they support their national team and not Malaysia.. Fine.. but to the point that we ourselves on the other end of the screen can’t even make out the tune and words of ‘Negaraku’ (due to the noise) is unbelievable. I had to press my ear hard and watched the lips of the footballers singing to actually see and hear ‘Negaraku’ being played and sung in Senayang, Central Jakarta 2 nights ago. The Indonesian spectators who made those noise were either accommodating very well the show of ‘no-respect’ for another nation, or simply couldn’t care less. I wonder what it is like for the Indonesian spectators were to feel if they were put in our shoes to witness such a disgraceful act from another nation to their own.. It is hurtful. It is not right. And us Malaysians should not condone to this.. at all !!

Malaysia 1- Myanmar 0

And hey, we’re into the finals !!! Ahmad Fakri Saarani scored a goal on the 85th minute. So, 1-0 against Myanmar after our boys did it again, this time with coach Ong Kim Swee in the stand for the whole match.*coach kena gantung match…* Nevertheless, may the force be with our boys for their following match – FINALS !!!! against Vietnam or Indonesia next Monday, 8pm, local time. wokeeyy?!

Melaka born Coach Ong Kim Swee (zaman muda). He played mostly in East Malaysia (Sabah&Sarawak during his football career in the 1990s

Syahrul Azwari, the footballer who made it possible during the match against the Garudas !!

SEA Games – medal tally

Malaysia has rose to a respectable 4th placing for overall ranking with a respectable 47 gold medals,  after being placed behind our neighbour Singapore in 5th placing for the past few days. Thank you to the incoming gold medals !!! And I just got to know that we have added up to the tally 2 more gold medals from both Fatehah Mustapa (500m individual time trial) and Harrif (10km scratch race. also a track event). Tahniah to both of you !! and Thank you for ending the gold medal draught for Malaysia cycling. FYI, Ng Yong Li was placed 4th in the 180km road race. Congrats to him as well ! For the BMX scene, Aim Fauzi manage to finish 5th in Malaysia’s 1st appearance in SEA Games 2011 BMX Superscross in Ancol. Rizal Tisin who competed in the same event was DSQed. We were not far behind for the mountain bike event when Masziyaton Mohd Radzi clinched a silver behind Vietnam’s Dhin Thi Nhu Qyunh. Congratulations to you dear !

Ng Yong Li @ SEA Games 2011

Fatehah Mustapa - gold medalist at SEA Games 2011

Another win for Harrif Salleh. Congratulations !!!!

Muhammad Aim Fauzi @ SEA Games 2011 , BMX Supercross

Masziyaton : Celebrates a silver medal for mountain bike @ SEA Games 2011, her 2nd SEA Games outing.

related articles:

BMX BMX TRACK(Harrif)

TRACK(Fatehah) 

ROAD- 180km Road MTB

and missJeweLz…

Well I was working today.. but manage to squeeze in a 30mins workout in the morning before heading for work. Was actually on the treadmill on the ‘Fat Burn’ program. Interesting and satisfying In fact I have managed to workout for 3 times this week.. low intensity, aerobic exercises. 30mins max. Did not dare to push it any further as I am still recovering from a viral fever. Still dizzy most times. Anyways, I am praying hard to get 100% better soon. To all of you doing Penang Bridge Marathon, All The Best again  !

Cyclist kampung mana la ni yekkk kat KOM Ipoh 2011...? hahaha....guess...guesss !!

The Fool On The Hill

Congratulations

Well سلام‎ and Hello there everybody ! It’s been 2 days post-Powerman Malaysia and I am sure most of you who took part are on your road to recovery. It was a HOT HOT race this year I heard. The ground temperature aside, this year was the 10th edition of this event with the biggest ever turnout for total participants in both the sprint and full distance. To all who took part, Congratulations ! I am sure you all had a blast in Manjung !

Nor Juliana Ali....

 

With Adele, Lynn Guan and Pat Ee

Warded 

I was due to take part ( looking forward to take part actually) for the event last Sunday but was held back thanks to a viral fever. I was warded midnight Thursday and discharged last Sunday evening. Not exactly sure how I got the sick, but I was unwell starting from raya haji morning (6 Nov). Attended Eid al Adha prayers with my family, visited relatives’ home and back to our own to receive guests until evening. Following Monday was a public holiday – took the chance to rest but still didn’t recover so I headed to the clinic with a fever complain, 1 day MC for  Tuesday and was back to work on Wednesday. The office condition only made my condition from better to worse. Feeling ultra dizzy, lethargic and pain around the eye orbit every time I moved the eye laterally to the left/right. Another MC for me for Thursday and Friday. Fully wishing to recover soon only to find my condition getting worse on Thursday eve.

So a 3rd visit to the doctor last week, on Thursday. Had my blood tested. Platelet and white blood cell count LOW with HIGH lymphocyte percentage. There was a possibility for dengue though the marker didn’t show any dengue virus antigen. Anyways, the doctor adviced that I get admitted to they can monitor my condition So went home again, packed my stuff and drove back again to the hospital. I was warded and on drips (NaCl) for 3 long days. Forced to rest, which was good in a way.. I didn’t step out of the ward through out that period. Quite an experience checking myself in and out of the hospital. I was quietly hoping to be better and make it to Manjung, but that didn’t happen.

On NaCl drip

 

 

Chan - licin pinggan nampak ! hihi.. Carbo-loading for his maiden Powerman kat hospital.

 

Nora brought yummy and ultra creamy macaroons. Syah brought cookies ! Congrats Syah for his first Powerman

 

Aiman, sister and Paan. Congrats on your 1st Powerman too Aiman !

 

Syukran (groom to be) : knew him a decade ago.. Rasa kejap je kan Terk ?! Looking forward to his big day next month !

Thinking to switch career Hadi ?

Najwa (in green) classmate in 1997 in Kuantan, and Farah (in blue) schoolmate from 1998-1999 in Seremban Thanks for coming ladies. Farah will be doing her maiden full marathon in Penang this week. Go girl !!! It's not about the flight tickets or car fuel cost.

 

 

R&R

Currently resting at home since yesterday, and will be back to work tomorrow. To all my friends, who visited, called, texted and wrote well wishes for me, Thank You ! Chan Jun Shen was the first to drop by, very nice of him. Thanks Chan ! Oh ya, he brought me some food stuff as well (I only checked in with some clothings/books/my laptop and a bottle of mineral water). My family, Nora, Shah, Paán, Aiman Halim (and siblings), Farah Fazu, Syukran Terk, Najwa, Hadi and a couple more friends came. Thank you again guys !

I wasn’t short of company, AND food.. :p but how many more extra days in the hospital could I stand. So when the doctor came on Sunday noon asking if I want to stay for another day or get discharged, I said ‘I want to go out today’.. as I was feeling better, alhamdulillah. My platelet and WBC will take sometimes to recover. So here I am, in my room, blogging.

I am not 100% well yet, but getting there. Tony Quay,Agnes, Paul Lee,Goh and those of you who called to check if I am okay, thank you also ! I had lunch with 2 buddies yesterday, but still felt dizzy on the way back home..Looks like I will be staying in doors for the next couple of days though I plan to walk a bit this eve. I know my fitness has dropped.. I was huffing and puffing walking across this pedestrian bridge near my office. I have to get my health back to normal first and the rest, insyaAllah will follow suit.

Fool On The Hill 

And before I forget… (in case you are wondering what’s with the title of this blog post — has nothing to do with the content yeah? I watched a couple of movies throughout my stay in the hospital and one of them is Dinner For Schmucks. ‘Fool On The Hill’ by the Beatles, written by Paul McCartney in 1967 but was never performed Live by The Beatles, (so I discovered) is the opening soundtrack for that movie. Looked it up on YouTube just now, and man.. I am hooked !

I think the song has a beautiful lyric and meaning to it. The world of music is like a vast sea filled with treasures and surprises in it waiting to be discovered. This particular song went unnoticed until I watched Dinner for Schmucks, and later getting to know that it was covered more than a 100 times, one of which is by Sergio Mendes and his band Brasil 66. Man I’m hooked to this song I can do with a karaoke session right now ! Check out the song below :-

f

The monsoon and Penang

On a different note, I think the monsoon season is back, here in the Peninsular. As far as KL is concerned, it has been raining in the evening, sometimes mid-day, but I hope the weather won’t dampen our spirit to be cheery and sunny like the sun ! I can tell from my experience facing monsoon in the east coast, it will find its way affecting your emotional well-being and not only your physical. Take time and effort to keep healthy even though the season for multi-sports is nearly over !

Well, there is still Penang Bridge International Marathon, Nike Run, Newton Run, MALAKOFF 12K Run and a couple of jamborees this month and next. To those of you doing Penang, I wish you all the best !!! I did a 4:40 during my maiden stand alone marathon (a.k.a. suffer fest to expect the worst) there last year in Penang (yes, it DID rain last year as we ran across the bridge). My first 42km was actually ran in Ironman Langkawi 2009 where I clocked a 5:10 including a 10mins diarrhea stop.

MJ at Penang Bridge Marathon 2010. Suffer-fest indeed !

Eat and rest well, run safe and SMART, and enjoy the race. Even if you are aiming for top 10, a PB, don’t be so kiasu and forget that some people are there for their own different reasons too, whether to flaunt a potential PB, and have another 42.195km medal added to a growing collection of metals, and even, nobly, embarking on the pursuit of a healthier and active lifestyle– Smile and say Hello! to your friends as you pass them. Some quick tips for those running Penang (especially if it’s your first) :-

- READ the race manual/booklet

- KNOW the start time/venue/which wave start you are in etc.

- PREPARE your race gears before you leave home. Make sure you have your race essentials with packed/with you – especially the timing chip/race bib, energy bars/gels/endurance/recovery drink/salt tablet/ Vaseline

- PLASTIC. If you are carrying any electronic gadgets such as you iPods, mp3s, mobile phone zip them in these polymers.

- MUSIC. It can be pretty boring at some stretches where you will zombie through without anybody (or nearly nobody..) will say Hello to you either because they’re too tired/sleepy or simply can’t be bothered with anything except to keep on running — so it can be useful to play some songs on your phone/mp3.

What I did before was to put them on speakers (on the phone I mean) to make the run more fun/entertaining not only to myself but those who badly need some spirit lift ! I had some guys and gals running with me just because I had something on the stereo ! hihihi.. It was fun. Anyways, don’t forget to hydrate well during the race.

- RING RING. If nature calls, please answer !!! It’s bad for the bladder if you don’t, and you’ll be surprised with how much faster you can run after that. No joke !

- FAIR GAME. And hey, no cheating please ! U-turn where you are suppose to u-turn and make no short cuts or else that future PB you so want to announce won’t be valid. I heard some not-so-nice news from Powerman Malaysia this year where racers decided to take the race Rules&Regulation into their own hands and that it is okay to draft.. Man.. that’s not cool at all. If one person does it, and you decided that it is okay for you to do it, go back and get a reality check. of who’s the fool here. What are your core values and is it fair to side line these values just to prove that you have the upper hand? In a race? Let us NOT be that fool on the hill.

Have a good week ahead everybody -missjewelz.marmalade-

4th placing at Powerman last year. Didn't know I was top 5 until after the Awards Lunch was over !

 

[Malaysia's duathlon powerhouse, Shahrom Abdullah.

 

With the power people from MALAKOFF ; Anu and Yusop Rashid

 

Ironically I was wearing the exact same pants I wore post race at Powerman last year. Talk about coincidence !

 

Penang last year with Yusran and Kam. Some crazy heads did both Powerman and Penang back to back ! (I wonder who.. *chuckles..*) .. Oh by the way, Jaja will be doing Penang Marathon this weekend ! All the best to you dear and everybody taking part !!!

 

 

Gotta Du What I Gotta Du

Somebody managed to cycle last week !!! heeheee...

Down with fever

I have been feeling a wee bit under the weather these couple of days. Was down with a viral fever, and a rather drainy flu ! Alhamdulillah feeling much better today after my extended leave yesterday, thansk to the MC from the doctor. I must say, inactivity and, ehem, non-training really slugs me down, well at least physically. That feeling of being tired, and feeling lazy is certainly not helping me with Powerman just round the corner

I have had at least 3 doctors, within the span of 2 months asking me if (and telling me) my blood pressure (BP) has always been low. The answer is yes. It was 96/58 on the 22nd October, but it wasn’t a major concern as I am an active person. Inactivity and only brings my BP down, hence.. the need to stay active ! Coincidentally I was down with a slight fever couple of days before King Of Mountain (KOM) Ipoh. In fact, I was not feeling too well the morning before race start in Simpang Pulai.

Powerman 2011

Anyways, BPs and fever aside, I am not all set for the Du this weekend, but what I plan to do is, to start and complete the Powerman distance in 1 piece, insyaAllah. Of course, I am looking forward to this weekend in Manjung. It will be my last Powerman racing the the 20-29 age group category. Both my friend, Lynn Guan and I will upgrade to the big 3-0 category from next year onwards. I have no rush to compete, as I have done Powerman since 2008, and manage to achieve at leat 1 sub 4 hours. I respect the training for these kind of events as much as I respect racing the distance.

A friend pointed out that its not all about air-flight tickets, quote unquote.. and of course, its not how much you can afford as far as the racing fees, travel and accomodation costs are concerned. It takes much more respect and dignity to really put in commitment to train for these distance (Powerman, half Ironman, Ironman, ultramarathons, climbathons etc) than just claiming that you have ‘ran’ a marathon.

My respect and salute to all who took part in the TMBT (The Most Beautiful Thing) 25/50/100km trail run in Sabah just last weekend. Standing ovation those who took the courage to prep up and race the great outdoors ! My friend Michelle Looi took lead in the local rankings, for woman’s category.Congrats Michelle !

All The Best

To those of you who are new to sports, or multisports, missJeweLz welcomes you. If you are doing Powerman this weekend, hey, Say Hello! if you see me. Race smart and wise. Always, always, take care of your safety while on the road. Expect a very much sunny and heated course you feel like asking somebody to switch off that centralized oven switch ! But don’t forget to smile at the cameramans who will be out there snapping your PIA (picture in action).

Some quick tips for those already panicking and simply can’t wait for Powerman to start slash be over :-

- rest, eat and hydrate well

- have your gears check list. you arrange the list head to toe, what you need for each leg INCLUDING transition. A sample here: Before start-run-Transition1-bike-Transition 2- run- post-race.

- don’t forget your sports nutrition

- important : race numbers, timing chip

For more info, log on to Poweman Malaysia’s website, or simple refer to the race kit booklet you have received from the organizer. Mean time, enjoy the countdown and take care of your health !!!

Some Powerman pics below for old time’s sake !

En route to my first Powerman in 2008

My fastest 11km .. in 54 mins. (4 Powermans ago)

#404. Finish time - 3hrs 59mins.

Rahman, missjewelz, Shahrom and Azmar in 2008 !

2010 : Rahim (in red), Azmar and missjewelz - post Powerman last year with Along and Panjang

4th place last year. and some cash. This year?! will be chillin' it on the course. hehehe... watch out for the slow mo mj this year !