Goals & KPIs: Mid-Year Review

The year seems to be passing by pretty quickly. Let's see how I have been keeping up with my goals.

Goal #1: Read the Quran daily (or almost daily and "khatam" at least once)

Truthfully, I have not started this yet. After several attempts to purchase one here (silly me for not bringing a copy over), I resorted to asking my mom/brother to send a copy over. Although I know copies are available online, I do like reading the hardcopy - even for normal books. More on this later.

First review: Moving at a snail's pace. I will need to derive a new strategy to ensure that I will not lose interest in this goal.

Mid-year review: A lot of progress since the last. I am currently at Chapter 21 (Surah Al-Anbiya) out of 114. 

Goal #2: Sew clothes (e.g. blouse)

Before arriving in Sydney, I successfully completed a blouse in 13 hours. Since this goal was achieved very early in the year (my empress cut turned peplum blouse was completed on 28/1/2014), I decided to expand this goal further. I am now working on a scrub cap (the kind you see on Grey's Anatomy & Scrubs) and hopefully a baju kurung Kedah.

First review: Scrub is still in progress and the baju kurung Kedah pattern is unopened. However I have sewn 5 (yes five) pairs of pants and have at least nine projects lined up.

Mid-year review: I still have 9 projects to go, well maybe 8 since I converted one pants to a sarong as the need for a sarong was there compared to the pants. Now that spring is here, perhaps I would do more sewing again.

Goal #3: Be comfortable in the kitchen

Initially, I was going to name this goal "Learn how to cook decent meals" when I realized I can cook especially when I have recipes at hand to follow. Whether it tastes nice or not, that's a different story altogether :p 

I am just not COMFORTABLE in the kitchen. After 2 weeks of constant cooking, I can say I am more comfortable in the kitchen and I can further improve on this. I am just not sure how I will measure this goal. Any suggestions?

First review: I can already cook 3 dishes with consistent results. Motivated by this, I requested Mama for more recipes (all of it my favourite and is not replicated in Malaysian restaurants in Malaysia or Sydney). 

I am also toying the idea of cooking some Raya fare since we would be celebrating Raya in Sydney. Perhaps that could be a goal measurement.

Mid-year review: I would say consider this ACCOMPLISHED.

Goal #4: Sort & Print my wedding pictures

Hahaha.. it's been nearly a year since I got married and my pictures are still not sorted nor printed. I am not referring to the wedding highlights - those were ready 6 months after the wedding. I am referring to the other pictures that would generate more interest among the relatives & family members - the ones where they appear in it (nope, they are not interested in the storybook version).

I am just too lazy to go through the 3000+ pictures (with digital, everyone's trigger happy these days).

First review: Have not lifted a finger for this goal. There's just no motivation to get this goal going at all. Hahaha

Mid-year review: No progress at all but with my brother's recent wedding, I do have some motivation to get this going. Now if only I could stop distracting myself each time I set my mind to work on this.

Goal #5: Sort, Print & Arrange pictures from my Scandinavian trip (include write up)

This trip took place way before the wedding. In fact it probably led to the wedding as they say, absense makes the heart grow fonder.. heh heh. This goal is much easier to achieve as opposed to Goal #4 as I would be happy reliving the memories of the trip (not that I am not happy to relive the wedding moments, just that no one is trigger happy here).

First review: Same update as Goal #4. Nothing done here :p

Mid-year review: Same as before.

Goal #6: Maintain a blog

m-e-o-w has been around for many years. It started off with Multiply and now it's on blogspot.

A few years back, m-e-o-w went into hibernation. With many changes and firsts taking place in 2014, now is the best time for m-e-o-w to wake up and get going again.

The target is to have a minimum of 12 entries. I seem to be on track to achieving this goal. Today's entry is already the third one. Yay!

Update 28/3/2014: I have since re-branded my blog to Lyn, Life Explorer and will focus more on life's (experiences, observations and self-realisations).

First review: The only goal I have exceed above expectations. To date, I have published 21 entries and 2 more pending (this one and also another one currently in draft).

Mid-year review: ACHIEVED.

Goal #7: Health & Fitness

They take their sports seriously here and why not? The weather here is good (too cold for me) and their facilities are excellent. I am lucky too as I reside within the vicinity of University of Sydney. Their sports program (open to local residents) are impressive too.

Taking advantage of this, I have decided to:

1. run a total of 100km in 3 months
   First review: This is at 11% and it is a goal I will not achieve. Target date is 5 June which is just a couple of weeks away. If you count walking tho, I would have probably achieved this target. I do not track my walks tho.
   
   Mid-year review: Now that spring is here, it's time to work on this goal.
2. learn how to swim the butterfly stroke
   First review: I CAN swim the butterfly. Yay! Am I good at it? Not at all. hahaha. On a separate note, I am now into my 2nd term of swimming lessons. Here they focus more on improving my freestyle strokes which is good too as I am most comfortable with the breaststroke.
   
   Mid-year review: One term short of a full year of swimming lessons and you can see the difference. My strokes are much better and my fitness have increased tremendously. I am getting faster tho (not as fast as the pros but fastest in my lifetime). Recently enrolled for my final term of swimming.
3. sign up for gym membership and attend the group fitness sessions or swimming at least 3 times a week.
   First review: I am on track with this goal - 3 times a week of BodyBalance, weekly swimming lessons and at least once a week of Aqua sessions followed by a swimming session.
   
   I also signed up at Hard Candy Fitness (no contract). Am going to end it after the first month though. There is just too many challenges and that is even before I arrive at the gym.
   
   Mid-year review: This goal is on track.

Goal #8: The learning never stops

I also discovered that University of Sydney offer short courses that are open to residents too. The courses offered are interesting enough and this could be a sneak peak to another new category of knowledge.

First review: I have attended several short courses offered by University of Sydney. Most recently a financial planning course. This was a good introduction to the Australian tax system too (that relates to helping you create your wealth). Previous courses attended were Creative Travel Writing & a 6 week Indoor Wall Climbing course.

In order to expand my arts and crafts side, I recently did a 3 hour course on knitting. I am happy to say I can successfully cast on, knit stitch, purl stitch, rib stitch and stocking stitch. Cannot really cast off but will refer to youtube when the time comes.

Mid-year review: No new courses over winter.

Goal #9: Less thinking, more action

This is a new goal. I realised I spend a lot of time thinking and rethinking to the point most things do not get executed. Hence this goal is meant for me to proceed with the next phase of the plan after the thinking/planning is done.

I already have one achievement in this area - a Tupperware party. Haha. You might be wondering "Huh? Hosting a Tupperware party is an achievement?" Well let's just say I spent two months toying with the idea to host one as I was concerned of the outcome. Long story short, I organised one in 5 days and it went well. Even if it did not go well (well is subjective here), at least I tried.

Mid-year review: On-going.

*NEW* Goal #10: Seven Bridges Walk 2014 & Raise $500 for Cancer Council NSW

My biggest and challenging one off goal for this year. I have committed myself to walk a total of 27km to raise cancer awareness and raise funds for Cancer Counsil NSW on 26 October 2014. 

Please help me make a difference and support me support this cause by making a donation as well. Click here https://sevenbridgeswalk2014.everydayhero.com/au/razlin to contribute.

To date I have raised $441 and short of $51 to reach my fundraising target. Exceeding my target would be awesome too! So let's contribute!

Goals #11 & #12: To be defined

First review: Still not defined.
Second review: Still not defined.

Not a bad half year to date huh? Now to nail the other half.

It's Newtown

"Eh betul ke* had bulls running in Newtown the other day?" came Ronnie's message via Whatsapp.

Not exactly sure which "other day" he was referring to, I mentally played back the events from a week before. I did recall a group of school children covered in multi-coloured powder boarding the bus but that was in the city, not in Newtown. Sharing that information with him, he insisted that there were bulls running loose along King Street. 

One hour later, I was still thinking about bulls. I mean, why would bulls be running loose in my area? It's not that I live in a village. Far from it actually. Not wanting to look like someone who doesn't know what's going on in the neighbourhood, a quick search on the internet revealed the headline - Water buffalo on the loose in Newtown. And I laughed and laughed and could not stop laughing. 

In a nutshell, two water buffaloes escaped from their make-shift enclosure , headed for Newtown and were chased by a filming buggy, a police car and a fire truck. The part that cracked me up though has to be this statement below. 

“It was kind of bizarre but it was Newtown so I didn't think it was that unusual,” she said. 

Prior to living in here (even after), we get comments like 

• Newtown is quirky
• Newtown is different
• Newtown is eccentric
• Newtown is Newtown
• Newtown is full of characters
• Newtown is this or that etc. 

I never really understood these comments until this incident. Now when I walk down King Street, I keep an eye out for weird happenings. Who knows, I might be lucky to witness it this time.

*betul ke = is it true

Back to Student Life Minus Lectures & Exams

To my delight, my current routine somewhat resembles my university student life but better as there are no lectures to attend or exams to pass. How did this happen? Living within the University of Sydney's campuses probably had a major influence in this change. Regardless of my destination, all routes would require me to pass by at least one of the many University of Sydney's buildings. 

Here's an example. While walking to Broadway Shopping Centre to do grocery shopping, I chanced upon a Centre of Continuing Education banner beside a bus stop. Interest piqued, I went online to find out more. With 12 different categories of courses to choose from, you would be spoiled for choices. With the long list of courses to choose from, one's constraints would probably be

1. Budget - If one had a money tree, this won't be a constraint.
2. Schedule - As the target audience are working individuals, the course runs mainly weekends or weeknights after work. 

Nevertheless, the creative arts as well as business & management courses caught my interest. So did the language courses - there is even the option to learn Brazilian Portuguese! If only I could be at two or more places at one time (and have that money tree), I would sign up for all. Hahaha.

Looks like there's room for more.

Another example is, while on one of my runs which does not happen as often lately, I felt I should finally learn the butterfly stroke (swimming). From there, I found out there are 3 venues I could go to to achieve this goal. I finally decided on Sydney Uni Sport & Fitness (SUSF). They not only have a swim school operating at their Sports & Aquatic Centre that is open to the public, it is also closer to where I live.  

While navigating SUSF's website, I noticed they also offer a variety of program and courses open to the community. You could also opt to skip lunch and play sports under the Lunch Time Social Sport program (this is something I don't think exists in Malaysia. If it did, I never heard about it). Looking through the programs and courses, I eventually decided there are a few of them that I would like to participate in. 

The centre also has other facilities like a weight training gym, indoor wall climbing gym, tennis courts, RPM studio, a group fitness studio and even a boxing gym if sign up as a member. You will need to pay an annual membership fee and purchase an entry pass suitable to your needs. 

With the ball in my court, I might as well make the best of it. And that is how I ended up reliving my student life. Yay!

A Not So Sedap Experience

Warning: This is not a food review.

Dressed in black t-shirt and red shorts, her hair fashioned in a pony tail and face make up so thick you can barely make out her eyes. She walked over to take our orders and was quite annoyed we still did not know what we wanted. I forced myself to pay attention when she went through her recommendations - not because I couldn't understand her but because I was distracted in trying to figure out if she made her mouth extra pouty to accentuate her features.

We finally ordered. I asked for Penang char kuey teow and a hot teh tarik. The fact that I had an option to order cold teh tarik should have been a red flag that I am not home in food-heaven Malaysia.

My dish was last to arrive. Just as I was about to tuck in, I noticed the sausages. It was not the colour I was accustomed to. With a niggling feeling this could be what I think it is, I asked one of the girls working there the meat used. She said "chicken sausages". Just as I was about to breath a sigh of relief, she had her doubts and immediately asked her colleague - pony tail girl the same question.

"It is pork." pony tail girl replied.

My fears are founded. I am again reminded this is not Malaysia but a foreign country where it is necessary to ask the ingredients of each food type I am about to order. When there is a remote possibility of a certain ingredient to be present even when you least expect it.

I asked the waitress if it is possible to make the same dish without pork as I am not allowed to eat them. She agreed and took the dish away.

Pony tail girl comes to our table to check if there was a problem with the dish. 

"You FORGOT to tell me?!" she exclaimed with an incredulous look AND a sarcastic tone of voice after we briefly explained the situation. At that moment, her eyes seemed a little bit bigger (not that I thought it was impossible).

We told her we would still pay for the earlier dish just that we wanted a similar one without pork. She did not look pleased/placated and huffily made her way to the cashier/kitchen to relate the outcome. Maybe she thought we blamed her (we did not).

Although I admit the mistake is mine, this incident left a bitter taste in my mouth (and in my teh tarik). Pony tail girl single handedly influenced my decision to exclude Sedap, Regent Place from my list of preferred eateries. Okay, that's not entirely true. The teh tarik had a small influence too.

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Sedap is located at 501 Regent Place (George Street Level), 501 George Street, Sydney.
Opening hours: Monday to Sunday 11am - 9.30pm

Sleepless in Sydney

I used to cry after my mother dropped me off at Villamaria (my kindergarten) and Sekolah Sri Petaling (my primary school). That's pretty normal right? Yeah.. except it is not the first day or even first week of school but the middle of the school term/year. It stumped my teachers since most kids would have grown out of the crying phase way before. For me, I was just getting started.

Fast forward 30 years later, seems like I did not outgrow this trait. No, I do not burst out into tears like I used to, I just cannot sleep. For example, most people I know have trouble sleeping the first night (some even the first few) when in a new environment. As the days go by, they settle down and sleep at bedtime. I on the other hand seem to be the opposite. The more I settle down, the more I cannot sleep.

Moving from one continent to another, I had no problems adjusting to my new place - sleep wise over the first few days. Then the sleepless-ness started. When we moved to our own place, all was well again. Five weeks after the big move, it's back. I am now getting only 3-3.5 hours of sleep daily (since the past week at least). Even though I have the luxury of sleeping in and taking naps during the day, I don't seem to be taking advantage of this.

Mr. H thinks I am not exhausting myself enough. Perhaps he has a point. A typical day for me would start at 6:00am. After morning prayers and sending Mr. H off to work, it is always part of my plan to go back to bed by 6:45 and be up when the body wakes up. Alas, this is not the case as by 7:00am I am wide awake. I'll get an early start with my chores and whatever activities planned for the day. Sometimes I create more activities to do just because I can.. Haha.  Although I expect to be exhausted by midnight, I am not. My guess is I would normally fall asleep by 2:30am-3:00am since I cannot recall from then on :p

So why is it the more settled I am, the more not adjusted I become? I dunno.

When my sister-in-law Maryam read on my Facebook status update I was having trouble sleeping, she introduced Bach Rescue Sleep to me. Four drops and two sprays on the tongue, half an hour later I am in dreamland. Mr H even approves of this since he recently suggested I get my doses so I can go to sleep. It could also be he just wanted me to stop disrupting his own sleep with my tossing and turning.

Here's the range of the items I have. So far, I have used Rescue Sleep more than once. Rescue Stress? Have not felt stress enough to try it.

Rescue Sleep & Rescue Stress range

What remedies do you use if you're in the same situation? 

Goals & KPIs: Goals #7 and #8 Updated

Sometime throughout the week, I successfully formalised another 2 more goals for 2014.

Goal #7: Health & Fitness

They take their sports seriously here and why not? The weather here is good (too cold for me) and their facilities are excellent. I am lucky too as I reside within the vicinity of University of Sydney. Their sports program (open to local residents) are impressive too.

Taking advantage of this, I have decided to:

1. run a total of 100km in 3 months
2. learn how to swim the butterfly stroke
3. sign up for gym membership and attend the group fitness sessions or swimming at least 3 times a week.

This goal could be a tough one, will require a lot of discipline and motivation as I would probably feel like the picture below most of the time. Hahaha

Hiding under the covers - from the cold.

Goal #8: The learning never stops

I also discovered that University of Sydney offer short courses that are open to residents too. The courses offered are interesting enough and this could be a sneak peak to another new category of knowledge.

With 8 of the 12 goals defined, this should keep me occupied until the end of the year. Once I have defined the remaining 4, this blog will be updated. To find out what goals #1 to #6 are, read it here.

Living out of a suitcase

In the past 5 months, I've spent 50% of it living out of a suitcase. Through this experience, I've learnt:

1. that I have way too much clothes in my present wardrobe.
2. I only need a maximum 10 sets of clothes for a 3 week trip (you can actually survive with 6 sets).
3. that I've mastered the art of packing for leisure & work.
4. I know how to pack for different durations e.g 3 days to 21 days.
5. You don't really need your hand luggage. Most of the time it's left untouched from the time you board till the time you disembark* (even if it's a 15 hour flight).
   
   * this would not apply if you had kids, or have a 5 hour transit to a connecting flight of 8 hours.

So the next time you decide to pack your whole bedroom, STOP. Pick out what you *think* you need and then reduce it further and you'll be fine.

Leave all the what ifs at home.. and if you really need to bring more than you should, make sure it's the undergarments.

Mt. Kinabalu 2009 - A mother & daughter trip

My 3rd trip to this mountain, although only my 2nd with my mom.

The objective this time was for my mom to get to the peak (since her last attempt failed, but my first was successful). 

This trip proved to be a difficult one for me. Well, of course it would be difficult -- for someone who didn't train, what else would I expect? A walk in the park? Hahahaha...

Well, a walk in the park it wasn't. It started well enough.. my mom and I not far apart during the hike up. However the adventure did not really start until it reached Laban Rata.

The hike from Gunting Lagadan proved to be too much for me. From the start, I was feeling nauseous and giddy. I attributed this to the fact that I was probably sweating beneath all those layers of clothes that I had donned - 2 pairs of thermals, 1 long sleeved t-shirt, 1 soft shell jacket, 3 pairs of socks.

However despite peeling the layers off one by one, the feeling did not leave me.. in fact it magnified. It came to a point I could not see my way as my vision was blurring. It dawned upon me, Mama will have to do this alone (not really alone since there was gonna be a whole lot of others with her, just not me). Not sure how to break the news to her, I kept this to myself.. and tried to convince myself that I will feel better with each step.

We walked at our own pace - me ahead and Mama trailing behind. There would be times I would sit by the rocks and wait for Mama to catch up. Despite my constant breaks and rests, I did not get better.. getting worse ada lah. Upon reaching the rope section, I broke the news to my mom - I was gonna walk with her towards Sayat-Sayat hut, and decide from there whether to continue to the peak or not.

I was not sure how she took to the news, but I think she was more concerned about the rope section.. which was fine by me. Ginik assured me that there was a bed I could sleep on at Sayat-Sayat.. which surprisingly motivated me to at least get to that hut! Hahahaha..

Upon reaching the hut, with my head pounding, strong urge to throw up and my super-blurred vision, I choose to stop. My mom was on her own (and with Darshini of course). Handing my mom my backpack, she continued on her quest to conquer Mt. Kinabalu with Ginik and Darshini. I in turn, slept for the next 2 hours. Upon waking up, I turned left and made my way down to Laban Rata (didn't even cross my mind to walk to the peak).

Mama made it to the peak. Yay!!

The journey down to KK Park was a treacherous one! We were all suffering in our own way, and in such situations.. the true me emerges. Hehehe.. Mama got irritated with me and told me off. I in turn decided to walk ahead and wait for her at the huts instead. I made a lot of new friends along the way.. which was fine by me.

One by one, the injured hikers were walking pass by me, while Mama was still behind. At the hut after the 2.5km mark, I decided to wait for Mama and we walked together from then on. It took us over 2 hours to cover 2km but arrived we did. Thank goodness!

As with all mountain trips, it's not about conquering the mountain - but what you can take back from there. There were many lessons learnt along the way, but I'll highlight only the below:


Lesson #1 - Age is not a factorMy mom was one of the oldest participants in our group, and it didn't stop her from reaching the peak.

Lesson #2 - Move at your own paceThis is not a race. Walk at a pace that works for you. The main aim is to reach your destination in one piece!

Lesson #3 - Know your limitsListen to your body and trust it! Stop when it says stop!

Lesson #4 - Know the difference between physical/mental limitationsIt's important to know if it's a physical or mental limitation you are going against. If your mind says no, but your body says yes.. it is still a can-go situation. However if your mind says yes, but your body says no, it could be a dangerous situation if you decide to go ahead.

Lesson #5 - The Mountain Ain't Going AnywhereIf you can't make it this time, it's ok. Come again next time. The mountain ain't going anywhere, it will wait.

Lesson #6 - Have a good reason in whatever you doThis would save you the trouble from asking yourself again and again "why the hell are you doing this?!?" 

I am seriously retiring from this.. hahahaha

3-in-1 Posting

1. Hunt for the hammerheads - Kite Island, Sabah
After a 3 month self-imposed ban on diving, my immediate diving adventure was to hunt for the hammerheads in Kite Island, Sabah.

Diving in Layang-Layang is very different from my "normal" diving conditions.. I mean the deep blue was.. well, deep blue.

The hammerheads proved to be elusive to us, the closest being the origami towel hammerhead design which was requested by my roomie, Sue. The house-keeping personnel probably felt sorry for us and agreed to create one for us. Hehehe..

However we were presented with a group of devil rays (6 of 'em), a trio of reef sharks, a large school of giant jacks (can be classified as a university) and apparently there were sightings of manta rays.

As with other dive trips, the company was great! Strangers ended up as friends, while friends.. remained as friends.

2. The Ruins of Yesterday (Above Water)
My next destination takes me across the Straits of Malacca. To ensure that we could maximise this trip, we took the first flight out to Jogjakarta. This just re-enforces my belief that I do end up getting up earlier when I'm on holiday compared to when I am working.

Prambanan (a Hindu temple) did not really appeal to me, as I had expected. Perhaps the early morning flight had affected my ability to soak in the wonders and beauty of this place. This place had a lot of sand too.. and I was in sandals.. which didn't go well with me.

Due to an earthquake in recent years, this temple is currently undergoing restoration works and from the looks of it, it will be restored to it's magnificient state.

After a short break, we headed to this place called the Kraton or something like that. It is actually an old palace which is turned into a museum. Nothing much here except for mannequins dressed in the attire for different types of ceremonies participated by the royal family of the place. I wasn't really paying much attention to it.. so whatever I terms I just used could be wrong also. Hahahaha..

Finally, we ended up in Borobodur. This temple, just wow-ed me. It was a one piece work of art, still standing magnificiently. There was a story to it, etched along the walls of the temple. We didn't take the services of a temple guide, so we ended up making our own story as we went along. Hahaha.. most of the time was spent taking pictures anyways.

3. The Ruins of Yesterday (Underwater)

Another dive trip within 2 weeks. I'm on a roll here! Hahaha.. This trip was a leisure trip and ended up diving whenever we felt like it. After the near-like disappointment of the hammerhead trip, I'm happy to say that this dive trip was a "rediscover the pleasures of diving" experience. This was also my first time diving together with Din after a lapse of 3 years (the last dive, made me wanna quit.. but to be fair, he wasn't my buddy then.. hahaha).

First dive itself, I was awed. I "met" all the fishes that I have seen before but somehow did not get to see them in my recent dives. This somehow made me feel at home. What made it better is, I am now able to spot some marine life all on my own, without being dependent on the Dive Master or Din. Yay!!

The wreck dive was pretty alright too.. although the current towards the end of the dive made it tiring for me. So tak payah eloborate on this dive la :p

I love the last dive the most! So many things to see.. so relaxing too.

Well, that's it for this 3-in-1 posting.

1 Mountain, 9 Friends and Loads of Strawberries

A leisure trip that took place over the weekend.. In spite of my "kejap ok-kejap tak ok" state of health, it was a trip that I enjoyed. The pace of the trip was a slow one.. which was good when I was in the "kejap tak ok" mode.

The weather was cold, and there were moments I felt as if I wasn't prepared despite my layers of clothing.. The strawberry jams and scones were yummy.. and so were the fresh strawberries.. and not to mention the chocolate coated strawberries.

Played Taboo which was great fun (although to an observer, he would think we were playing Charades).

The hotel personnel were accommodating with my prayer room request -- they actually converted a normal hotel room into a prayer area.. and due to a power failure in the 1st prepared room, the housekeeping personnel went the extra mile and prepared a 2nd hotel room just for me! I was touched and impressed with the level of service provided.. which reminds me, I better drop a note to the manager.

The trip back was an out of an ordinary one for me.. Due to an unexpected pot hole, we ended up with 2 punctures and had to detour to get that sorted out. Our trip back was "delayed" by an hour or so.. but glad it all ended well. At least I know who to call should I end up with a flat.. hehehe.. but then again, I hope to not have to experience a flat.. so touch wood!

Thanks guys for putting up with me during the weekend. It was a great one.. 

Theme Song - Shontelle's T-Shirt

Our memories will live

My first thought of him was "wow! does he have a good grip" -- turns out he was a climber. We first met in 2000, I was a student and he an IT engineer.

2 weeks later, Hanis invites me to join them for lunch. We jumped into his car as he was the designated driver for the day. He called me the "green girl" -- referring to the bright green baju kurung I was wearing that day.

He treated me to my birthday at Chilli's Bangsar. I ordered some weird dish that came with rice. We had a great time making fun of it.

He introduced me to the world of climbing. When I was based in Menara Maxis, we used to go climbing on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We'll leave KLCC at 6pm and go talk about everything under the sun during our drive out of KLCC to Sg Besi to Kesas and Summit. We'll arrive at about 7:30pm and we'll climb until the place closes for the night.

He got married. I was one of the 200 guests invited. I was honored to have made the list.

Things changed after that. I climbed less and indulged more with my other activities. Nevertheless we do keep in touch as best as we could -- the occasional lunches in KLCC, phone calls, emails etc. I would call him up when I wanted to b!tch about my problems, my life etc.

He called 2 weeks ago and suggested we meet up again, as it has been a long time since we last met. Last week, we were lunching in Chilli's KLCC. It was as if time did not move. We spoke about everything -- his family, his work, my social life, my work, his holiday etc. He returned my "figure of 8" which he borrowed a couple of years ago (I even forgot it was with him).

Last night when I received the SMS, I was in disbelief. I will miss him.
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Dropped by his parents' home tonight.. the eulogy given by his friends and family jogged my memory some.

I remember his silly jokes (he was doing it even during lunch), how he would change the lyrics to songs (You're so vain to You're so gay). I remember his funny usage of Malay words (e.g my parents cannot tidur nyanyuk unless all their kids are home -- he meant nyenyak).

I remember lamenting to him that I'm not ready to get married because I haven't done everything I wanted to do yet. He responded with when he got married to Kar Lai, he had done 75% of the things, and he knows he can do the 25% with her. I made a mental note that is something I should remember when it is my time to get married.

I remember his advise, that if you're going to move to another company, always ask for more as you are worth it!

I forgot he was a tae-kwan-do black belt holder. I forgot his love for drawings and animations. I forgot that his motto was "the best is yet to be" and he would sign that off with a fuzzy.

I forgot that once we (Liong, Andrew, Felicia and myself) drove all the way to Seremban to eat the cendol that I claimed was sedap.. only to reach there and find that it had moved to a location that I didn't know.. hahaha. we ended up eating in a food court instead.

I'm sure there are more things that I remember and I have forgotten. When the time is right for me to remember, there will be a smile on my face knowing that he will always be in my mind and heart.