Kuching Marathon-17082014

*Delayed Publishing*
Today marks the day I completed another half marathon, that's 21km.
Started slightly earlier than Spring's Liverun held in June, the runners for Kuching Marathon 21km division flags off at 5.00am. The route is more or less the same as Liverun's but with some small tweaks to include more elevations, making it more challenging.

Unlike Liverun, it should be noted that Kuching Marathon is not for charity and has a more competitive nature, helding cash money of 15,000 ringgit for the 42km full marathon for it 1st prize alone.

This year I ran with my girlfriend, and to be honest it is much less arduous and mich less boring whem you run with friend/s. Not forgetting the extra motivation from the company.
It is because of this very reason that I was able to push myself further harder this marathon. And finally I was able to finish it less than 3 hours.

The day she said yes.

Months in the making, hours after hours of staying up in bed thinking about the moments that led up to a new beginning, a new chapter in our lives.
The day you says yes to my proposal.

With your hand in marriage in mind I did when we first started to go on our dates. And ever so often did I wonder how our moment would be like when I finally proposed to you, well that moment is today 20 September 2014.

With the great help enlisted from my wonderful friends, we create special moments and coupled along with several hints just for her before I kneel down on one knee. With my face flushing red as pepper (partly from the wine), my trembling voices, I asked her to marry me.

The night is pretty casual, the usual date night turned friends gathering, only that our buddies appearing as actors and actress playing along the plan and improvise for the stuffs that went sideways.
So we appear at the venue late, and hungry.
There's the roses only on the table we're sitting at. This is when you sat not where we planned. But no big deal.
Amidst waiting for dinner to come our favourite songs are aired in the background, to be honest I was quite worried that you'd notice my motives then and there. But although my heart is beating so fast I can barely breath you didn't make a big fuss out of it.
Then came the pizza which is presented in a Heart shape which piqued your interest too.
Afterthat the last part of our act begins, right after we ordered dessert the lights at our section went out and they lit up some candles for our table.
Then the finale songs came up, you stood up and pick up the bag with flowers in it while you looked at me with full curiosity,  good thing our buddies distracted you and gave me some precious seconds to compose myself before walking over to the table with the flower.

What happens next is something, unless my memory fails me, shall be remembered that moment for rhe rest of my life. Your face also flushing with redness, gave me several nods, maybe because you're as overwhelmed as I am before you finally reply and said "Yes I do".

Without my friends and the helpful hosts of Big Oven I would never have pulled all these off. Here I'd like to thank you all for this lifetime experience. Thank you soso much everyone.

Gunung Gading Revisited - Rafflesia.

Of all the recent work, I find myself freed for today on a Public holiday with only minimal task.
So did I join on a trip to Gunung Gading, which is situated in the Lundu district of Sarawak about 2 hours drive from 3rd Mile to catch the precious moment when a Raffesia flower is in full bloom somewhere in the jungle.

Some information on the flower.
Rafflesia is the world's largest flower. It is actually parasitic, rooting itself in certain vines throughout the jungle. That's a parasite

1st dance ever. if it counts.

Of all the years I had lived. On this day, the 16 September 2014 is the first time I ever danced, with a partner doing a ballroom dance called Jive.
See girlfriend invited me to join in on her studio's performance this year so comes about 2 months time it will also be the first time I dance on a stage. Quite nerve wrecking when that comes to mind. It's my first experience though Gf has had many of thes performance.
So far that's our only practice but we can expect our irregular date nighta
s to be filled with extra practice.

So comments...
I've been practicing martial art for some time but find the dancing nowhere any easier for me. All the while I'm staring at my feets and the whole body would we stiff, and if I look straight into her eyes my legs stutters. Which is actually quite sad to bear with.

But this is a great experience for both of us. So I am going to enjoy the practice as much as I can😆

Stray vs Home-raised cat.

Ami was more than 1 year old when we brought her home and made her our official cat.
She is my 1st adopted-from-stray cat and  I would love to share some of the differences she has on her compare to those homegrown cats I owned before.

When she was still wandering around our meat shop, we take to her friendly nature and gave her fresh raw grounded meat for breakfast while the neighbor supply her with daily fish, not bad for a stray cat I'd say. Eventually that leads to her breeding in our shop twice a year, all the while staying with us and never leave the vicinity of her supplier shops. These time spent with us made her closer and much fonder of us. During her 2nd batch of litter with us, probably due to her increased weight the delivery didnt go well and we took her to a vet to get help. (We prepared a box in a dark quiet corner for her but after awhile she jumps out from the corner dragging her kitten still wrap with the womb and umbilical cord, we cant just leave her like that.)
3 months later the same thing is about to be repeated but this time we decided to sterile her before she can mate again. Then comes the long story of how she move between home and shop in our car every other morning till she finally settle down at a warm corner of our home ( beside the exhaust of our fridge) sleeping half her days away.

Ami is therefore well trained in several aspects in which gives her the characteristics of an independent stray cat way.
For one, she can defend herself against most dogs, she'll run away but she doesn't freak out like a crazy cat when she sees our dogs.

Probably because she had to live with the climate sometimes she didn't get into the shop when we close, she doesn't mind getting wet at all and I once saw her napping while it drizzle outside.

Another thing would be her gourmet side. Being accustomed to the varieties of food available at the shop bazaar, heavily seasoned food drives her crazy and she would begs for them. We give in mostly but only share with her small bite of the stuff. So far we know she likes, Roasted Pork, Braised meat, Fried food, and most human food. (The Salty Dog!)

Biking joy.

Recently a friend of mine decided to give up the unhealthy lifestyle of not exercising, he then went and got himself a bicycle so train he could ride to be healthy.
And coincidentally I got a free bike too and decided to not let it go to waste rusting at the side, so we jumped on our bikes, turn on our songs and ride down some short distance to our secondart school, not forgetting to stop by at the dearest home for a quick break and showoffs.
Then the way back as changed as we did a circuit throught the old school and got home sweaty and happy, really sweaty. 

That feels so good, we gonna do it again next week.

Mocha-Another Golden Retriever.

In 2013, my family welcomed a whole bunch of Golden retrievers from a local breeder closing business,  some backyard breeder anyway. So, most of these we let others adopt for a teeny weeny price. And only 2 we kept for ourself.
"Mocha" is one of the 2. Mostly a few years old, ex-owner knows squat about their dogs anyway, but his Rottweilers are awesomely adorable anyway.

Mocha has a funny face like a thief from the cartoons. Because of the shaded area on his face of pale and gold. As for the name, its inspiration from its coat which is quite dark and I just love to name pets after food and drinks.

They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks, but I intend to teach Mocha some moves. Success though is minute as its not easy obviously.

Mocha fits in quite well and I guess the breeder haven't broken it yet. However the walks seems to have slim him down abit.

Sparring Competition. 2014

Held 22nd June was our Bandar Kuching Taekwondo Club's annual sparring competition.

This years we sports a group of much much challenging players who had trained with the club's new training plan,  a rise in standards if you may call it.

This year the helpers are much organised as the club chartered help from the school kids who are on their school break.
We have a trained first aid personnel at the ready.
Participation certificates are also printed on site and given to all those who joined in this event.
Also, the judges, referees, and juries were given a refreshment course prior to the event to further the quality of this year's competition.

Being assign to the center referee and side judges for the day, the experience had been most wonderful and precious for my time with taekwondo. Being at the same ring with two vicious fighters vetting it all out to each others can be really challenging as we have to make sure the match is conducting within the rules of the sport, we must not get in the way of the match and all the time moving around especially not to get in the way getting ourselves hurt.

An adventurous day indeed. But where's the Milo truck?!

New Toy!! Turbo Rig

New Toy!!
And for a self proclaimed fan of video games, it has to be a powerful rig pumped with some of the most high end parts just so we can play some of the latest games, cuz these day games can fetch a file size of half a Terabytes and demand such uber performance to run.

With the numerous new 'engines' that games are developed and ran on, technologies that makes games into something almost life like, a far way from the blockish character of yesteryears.

2nd HalfMarathon

The spring live run event was held a few days ago Sunday (15/06/2014), I did it once in 2013, same organiser, same route, and vowed to do it better this year, was it not the obvious thing to do?

Anyway, I did not make it below 3hours neither this year. As a matter of fact I failed quite a bit, a as it the blood donation earlier that week? or was it the untimely shoulder sprain from work? or the painful footsole? or simply, my lack of training prior to the race?
I guess all these attributed to the longer finish time for my 21km this year.

Because of the slower pace this year, I didn't get to cramp my legs up like last year. And since I didn't make it in the cut off this, No Medal! :(

But still, I made it safe and sound. Thank you for another 21km completed,  and may the next half marathon run in 2 months time (August 2014) yields better finishing time(,^^)-b

FUN PAIN!!!

Drinking-Part 1.

What is it to you?
Social, heavy, nono?
Humans need water to survive, so we drink.
But Drinking itself take on a very different life in human culture.
I am no pros no connoisseur when it comes to these ferment or distilled drinks, but I understand something about them.

Long before we can tell, fermented beverages were known to be consumed by mankind.
Mead, which is fermented honey wine is one of the earliest of these alcoholic beverages.

Red Wine, or White are fermented from Grapes are common alcoholic drinks for the Europe continent. Merlot, Shiraz, Cabernot Savignon, Pinot Noir are some of the ones I've tried.

During the discovery of the New world, easier to be known as the age during the Pirates of Caribbean, Rums are drunk mostly, and so are Ale which is like an earlier version of beer.

There's Gin, a distilled drink which I had yet to try but understand its mixed with tonic for some heslth benefit.

The Aztec have a perculiar way of making these happy juice, where their younglings will chew corn and spit into vats and kept for a few weeks to ferment into some kinda brew.

China too have their own style, I call this the rice influence. Every regions in the world have their own way of making fermented juice. The China regions, with rice as their predominant food intake naturally will make their brews from rice.
The Chinese can make wine with traditional medicinal herbs and plants that can be drank as tonic for health.

Now if you wondered, spirits are made by distilling wine into pure alcohol before diluted and aged into the final products, like whisky and brandy.

And that's the first part about drinking:)

Àmi-The stray turned pet.

Strayed animals are everywhere these days, and also a common sight in most cities.
Except for certain countries that consume these strays, the rest will have few tactics to counter this problem while the local SPCA would not have enough resources to keep all these animals in their shelter.

But enough about this problem, what I would like to blog about today is my stray turned cat Àmi, a 4.2kg (and increasing), orange and white bicolor female cat which grows fond to me and my brother for the passed year. She has a few teeth less in the front row of her mouth for reasons we do not know, a tendency to consume heavy artificial flavored foodstuff (a junk food cat!). Her current meal is fish and meat. Picky about her fish and only eats a certain type although doesn't mind it being frozen or fresh. While her meat have to be fresh grounded pork, which she eats them uncooked.

We made her our official housepet after a difficult delivery when we decided to have her spayed when the kittens is 2months old and adopted by someone.

For a usual day, the cat commutes between our home and the shop for a scenery change most morning and get her breakfast, without begging. The only thing after spaying is that now she sleeps whole day inside and outside or enjoying sunbathing during the day.
When the sun goes down she turns active and chase around bits of papers or any small objects, fighting them until she needs to rest. This is her only exercise and we will usually play along with her tp extend her workout.
When the family goes to sleep, she find her resting place outside the house (This be rules) upon most peculiar places.
There you go, my cat's routine.

Night run- Rat Race Run Kuching 201

Hi ho,
Just two days ago was when the rat race run event was being held.
This is a charity event and more of a fun run, where us participants wear anything but normal sportswear.
Showing up that evening were, handsome and pretty office people, students, lab coat peopel, doctors and all kind, we even have a cow!!

As for myself, I put on ny old set of Taekwondo uniform, aha, I sure did.

We reached earlier and overlook how the organisers all dressed up in lady outfits and being cheered upon and their photis taken.
All that dress n make ups...and a whole lot of leg hair!

So, before we realise it they sound the horn and people in front started running. Probably cuz we were all looking at the fun show. And so did we all stsrted running as well, leaving more dumbfounded innocent people behind.

Not more than 1km did we ran that the weather decided to turn from windy to stormy, droplets started wetting the road  and the next thing we were all running in the middle of the heavy rain. At least we dont have lightnings.

Because of this the 7km and 4km options were abandoned and everyone take a 4.9 route back to the starting point.

In between the strong wind, wet and slippery uphills, flooded junctions road, we made it back to the starting point no more than 45mins after we started.
Thankfully we brought a waterproof casing for our hand phone. Or else the run would have been an expensive one which we need to send phone for repairs.
Right when we reached the end of the line we were presented with a can of beer (See? A fun run), and a bottle of sports drink. And also a singlet.
Apart from those who brought raincoats,  everyone is wet like chicken soup that fun night.

No lucky lottery win from me and dear though,  and one of our friend has a busted phone from the wetness.
Personally, running in the rain is...extremely fun!! Hahaha.

Taekwondo, 2002-2014.

Almost 12 years ago did I started taking Taekwondo classes. First it at Secondary school, then I dropped the thing thinking I'll never go back into the art.

Then, in 2011-ish, a new center opened up in my area, just a 2 minutes drive into the local township, most convenient place of all. Perfect to get back to the art I once loved and enjoyed so much, along with my friends back then.

This time, just 2 of us got back and again with the most amazing  intervention of providence, we learn from a Master that has a different but simply a strong philosophy and decades of teaching experience. From that day onwards my mind in Taekwondo was opened and I learn and learn about a lot more things, techniques, and histories about the martial art.

About a month ago, 9th March to be precise, I even took a swing at the 3rd Dan Black belt grading test to get further recognition. Results are still pending and it'll be longer before an official Kukkiwon certificate can be administered in my name.
This is what prompted me to write out this post, a record of how I feel after practicing this art all these years.
Also, I know I will persevere in following this art.

I am also truly grateful for the support I received all these years while pursuing the art I'm passionate about. Thank you.

Schweinshaxe- I can barely spell it.

Translated as Pork shank, this is a traditional German style, oven roasted pork shank with beer and spices.
I recently created this dish after check on several online recipe and the result does not disappoint.

What we have here is the meaty front leg from a pig.
For the ingredient part, I used fresh pork shank from my very own butcher shop. (Mwahaha, perks of being a meat supplier yes?) along with some garlic, onions, salt, black pepper and two cans of Pilsner beer, just these simple stuff.

The difficult part is the roast,  to attain the crispy outer layer skin and tender, juicy meat inside, this dish needs to be roasted at 175'c in the oven for about 3 hours while regularly baste with the beer or added more to keep it moist,  at the same time not burning the outer skin.

When that is done, the remaining from the baking dish is not wasted and made into sauce for the dish.

And the result is a tender and juicy pork shank enough for one, or two less hungry person.
All this dish ask of is some patience.

Let's say you are interested in making this. Then here's the recipe: 

http://www.kitchenproject.com/german/recipes/Schweinshaxe/Schweishaxe2/index.htm

A trip for Friends, and the Sun- Redang Island 2014

Just recently we had a short vacation to Redang Island off Kuala Terengganu. Also initially meant to be a University classmates reunion, it turned out to be attended by a meager 6 person, consist of just coupled people.

There is always things to be loved for, especially a trip to a semi-secluded island with little exposure to the hustle and bustle of a bustling city life.
Imagine the staple beach activities, think: Snorkeling, sleeping, buffet meals 3 times daily, beach walking, sun tanning,  sipping a glass of cold cold cocktail wherever and whenever you feel like, the wonderful sea winds, waves. We even have fine smooth white sands for our beach that give amazing comfort to walk on.
I had enjoyed every bits of these, we stayed at Laguna Resort during our visit, although pricey due to school break and its established quality superior that the other resort along the strip of beach, larger too~

Now, if you don't want to get shoved around some foreign city, and  you can't take your time no had the luxury to pay for some quality guide for yourselves for adventures, pick an island with resort, laze all day doing basically nothing except burning those hard papers you made and have a blast.
You laze on the beach side even at night, enjoy the cool wind, and sip some whiskey. Gawd such heavens~

Local Spice and Herbs

We all learn about it in our history textbook. Where ships all over the world visit Malaysia, Malaya then in decades past for the Spice trade.

What's being used in most of the cooking we made in our daily lives? What herbs and spices are available here in Sarawak? 

Well for one Sarawak's Black Pepper is well known for its use in cooking worldwide.
As a kid, my parents and grandparent always tell us stories about how they migrate to Sarawak from China with nothing to their name except the knowledge to grow and make peppercorn, and that's how they make a living then. That was before my time. 

Today, Sarawak's Pepper industry, although not as abundant as it was back then, is still a spice recognized for its flavor and quality.
The nation even established a research center for the industry, it is from there that our black pepper can be improved and developed even further. 

Now, Sarawak's pepper is one of the things people can actually buy off at the Kuching international airport to bring home as souvenir.
So next time you visit us, bring some home. Be it whole peppercorn or black pepper sauce.

Sample of black and white pepper whole.

Project: Squid ink pasta

A man's gotta do stuffs.  As did I find joy in making food from scrapes.
The latest project: Squid ink pasta.

A quick search on the Internet and things are all pretty easy.
Flour, eggs, water, salt, squid ink, olive oil.

My only mistake is trying to knead them with my bare hands and it took me a good 30 minutes of sweating to get the dough smooth enough. A machine in the kitchen would have it done in minutes.

Anyway, I even got myself a manual machine to cut my pasta dough. Whilst the rest of the time it will be rolling and cutting fondants.

All seems well, until I tried to cook it and that recipe I followed doesn't turn out to our expectations.

I'm going to do some work and research on them more.

Stutong Park

Located along the road towards Kuching's free industrial estate Samajaya from Stutong, the Stutong park is a small patch of jungle protected and cared for by the Sarawak Forestry Department.

The place became a frequent go to place for me and my friends lately as we are preparing for the Spring Live Run event come June later this year.

This spot is chosen as the overgrowth and trees provide cover from the bright evening sun. There is least worry of traffic coming your way whilst jogging.
And security wise its safe other than a few monkeys foraging for food near the outer perimeter of the forest, they mostly leave humans alone.

Entrance is RM1.00 per entry while senior citizens above 60 gets in for free.

Also available here is a stretch of 'healthy stone' walkway with different difficulty to challenge. Very painful.

Monkeys!

A short path made of stone loosely set to give massaging effect to foot sole.

Absence of Posts

Only 1 blog post for the year 2013?!

Indeed it is, ever since my daily routine switched up since the beginning of 2013 it's pure grinding of work.

But now, I have returned, with new passion in life,  new hobbies, new stories to share with.

I shall be around more often this year, definitely, maybe.