No worries for those with no cable TV subscription as Euro 2012 will be coming to Free To Air TV via Media Prima's channels. In all, there will be 16 live matches on TV3 and 3 delayed on ntv7.
The official launch was held yesterday at the Empire Hotel where this was announced. And it was a pretty meriah and colourful event as well.
Still six months to go before Ukraine and Poland host this year's football spectacular, but as they say over here, "bahang sudah mula terasa"!
So, here it is people; a Community Running project I'm initiating that is planned for kick-off on the 14th of January, 2012. It is hoped the project will get Malaysians all across the country to run at their neighbourhood parks with friends and family.
In brief: "We will identify 40 parks all across Malaysia and organize casual group running sessions with everyone who’s interested to join. It’s really that simple. In fact, you can run or walk at your own pace, but with the common objective of completing 2.5km to 3km per run."
Yes, it's that simple and promises a lot of fun! We're finalising the logo now, and earlybirds might also be given free T-shirts. So stay tuned!
As it turned out, the Newton New Year Challenge 2012 was a pretty fun and "cute" event. "Cute" cos unlike most other Runs, this one had a modest number of participants with very modest setup and everything else. Don't have the exact number, but there couldn't have been more than a couple of thousand runners yesterday. Which was fine with me, really.
In case you didn't know, the event was held in Bandar Kinrara, Puchong. Yup, it's literally in my own backyard. But here's the irony, I actually drove to the Start area. Haha. 500 metres also cannot walk!
Anyway, I got there around 6.10am, 20mins before the start of the 12km Run. The 25km was flagged off at 5.30am. The MC kept reminding us to "take your time, no need to rush and have fun". But that's how I approach every run mah... Haha.
I wore my new Skins compression pants, and let me tell you something; this thing really has magical powers! I usually have problems with my shins and I actually felt a bit of discomfort there during warm-up, as well as my calves. But I felt nothing after I started running. Magic, really! It's also very comfortable and yes, the promise of "better ball control" thru its new crotch design was also impressively delivered. Haha.
Back to the no-frills-run, it was also evident that there was no distance markers along the route. So we had to depend on our respective devices.
And talking about the route, we experienced our first incline at around the 2.5km point. Mengah jugak lah. But I think I did OK. Still maintaining my pace and my legs were holding up.
But that wasn't the only hilly bits along the route. It really got tougher and tougher to negotiate all the bukits. Which meant my "tactic" was just to walk the uphill bits and make up for the lost time going down. Still, I knew the pace wouldn't be the same as a typically flat run.
The first water station appeared at the 4km point. And there was PLENTY of water and not surprisingly, no queues at all.
Then it was back to more bukits and more huffing and puffing. It wasn't that scenic as well as we ran through God-forsaken parts of Bandar Kinrara.
I also bumped into a couple of people I knew and we chatted about upcoming runs. The last water station came during the last 2kms after which, we got into Lebuhraya Bukit Jalil for the home stretch.
The last 1km was pretty OK except that we weren't still done with the inclines. But soon enough I saw the Finish line and felt rather good. There were no cheering squads, but having 2,3 people clapping by the roadside was good enough.
I crossed the line at 96mins (cut off time was 120mins), so not bad lah. Especially when I am now in the VETERAN category! (bittersweet fact, this)
We all got our Finisher's medal but I could hear grumbles as the medals didn't distinguish between those who ran the 12km and the 25km. Ah well, I'm not too fussy, and besides, I was just happy the queue at the Milo van wasn't as long as it usually is at other events!
Continuing this blog's great tradition, I present to you my favourite stuff from this year:
Film
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
Watched it twice (once at Sunway's brand new IMAX cinema and once at a regular one), I had my heart in my mouth most of the time on both occasions. A great popcorn movie that hits all the required action spots. And then some...
Blu-Ray
My extended edition and box-set collection
It's slowly building up (as my bank accout shrinks) but seriously, there's nothing like slipping in a blu-ray disc on a lazy Saturday afternoon and enjoying the incredible picture and sound.
CD (pop)
Adele's 21
Heart-wrenching, beatifully sung, masterly crafted, utterly memorable... I could go on and on.
CD (rock)
Foo Fighters' Wasting Light
A blistering barrage of awesome rock tunes recorded the old fashion way. Win!
Gig
Switchfoot in KL
Hated the venue (in "trendy" Jalan Ipoh, for crying out loud), but once the show started, Switchfoot proved that they could rock anytime, anywhere.
Book
My Grammar and I
The horror! A book about grammar? Really? Well, when it's as well-written and entertaining as this, I can only say that this is the book for me. Or should that be 'I'?
TV Show
Piers Morgan Tonight
Took over from Larry King, and damnit, the dude is good. Seriously, this is the kind of show I wanna do in my lifetime. Yes, do watch this space.
Vacation
Perth was precious, Gold Coast was great, but our winter sojourn in London and Paris tops it all...
App
Instagram
So simple, yet it never fails to put a smile on my face...
Gadget
Bose Headphone
Worth the money so far!
Food
Snowflake
2011's the year of the dessert for me. And this particular one, a blend of things even I can't identify, tops my list. Yum!
It was a special episode of Malaysia HariIni earlier this morning. And for a couple of different reasons too. It was the last one for the year 2011, and I simply loved the Year In Review content. We looked back at the year's most memorable events that encompassed sports, human interest stories, world and local news, as well as MHI's best moments. A job well done by the producer Izwan and team!
It was also special, in a bitter sweet manner, because we said goodbye to two of our female co-hosts, Abby & Wardina. Abby had been with the show for the past nine years, and Wardina, five. It was a pity though that Abby couldn't join in the broadcast as she had to be at SinarFM at the same time.
I first met Abby on the set of MHI in 2007. Before I joined the show as a co-host, I regularly appeared as a guest promoting mainly gua.com.my stuff. I also listened to her on the radio, and I quite like her laidback yet "gila-gila" style and personality. I also met Wardina the same way, on the set of MHI.
When I first joined the MHI family in 2010, they were warm in welcoming the newbies. I must say that it was pretty easy to develop the chemistry between Abby and I. Probably it's because we're from the same generation more or less, we could easily banter about things we had in common with. About 80s music, the Johor slang, and we constantly teased each other about our "advanced" age. It didn't take too long for us to figure out our timing and we never really got in each other's way. Simply a joy to be on-air with.
Wardina's the type who wears her heart on her sleeve and you can't help but to admire her honesty. She speaks passionately about the issues she cares about and is not afraid to show how she feels about them through her facial expressions.
It would certainly feel odd not having both of them as part of the family in 2012.
And speaking of 2012, the show will continue with five hosts: Ally, Fedtri, Nurul Syuhada, Zahan and myself. There will be some changes and add-ons to the content and everyone's basically pumped up to present a new-look MHI. So, do watch the show and hit me up with comments!
And oh yeah, there's been a lot of speculation on why both of them are no longer with MHI. I don't want to, and can't speak on their behalf, but I do know that they have other commitments lined up. But out of all the "theories" and questions posed online, including on my own timeline was whether they've been dropped because they wear the tudung. This is the most preposterous and ignorant question anyone could ask. And it doesn't even deserve a sarcastic reply from me.
Sometimes I do wonder where such people come from? Seriously, I would love to sit down one day and try to understand such mentality.
But that's for another time. Let me just end this note by thanking both Abby & Wardina for all their contributions to the show and I wish them the very best of luck!
