A Picture A Day: Wondermilk

By accident, I wound up at Wondermilk Uptown this evening. As traffic flowed outside, I chilled on my own with some super beef and fries and a cup of cold caramel...

The Amazon Kindle Fire: Do I Need One?

Of course the thing about most stuff today is not really whether you need one, but do you, well, simply want one? In the case of the Kindle Fire, unveiled to the world just a few hours ago, it might meet both criteria for me.

So, OK. I'm really the type who's easily contented and practical. Contrary to popular belief, since I DO work in new media, I DO NOT own a kajillion gadgets and more. I DO have the following: Blackberry, HP lap top, iPad 1, iPhone and an iPod (although yeah, I have owned like four different iPods of different versions before).

See, that's hardly a kajillion gadgets. But I HAVE been tempted to splurge before on various other (android) tablets and phones. Do I really need them? Not quite. I mean, how much more time can you spend on these things? I tweet, listen to music, watch some videos, read some articles and play Need For Speed and FIFA. Cukuplah tu. Plus, all the other stuff I thought of buying have had bad reviews/comments attached to them; e.g.: Blackberry Playbook ("takde apps"), Samsung Galaxy Tab ("get something else")...

But I am convinced that the time has come for me to toy around with another tablet; the Kindle Fire.

Sure, it's wi-fi only and is smaller than the iPad in size and memory, and probably it won't be the MAIN gadget for social networking, but it's the direct connection to Amazon that has had my tongue wagging (and the price!). You know lah, in Malaysia we can't download most stuff from iTunes without the hassle of faking a US address or getting the giftcards, so I'm hoping  the Kindle Fire will be sans all that and more.

I know, I know; it's the same case with the original Kindle and our geographical location, but I do have a plan. Since I'll be going to the UK in December, gonna purchase the hardware there and set up the account as well. Score! (pls don't spoil the party by saying I still need a UK credit card etc, will figure it out lah)

Of course what I'll be looking forward to most is the massive library of movies and TV series. The Prime Instant Videos will indeed my new best friend : )

A Picture A Day: Simply Stunning

If you were out and about during rush hour this evening, you must have seen how gorgeous the sky was...

The Siemens Run 2011: 10km Of Hard Work

Yup, I did it! My first competitive 10km run (10.3km on my runkeeper app) happened yesterday and although it was a tad harder than expected, I'm more than happy that I did it only some six months after I first started running on a regular basis.

Sure, my limbs are rather aching now, but to use a well-worn cliche, no pain no gain maa...

As usual, woke up very early in the morning to psyche myself up and consume some carbs.

Got to Dataran Merdeka at around 6.20am and the place was already buzzing with some 5,000 other runners.

The weather was really good for a run, although it was quite hazy later on in the morning.

Did my warm-up and it was time to rock and roll at 7.30am sharp!

Started from the back as usual, but OK lah, I knew the pacing for the 10km was gonna be slightly slower and different.

Also had a running partner in tuansenangbesar, so we sort of paced each other.

It was an interesting route that took us past Lake Gardens and up the flyover at Hilton KL, then down to Brickfields.

The first drinking station came around the 3km mark and this is a big complaint I have against the organiser. I.e.: there was basically NO water for most of us at the 2nd and 3rd drinking stations!

Come on lah, surely you can estimate the amount of water needed for 5,000 people?! As a result, we had to go through the next 7km without a single drop of water. Boo!

That somewhat affected our pacing (haha, alasan). But OK lah, we really took our time, especially since we had to stop a couple of times to let traffic pass.

The last couple of kms were rather alright as we were also spurred on by cheerleaders, drummers and Bhangra musicians. Really!

We crossed the finish line at 1hr 31mins, and although I just missed out on my target of 90mins, it was cool to finish it at the very least. Puas hati!

Special thanks to tuansenangbesar who was running with an injured shoulder, but most important of all, we had fun (yes, including the dying of thirst bit). Onwards to the next run now!

The Siemens Run 2011: Ready To Roll!

So, as I writing this, it's less than 24 hours away from the Siemens 10km Run. I must say that I'm pretty excited. Can't wait to see how things go tomorrow.

But before that, went to Wisma OCM in KL yesterday to pick up the race kit.

Was told it was rather crowded and slow in the morning, but by the time I got there in the afternoon, it wasn't so bad at all.

And here's my race kit!

Oh yeah, I'm ready!

Undilah!

Just watched the video yesterday and it really put a smile on my face. Finally, a cool way of promoting a very important responsibility. Yes, it IS a RESPONSIBILITY that we, as the citizens of Malaysia should take seriously.

Of course, it doesn't hurt that there are some really cool people in the video as well (I won't bother mentioning those I can't stand though, haha), so my kudos goes to everyone involved.

Produced by Pete Teo, I see that both the BM and English versions have managed to rake in a respectable number of views on youtube. A good sign, really.

But the real question now is, have YOU registered to vote? The next general elections is just around the corner, and it would be a big waste if you were to miss the proverbial boat. Come on, people! It's so easy to register, and believe me, come election day, when you actually put that X in a box, the feeling will be one of great satisfaction.

What about ME, you ask? Well, I've voted more times than I can remember. Maybe four or five times, if you insist to know (yes I'm old, diamlah). Ever since I became eligible, I've never shirked my responsibility as a citizen of Malaysia. I remember even going back to JB from KL a couple of times just to vote (without being sponsored by any political party).

Which leads me to my next point. It is an unfortunate truth that there are those out there with a 1001 things to say about everything under the sun, but have yet to even register. I remember one admission by this popular (old) Sopo blogger with millions of hits that the last elections was actually his first. LO to the SER!

The malays say, "cakap je berdegar-degar, tapi habuk pun tarak". So be cool and not a fool, UNDILAH! Cos really, if you pass on the chance, you should just shut up if Malaysia doesn't go your way. Capish?

Wajah Baru MHI

As promised, we debuted the new-look Malaysia Hari Ini yesterday. Abby and I were the lucky hosts to "officiate" the spacious new set and so far the feedback has been really good. Personally, I love the purplish "Set C" where the artistes perform, as well as the new backdrop featuring a slice of Putrajaya. Check out some of the pics I managed to take during this morning's show...

Breaking The 10km Barrier

So when a couple of friends invited me to run together earlier this morning, I knew it wasn't gonna be another 5km jaunt I'm used to now. Especially when the Siemens 10km is just around the corner, it's time to step things up after the long puasa break. Must say I'm pretty nervous myself, seeing how I've never ran that far before, competitive or non-competitive.

We met up at around 6.30am, at Bukit Aman, and was told we'd be doing 6-7km at the very least. I've also heard how the route is kinda hilly and challenging, but I was definitely up for it.

I started off with a good pace, but as the first uphill challenge came, I did have to stop for a while and walk. This was after 3km.

Went back to my pace after that and I must say it was a pretty enjoyable and scenic run.

We stopped again later to wait for the rest of the posse, but then came to most challenging bit; what is called the "doublehill" at Bukit Tunku. It was tough, I must admit. But again, it was fun as well. And do check out some if the stuff I saw...

Yes yes, I'm now very much adept in tweeting and taking photos as I run : )

And before I knew it, we had passed the 10km mark which I did in 1hr 25mins. And you know what? I didn't feel like dying or anything. Haha.

In all, we did 11.5km and I felt soo good after that. Ada lah konfiden sikit nak lari minggu depan!

But of course I had to reward myself with... Tanglin nasi lemak!

A Picture A Day: Wajah Baru MHI

Yup, come Monday, MHI will present a brand new spanking set. Your comments will be much appreciated : )

Media Prima 1001 Raya

Last year's Media Prima Open House for the staff was, to me, the best one ever held. So this year's organisers really had their work cut out to top 2010's feat. And guess what? I think they might have just done it!

For one, they chose a theme never before done: "1001 Raya", which basically meant an Arabian Raya. So you can already imagine the costumes, decor and food that were gonna make the day.

Primeworks Studios were pumped up right from the start and we were determined to win, at the very least, the Best Booth prize. And so the team drew up an elaborate plan to wow the socks off the judges and the rest of Media Prima. And how they delivered!

Yours truly was given the task of being the Maharaja and this was how I looked...

Ada gaya Pak Arab tak? Haha.

I sat on the throne and was fed grapes and had dayangs fanning me...

But that wasn't all. We had dancers performing, khadams and also a couple of gracious hosts...

It was apparent from the beginning that we were the favourites to win it all. Haha.

And of course, we served some really delicious nasi mendi as well!

And I wanna say thanks to all the bosses and colleagues who dropped by! Even THAT guy in plain office wear...

Elsewhere, the festivities were in full force and there were performances by all the different departments as well as guests artistes that included Dato' Siti Nurhaliza.

The lucky draw was a big, um, draw as well, as the organisers gave out some fantastic prizes like iPad 2s, Blackberrys, refrigerators (for real!) and flight tickets to Bandung, Jakarta and Istanbul!

But the hightlight for us was of course when the winner of the Best Booth award was announced. Primeworks did it! And we took home the cash prize of RM5,000! Fuh, berbaloi baloi!

Overall, another successful and meriah Raya Open House that wasn't at all dampened by the heavy rain that poured halfway through the event!

Now, if only I can find my dayangs. Can't feed grapes to myself now, can I?

Thistle Port Dickson

The last time I set foot at this hotel, it was still called Guoman, a couple of years back. And I really liked the place, even back then. I liked the rather spacious rooms, the big pool, the food, the abundance of activities available and its location.

And all the things I liked were still there when I stayed at what is now called Thistle Port Dickson this past weekend. Of course it looks spiffier now and overall, I didn't have much to complain about. A thoroughly enjoyable and relaxing experience, it was.

So, check out some of the pics I managed to snap...