update please

updates coming soon. being married is rather distracting. you’ll be doing something that you usually do when you were single and then you realise that you’re married and you go attending to being married instead.  bersabar ye (ini pun kalau ada org yg masih singgah kat tempat ni). haha.

The day we get married

Today is the day we get married!

To be exact in less than 3 hours. The weather is great with blue skies and gentle wisps of clouds. I don’t feel too nervous but I reckon I’ll feel more relaxed once the formalities are over and done with.

Bapak is sorting out the baju melayus while Mama and aunties are putting their final touches on the already beautiful hantarans. Uncle Abu is probably having a last look at his speech and pantun.

As for me, I’ll just happily be a husband by lunchtime.

1 day

OK, leaving for Melaka now, will be spending the night there with the parents and aunties. Plan to do decorate the hantaran and such tonight (and will have time to bring them for ikan bakar too)

Meeting rest of family at 11.00 a.m at Seri Malaysia before heading off together to Sarah’s house. I feel calm and relaxed with a bit of agitation nagging at the side. If all goes well, insyaallah, we’ll be married tomorrow at 12 pm.

We’re getting married tomorrow……now thats one phrase you don’t say everyday. Cheers!

3 sleeps

The initial idea was to update every day or so on the countdown towards the days. Heh.  So much for that.

Been busy as the past few days, tying a couple of loose ends. Its been great though a bit tiring, running errands i.e driver duty, with my parents has allowed me to spend loads of quality time with them in the days running towards the big day.  It also allows me to get my feet wet (its pretty much drenched now) in the wedding preparation as I was away most days of the week for the past year.

Also being back in KL has allowed me to catch up with friends, have coffee sessions and also sempat layan gig jugak. Me and HK caught up with Swedish trobadour Jens Lekman at an intimate solo gig at The Annexe, Central Market yesterday. It was a great show really, just a guitar, laptop, mixer and his friend Viktor. Baritone voice, rising string samples and wry sense of humour took stage last night. The opening band, Stoned Revival was pretty tight too.

But the higlight of the night was seeing the KL indie crowd in full blast, crammed in a 12 x 3 m room; digital SLR (check), black plastic frame glasses (check), quirky fashion sense (check) and a general sense of angst on life (check). Haha but indie kids are cool (except for ade sorang mamat ni that looked like he walked out of an MCR video, dah la tak mandi) I got t-shirt props for my M. Ward shirt 3 times last night.  Now all I need to get a digital SLR to hang around my neck (tak reti pakai pun takpe).

13 days

Short update: The fiancée is discussing flowers, décor etc with the planner while I have coffee and nod enthusiastically at all the ideas. Haha. We’re at a starbucks at 1utama and after this, continuing the quest for my attire on the 14th. Hopefully the Grail will come forth soon.

And later tonight my best friend/man is getting engaged. Congrats Azmir & Farah.

Updated on iPhone.

16 days

I got 16 days
One for everytime I gone away
One for everytime I should have stayed
                                                                     -16 Days, Whiskeytown-

And so the countdown begins. You know the countdown has started when you are thinking in terms of  “this is my last insert activity as a bachelor”. It starts of with big events like birthdays, Raya and narrows down to daily activities like running, listening to mogwai, showering, eating dinner, blabla…you get the idea.

And the more it narrows down, the more real the idea of marriage is becoming. Which is definitely not a bad thing, but the dauntingness of it all can get overwhelming. It helps that you keep busy with wedding preparations since we can only keep 7 or so things in our head at one time. And trust me, you’ll have more than 7 things in your head.

 

OK, so last weekend was filled with mostly sending out invites, procuring friends’ addresses over FB, family meetings on preparation before D-Day and guest list management. The fiancée came down to KL on Sunday as she has work here for a week so we went around KL, scouring around for my attire on the 14^th. Tu pun tak finalise lagi……its ridiculous the amount they want to charge you for a shirt in which the collar is on the outside i.e. wing tip. Men’s fashion……bah,

 

This weekend, we’re meeting up with the photographers………I am really excited about this. After much shopping around and deliberation, we decided to go with The Photoz. Personally, I like their style which is a mixture of artistic and standard poses. Photos are important since your wedding album is about the only thing you can show your kids long after you start showing your age. Although, I’m still nervous on how the photos will turn out (I hate buying experience goods), but  lets hope for the best and smile a lot during the day.

 

We’re going DIY for the video though, getting snippets here and there and compiling it with a video editor. Based on my observation, wedding videos always seemed a bit too long and draggy, so it would be great to have a video with the highlights, mixed with the photos, with our favourite songs in the background.

 

Speaking of songs, I’ll leave you with this gem: 

 

“You just want to use an indie song that no one knows about”

 

The fiancée, annoyed at my reluctance to use Shania Twain’s You Got A Way for our aisle walk. We made peace later and agreed on a song (I think)

Genting Trailblazer 08: Mud

Penat lelah Genting Trailblazer baru je hilang, so boleh la blog about it. Just a short update. Haha.  The trip was excellent. Went up to Genting on Saturday evening, took about an hour to get there. Before the trip, we had our own mini urban trailblazer running around KL for the wedding; picked up the wedding invites at Legend Hotel kat PWTC, then went to Gardens to do odd errands (like the hunt for an elastic headband) and managed to score half priced Hi-Tec hiking shoes for the trailblazer (shoes were really helpful the day after), went back home to PJ, then had Sarah’s dress fitting at Bukit Bintang then went to pick up Ifran and Sabrina before finally on the road to Genting.

at the starting line

By the time we got there dah exhausted, so we had an early night after the so-so buffet dinner. Race day, woke up at 0630, got dressed and trudged to the football field for the start. Ifran & Sabrina didn’t race as they were still recovering from injury, thanks for coming anyway guys. We were in the F category (Mixed), last ones to be flagged off at 8.45. First 2 km or so was road running around the golf course, we did it relaxingly and paced well.

Then we start going into the jungle, thats where the fun began. It rained the night before so the path was muddy cam sawah padi, thank god for the off trail shoes we bought. It was fun at first going through downhills in the mud and sliding down. Then for going up you had to use the ropes provided . So yeah, it wasnt much of a run, more like hiking plus you get congestion in the middle of the hills as people are coming up.

Sarah is more sure-footed than me (I blame my height for instability) so she ran first so I tak malu sgt kalo terjatuh2 (which happened a lot). Kasut tercabut cause the mud suction was too strong, happened twice to me. But we stuck together throughout the race. We passed by stream and rivers to wash the mud from our shoes.  It was pretty much a nice albeit challenging nature trail. We were enjoying ourselves, that is until we ran out of water.

I think we ran out of water around the 8km mark, and we’ve been meeting uphill after uphills, I was tempted to drink the river water, fresh flowing from the creek (tempting gile) but decided it was not worth the risk. And one stage, we were just trudging along, mcm weng je, and muttering c’mon c’mon we can do it. Then after a seemingly never-ending flight of stairs, there it was; a WATER STATION. We drank by the gallons and soldiered on to the desert part of the course.

After the desert bit, was the fun obstacles bit which had us panjat gates, treading through mudpools and balance beams. Haha, by the time we got out they were giving out the prizes already. It took us close to 4 hours to complete the course. Really appreciated the simple things in life after that; the fried bihun we had never tasted better, the shower in the hotel room was bliss, the feel of dry clean clothes; you get the picture. We’re definitely going to be here again next year, and maybe with you as well?

ONE MORE MONTH BEFORE WEDDING!!

Road Surfing the Mizuno Wave Run 2008

I didn’t train much for this event. After the 12 km ordeal that was Klang Pacers, I had a short recovery run on Tuesday and did 10 km on the treadmill on Wednesday. That was it. Went to collect the vest and race number on Saturday morning without much fuss and went to watch Max Payne that night (seriously, whats up with the lack of good movies these days?)

 

Woke up early, had coffee with slice of bread sambil melayan internet. Got to lake gardens around 0710 and walked briskly to Padang Merbuk for the starting line. Felt sorta good but had a bit of tightness around my left calf but I was confident that it was one of those things that would go away once you start running. Weaved my way around the crowd to get closer to the starting line

 

Gun went off at 0730 and we were off, all 3100 of us, heard batches of people were stuck at the end due to the jam at the starting line but I found myself running after hitting the mat (to start the timing chip on our shoe). I love the start of runs, its just the feeling of running with your fellow man, all with one common goal, to reach the end. I always get a rush from that, oh well, whatever gets me off.

 

Because of this rush and also that we’re running around the Lake Gardens, my favourite running spot (kire home ground la) due to the calming shrubbery and fresh air, I decided (regretfully later) to up the notch on my starting speed and went quite all out during the first km or so. Pacing went out the window. Unfortunately, this rush came to an abrupt end when I saw the reason why they called this the Mizuno Wave Run.

 

Hills after hills after hills!! The first hill was OK but after that all the hills just came together in a blur. I found myself checking the road ahead, kalau nampak uphill je sure maki2 dalam hati, haha. As you would know, running uphill ni cam sial sket esp bila naik turun, naik turun. But I pushed myself though, I did not stop running, the phrase that kept me going was:

 

“The pain from running is nothing compared to the agony of quitting”

 

 

Fulamak, gile aaa, kalo tambah music Rocky, gerenti tears of inspiration dah keluar dah. This and I also had some RHCP tunes (Suck My Kiss and Give it Away in particular) in my running playlist, so I pretended I was Flea slapping away at the bass to keep me distracted and focus at the same time. Even though I have no idea how to play the bass (one or two songs boleh la, Hey – Pixies & Only In Dreams – Weezer)

 

Once dah reach the 8 km mark, I was really out of it, the marshall guy said 2 km to go, so soldier on je la, then 10 minutes later I pass a 2 km to go mark (but you said 2 km 10 minutes ago, why did you lie, whyyyyyy??). Haha, tapi lari je. To keep myself up, I do release a few odd baritone grunts or so (esp at the end), like “Ergghhh” and sometimes ade la org yang terpaksa pandang belakang sebab terperanjat. Sorry la if it was you. Had to release it

 

As we ascended downhill from Tugu Negara, I had an unexpected boost to my run. My family was waiting at the traffic light and were cheering me on, shouting my name, took me a while to realise they were there. On seeing them, I beamed from ear to ear and gave a  loud yelp (something like “Awooooytt”) and suddenly I felt a jolt of energy and raced my way to Padang Merbuk. You gotta love support energy. Thanks again to my family for coming down to the run.

 

I was out of it (mind, body, semua la) by the time I reached the finish line and I think I finished up at the women’s finishing line and the lady had to tell me 3 times that I was suppose to go to the other line (“But I haven’t gotten my number” What??”, repeat 3x, “Oh.”). Sorry la, after running you just want to get your number, instructions don’t really compute that well. I think I clocked in at 65 minutes, above my goal of <60 mins, it’s the hills I tell you.

 

gembira mendapat medal

 

 

Manage to add a 3^rd medal to my collection. I forgot the number that they gave me which supposedly indicates my position, I think it was around 500 something kot, oh well, they should release the official results from the timing chip within this week or so. Overall, its was a good run, well organized, although one point for improvement. They should let runners run through the timing mat first before sorting out the admin issues. The queue for the finish line was rather daft and defeats the purpose of having a timing chip system.

 

Next up: Genting Trailblazer…14km of luscious rainforest and brisk 20 C spring winds…. and this time I’ll have my primary support running side by side with me. Can’t wait!

stereotyping

Apakah akan terjadi apabila Lelaki Hipster nak berkahwin dengan Minah Jilbab Urban??

Only time will tell. 

Haha, we have a good laugh reading the tafsirans because some points that ring close to home. The blogger, MM, has a real keen eye on observing people and its quite amazing that he manages to nail down the details on so many subcultures exisiting in KL right now.

I would recommend his blog for reading, albeit a tad pretentious (he claims he’s what us indie kids aspire to be, as if) but his bewitching command of Malay urban prose and tatabahasa more than makes up for it.

OK….OK, exactly 8 weeks to go, not freaking out yet

Its definitely not too late to wish everyone a good ol Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri and Maaf Zahir Batin (or SHRMZB). Hope your raya was a good one. For us, Sarah went traditional and flew to Kelantan and melawat sanak-saudara in the midst of green-brown paddy fields whilst I just stayed in KL and enjoyed raya with my family in a relatively empty concrete jungle; driving in KL during celebrations is just pure bliss. Also, thanks to everyone who came over during Raya, was great catching up and thanks to mom for cooking the best nasi tomato ever.

OK, so its 8 weeks to go……..gile ko, 8 minggu lagi nak kahwin siot……

Topic I: Getting married is not all fun & games

I did the running around and getting forms for approval for us to get married. Just seems odd that we need the state’s approval to get married…….so authoritarian. You collect the form from the Shah Alam office (assuming you’re in Selangor), go for HIV test (I’m negative, alhamdullilah), then submit your form to your local Penolong Pendaftar Nikah (more affectionately known as PPN) along with other supporting docos (i.e. fotostat IC,  for him to sign then go back to Shah Alam and submit it to the office there and the desired end result is a letter that state-certifies that you are eligible to get hitched and you pass this letter to your fiancee and let her have a turn at the bureaucracy of it all.

With the date looming by so close, I do wonder, when driving/running/going to sleep, whether I am ready to get married. Bukan ape, being a husband ni is quite a daunting task with ambiguous and dynamic challenges along the way, apatah lagi nak jadi good husband tak? And I still feel like I’m 18 on somedays (kalau minum coffee best2, rase cam 16-tgh-pakai-school-uniform pun ade gak). Its also taking another role to your existing repertoire of a son, brother, grandson, nephew, friend, kaki lepak which you are still working to be good at. But at the end, I know I made the right choice so yg lain semua boleh settle la.

Lepas tu, bile tinggal dua bulan lagi, preparation sepatutnya full steam ahead la…..tu yg agak stress sikit. I think we settled most of the important stuff (with a lot of help from the families, thanks guys!) tapi ade la hantaran yg tak beli lagi (partially my fault cause I don’t know which shoe/perfume to get), baju sut tak cari lagi, baju melayu tak hantar tailor lagi (this weekend) etc. I think kene buat to-do-list besar2 pas tu tampal kat fridge kat rumah. Bile dah crossout item by item baru puas hati.

Also, we should be distributing our cards soon (Sarah dah dapat hers already, mine is coming from seberang soon), so keep an eye on your mailbox (real and virtual) pls.

Topic II: Getting married is ALL FUN & GAMES!!!

We booked our honeymoon already!!! Going to New Zealand right before New Year’s Eve and spending most of our time in the South Island, around Queenstown nye area. The plan is to go do all touristy stuff, Milford Sound, glow worm caves, nature walk etc with some action packed activities like rafting and maybe, just maybe, a 2nd jump off kawarau bridge bungee. Summer in NZ looks quite good with temps hovering around 20 and sunsetting at 2130. Spent quite sometime looking up hotels, booking internal flights and planning the trip with tripadvisor becoming a great resource.

Also in between ceremonies, we are going to cuti-cuti Malaysia in Langkawi for a couple of days, havent been to the beach in ages, so looking forward to chill out under blue skies, hearing waves and throwing in a massage or two for good measure.

Also, in our effort to get fit before marriage, me and Sarah (along with Ifran & Sab) signed up for the Genting Trailblazer which is a partner event that involves running 14km through rainforest terrain with obstacles and the promise of a mudpool at the end. Sarah is trying to incorporate some training in her busy schedule and I’ve been running after work to prepare for my other runs this month too.

Speaking of runs, ran the New Balance Klang Pacers 12km (got picture, hehe) last Sunday at Klang. Did it in 82 mins, which was higher than my targetted time of 75 mins. Didn’t go too hard cause it was my first run back after Ramadhan and I hardly trained for it either. The first 10 km was OK (65 mins acc. to my mp3 playlist), tapi last 2 km tu cam ciput je sebab tak biasa lari 12k, lagi satu, Klang bandar yg hot-as (ckp aussie), and the route was a bit unscenic cause we were running next to trucks, buses in all their exhaust glory.  I did manage to snare a smart looking finishers medal to add to my collection. Will try to post up pics soon. Next up is the Mizuno Wave Run 10 km at KL this Sunday.  

Been bugging Sarah to update blog……..mcm tak effective je.