King of the Road KL

The day before the race, Firus and I went to collect our race packs at Sunway Pyramid, that was big and at some points, overlooked the amazing Sunway Lagoon where Justin Bieber had performed for MTV World Stage not too long ago. The collection point was full of energy, playing the latest Top 40 music and young folks doling out the goodie bags and manning the registration. There was the standard adidas stuff like apparel and their latest shoes.

When we collected our race packs, Firus got the ultimate lucky number (C3888) and the helpers made sure that he knew! The horrible fella was overjoyed and promised to frame his number tag!

 The running route was basically going up and down one of the major expressways, NPE highway. The challenge was getting there. Despite staying in a hotel that was relatively near, it was tough for a cab to bring us in the next day as the roads were being blocked. We could walk. But that would take us a good 40 mins! A good warm up but I'm not sure I had the strength to endure all that!



The next day we woke up at 5. As you can tell it's a lot earlier than I'm used to.. thus this stoned face! Strategically, we chose to take a cab and with luck, he managed to take us through the smaller roads to the residential area that was just behind the expressway.



We made walked there and it was really exciting to see the expressway signs flash stuff like- "this road will be closed for adidas king of the road" and "check Twitter for updates on the traffic situation". Very good use of social media!



As we continued walking, we were joined by runners and I went from being groggy to mildly excited. The road was huge compared to what I was used to back home. It was fantastic seeing everyone so enthusiastic, doing their stretching and warm-up jogs up and down and the highway when it was still pitch black. We did our own preparation as the crowd began to swell.



Standing behind the starting line, we heard the excited chatter of the runners, with some whipping out their cameras for pictures and others updating their facebook status. From their running attire, we spotted people from Singapore and many others from different parts of Malaysia, runners of marathons, school teams, state sportsmen all psyched and ready to go! The runners burst forth when the horn went off and there was this amazing drumming by some folks on the side, which I remember correctly, was possibly a school band. On the way back there would be a rousing group of percussionists, this time made of traditional drums and the like.



It was slightly smokey and the sky was still dark when we started, with houses lined along the side. Soon enough we hit the toll booths and it wasn't a breath-taking sight but it just struck me as utterly amazing to be able to set foot on this place normally reserved for vehicles! I thought it was funny and awesome at the same time!



Past that, the road got really wide and there was a lot of room for overtaking or running at your own pace. Being relatively out of shape and having not trained sufficiently, it took a lot of effort for me to hit the halfway mark of this 16.8km run!



On the home stretch, we were joined by runners who did the 10km race, with most of them tired out and walking. By then my legs were hurting like mad and I joined the crowd in their walk! After a cup or two of 100 Plus on the side I continued running, hobbling a bit as I finally crossed the finish line.



I confess to being ill-prepared but I enjoyed every moment of it. The crowd, the atmosphere and the sights were all fresh to me and it was great to be among everyone who fought so hard to conquer the distance and reach the end.



The majestic sight of Sunway Pyramid.



One of the cool things about this run was the different running tees that designed for the race! There were 3 for men and 3 for women so there was an amazing splash of colour as all the runners gathered at the end, taking photos and whatnot.



Firus was a good ten minutes in front of me. I really should've pushed myself harder! I was wearing the wrong shoes though so by the end of it all I couldn't wait to get my feet out of them and give them a break.



After that we, had a good meal at what I understand to be restoran kegemaran malaysia - KFC - overlooking the Sunway Lagoon. It was value for money and accompanied with a good view, possibly the best, most relaxing breakfast that I could have after the race.



Despite the pain (wow, the run really made my legs look good) I'd do it all again in a heartbeat. It was the highlight of this trip, definitely, and I've realised that this is the kind of stuff that gets me excited when I travel. It was a great experience, something "hardcore", something I'd remember for quite awhile. I'm keen to do other races overseas and when I travel in the future, I look forward to being part of something amazing, full of cheer and spirit, just like adidas' king of the road kl.

Friends from Overseas

When we stepped into the ballroom, the atmosphere was at fever pitch. And there was nothing. The event had not started but the clappers were being used with full force. There was a lot of whistling and cheering as our enthusiastic Indian workers went up on stage excitedly to take photos with the backdrop, something for them to share with their families when they went back.

It was the first time in six years that we had a Dinner and Dance and possibly the first time that all workers were invited to attend. There was so much riding on the success of this one, and it turned out to be a huge rallying call for everyone. Getting together and having a good time, the spirit of good cheer was overwhelming. For most of us, it's something we never had the chance to experience and for quite a lot of them, it must have bordered on the uncomfortable. We had a sizable crowd of PRCs, Bangladeshis, and to a smaller extent Malaysians and Filipinos but it was the Indian crowd that brought the house down with their catcalls and passion to dance. Reminded me of the Lady Gaga concert. That's the level of intensity that we had!

I loved that they really knew how to party (and thankfully nothing got out of hand). We had F1 Grid Girls and these "Desert Rose" dancers that whipped them into a frenzy. I was impressed by how well-behaved they were and laughed when a colleague told me that their supervisors had briefed them, saying that if they "anyhow touch the girls, straightaway go jail"! They were really into the music, whether it's singing or dancing, they cheered especially loud when Shakira's Waka Waka came on. There's a common denominator in there, somewhere.

My favourite part was when the Indian guys from one of our production departments took the stage during the talent competition, dancing Michael Jackson's Dangerous. Electrifying. The smoke machine went on overdrive and the lights guy gave them dizzying flashes of white light like they were in the Thriller video! Supporters rushed to the front of the stage, whipping out their camera phones to record the spectacle and the most exciting part for me, was that the performance was really good. They went on to win the competition, with prize being an $800 cash voucher and a huge-ass, ridiculously heavy trophy.

Organising the event made me aware of how insufficient my knowledge was of them, as well as the other foreign workers that make up our company. I was also struck by how much more that I could done to reach out to them in my daily work.

No doubt there's a language barrier and for me, that's always one of the most painful challenges in communication. I'm only fluent in English. When a Chinese dude comes to the HR counter and asks for help regarding his work permit/employment pass/something something, I at such a loss that I become the one who requires help! But there was a moment last night when my colleague, amid mayhem, told me that the Indians were really good at wolf-whistling. I spotted this guy standing behind me whose whistle reverberated around the huge hall and I looked at him, a little bit in awe, while saying and gesturing to my colleague over the noise that I couldn't do that, ever. The guy smiled at me, before firing off another whistle that joined the happy cheers of the rest of them.

The Dark Knight Rises

It's all about the storytelling. It's about the narrative. For me it's never about the action, about the explosions. it's about the human aspect, the emotions, the morals, the thoughts, the conflict that happens inside. 

And The Dark Knight Rises delivered. Full of conflicted characters, their imperfections took turns in the spotlight. Portrayed by a stellar cast, you had the police inspector's story - his burden of deceiving the public about the truth about Two-Face; the junior police who came from an orphanage; Batman who was thoroughly "destroyed" and went into hiding; Catwoman and her struggle to start anew; Bane, a mercenary from a dark place with a soft spot for a kid and the kid who turned out to be much more than meets the eye. It was thrilling see their fates and destinies woven together. Their steely determination made their struggle to come up on top of each other gripping to witness.

Christopher Nolan knew what was important. This movie didn't rely on marketing like The Avengers, which turned out to be nothing more than a really cliched, Power Rangers-esque flick; or the strength of it's actors (Hello Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield). It was a solid story that pulled its weight and plenty of punches, and not just literally! 

Inception was all about a dream within a dream and TDKR is kind of like that - a story within a story. The most gripping was the "fable" of the kid escaping the prison. We are taken through it via multiple story-tellers and that leap of faith was just so vivid, so insistent that I couldn't get it out of my head. It tied up the movie really well - look forward, jump without a safety net, then only you can leave the darkness, escape, start afresh. 

Which, at the end of the movie, was exactly what happened for all the good guys. 

That NDP Spirit

So we thought to start small. We've done telematches for kids. That was fun. This time round we're trying to celebrate National Day with SPD and we came up with a simple programme - singing National Day songs. When the volunteers arrived we got off to a slow start as there weren't many people. More came and we built on their momentum. My intern joined in as well! 

There were a few good singers in the group and slowly, everyone started to find their groove. I realised that it wasn't easy for people who weren't used to singing, to sing. 

Count On Me Singapore, Stand Up for Singapore, One People One Nation One Singapore and Home. So much nostalgia and so much magic to revisit these songs. I had fun singing but more importantly, it was great to see my colleagues come together, peek out of their comfort zone, and create a special atmosphere with their voices. Amazing, amazing stuff. 

The part that was of most value to me was seeing my colleagues have a laugh at each other, breaking the ice... Having fun. 

I've always thought that internal communications meant that - building a company culture, contributing to a "family", getting to know each other, getting closer to one another. I hope that comes through in my work and all I do. 

I'm looking forward to bringing our performance to SPD and possibly, brewing a bit of magic with our company spirit and the National Day celebrations.

First Anniversary

It's quite a milestone, the first year in the workforce. As with most things, I went with my gut. I didn't get a lot of offers and when I got this, I accepted it readily. I didn't know that quite a few people interviewed for my position. I just thought that ti'd be fun to do communications in a steel manufacturing company.

No, but seriously. How cool is that! 

One year on I'm pleasantly surprised that despite the travel to work, which I despise, I'm quite happy working here. I can see myself staying on for awhile. I have my fingers in quite a few pies (very me). I've nice colleagues. I've had good opportunities. I learn something new all the time, interact with new people all the time. It's good fun.

That's what I think work is, I guess. I hope I'll be inspired, that I'd enjoy doing it. Every problem is just something that needs to be dealt with and not an obstacle. The tougher the job, the greater the satisfaction. I think I'm still getting the hang of that. Despite being grateful I still complain a bit at times! Need to tone that down. But so far so good.

Many good years ahead. 

Music in the UK

I cannot describe the thrill from downloading my favourite songs from iTunes.

I've been digging out a couple of old songs from memory. In the early '00s I was obsessed with the music that was coming out of the UK. There were cheesy #1s (yes the stations were forced to play Bob The Builder when Can We Fix It? became #1) and there were epic chart battles (S Club's Reach lost to Sonique's Feels So Good, which went on to stay #1 for 3 weeks). Those were the songs of my life and truth be told, not many of my friends were in sync with the music I was in to.

I loved the distinctly British sound and character, always quirky, fun, never taking itself too seriously, yet producing some of the most wonderful voices (Gabrielle and Simply Red spring to mind). There were the amazing dance-tracks that ruled the chart, those days were DJs could be number one with epic dance tracks that spun and gained fame in the underground before exploding into mainstream consciousness (Roger Sanchez's Another Chance, Rui Da Silva's Touch Me). There were the already mainstream acts like Atomic Kitten, Blue, Kylie and Daniel Bedingfield, S Club 7, who relentless notched up hits every couple of months. The Spice Girls broke up and found #1s - Geri Halliwell's Bag It Up, Mel C's I Turn To You, Emma Bunton's What Took You So Long?. Victoria Beckham bagged a huge, huge #2 with Out Of Your Mind (I bought the physical, CD single), losing out by a small margin to Sophie Ellis-Baxtor's Groovejet!

To me there's always a bit of magic in British music. Something unexpected, something surprising. The songs on the chart don't sound much like each other - it's hard to capture in a single adjective (except those Westlife singles, for which the word would be "bleargh!").

My favourite artistes (except Britney Spears) have all come from the UK. However it took a relatively young, unknown, dramatic songstress (not you Cheryl) to blow everyone worldwide out of the water with her amazing vocals very very recently. It's about time, you know, for British music to surface to English-speaking territories far and wide instead of rolling in the deep.