A musical weekend....

It was a music filled weekend these past 2 days for me...
On Saturday, me and my ex-schoolmates went to watch a musical produced by my alma mater St Mary Secondary School... It has always been a long time tradition for the school to stage musicals... This time round they were ambitious enough to attempt "The Phantom of the Opera" and I was really surprised when I first heard it.. It is no simple feat to stage a musical of such scale and granduer... I was worried whether they could pull it off or not...
As I drove along the familiar roads of Taman Intan Baiduri, Selayang once again after a 10 year lapse, a sense of nostalgia ran through me... The many memories I have of my old school days...When I finally got there,we spotted a few old teachers... greeted them and talk about the good old days then got ourselves a place and waited for the musical to begin...
When it began, I was impressed with the band and the piano, organ and violin accompanyment... They were really good... but the first act was a bit of a disappointment... It was the 3rd and final day of the show and still there were synchronization problems... I know they are only high school kids but then again so were we when staged our musical... Okay, so my batch didnt but we did witness 2 muscial productions within our span of 12 schooling years in St Mary, and it was a bit of a let down because the previous shows were really really good...
Anyway, as the story got along and Christine(the lead) took to stage I was awe struck... that girl can really sing... Kudos to her, Lim WeiJien... I was really really impressed... her vocals were fantastic for someone so young... she was only 16... and she could actually hit all the high notes... It sounded semi opratic which was what was required since "Phantom" was afterall an opera... Unfortunately, I could not say the same for the rest of the cast... Some could sing, I would give them that but somehow or rather it was all wrong... I think it has to do with the fact that being it is "The Phantom of the Opera" you expect to hear the rich baritone voice of the male lead but since St Mary is an all girl school... all you get is Sopranos after Sopranos... At most the lead playing the phantom was a borderline tenor and alto... as for the rest of the supposed men, it was only altos and sopranos... This kinda killed the show from my point of view... If it was any other musical, this would not have been a big issue since the disparity of voices was not so crucial....
However all in all, I think the teachers and students did a great job... It was a difficult task to stage this particular musical but they managed it and I am so proud of them... :) Wished they chose a simpler play for their first attempt in the school's new premises but it was a job well done.... Then Sunday came and I was off to watch "Beauty & The Beast" the musical at KLCC.... How was it? Well, the lead playing Belle was really good... and the rest of the furniture were cute too... Unfortunately Gaston and The Beast were somewhat sissy-fied... haha!! for lack of a better word... seriously... at some point they were squelling... I was so tempted to shout out "Shut up!! Be a man!!!" hhahaha!! It was really odd to watch though I know they were trying to make it a bit funnier but being that this was a copy of the animation, you will tend to compare and they were much more macho in the animation... How did that happen? hahaha!! But if you ignore the squels and sissy dance steps, it was overall and enjoyable performance.. Not one of the best I have been but quite nice I must say.... I would recommend this to anyone who just wanted to enjoy a fun musical... :D Perhaps maybe my school should have organized a field trip for all the cast to attend an actual musical just so they know what is expected of them... :)

5 Star Service??!!

This happened on the same day The Star published the article about Air Asia offering compensation for any delayed flights... They wanted to be a 5 Star Service World Class Airline and they were guaranteeing their timeliness or else they would give an RM200 voucher out for any flights delayed more than 3 hours...
Ming & I was in KK after my wondrous mountain hike and subsequent holiday.... All ready to head home the next day when in the middle of the nite we received an sms saying our flight has been rescheduled from 1635 to 0055 the next day..... WHAT???!!! that is a more than 8 hours delay.... tried calling Air Asia but to no avail...
Woke up the next day... called them again... this time finally got someone to pick up... Enquired about the delay and the possibility of an earlier flight... We were told yes... there was an alternate flight at 1830 which we could get on... so we thought great... at least it was just a 2 hour delay... got ourselves to the airport at around 1430... couldnt help it..we arranged for a fren to send us and it could not be later... so we changed out flights in the airport and waited patiently... while watching a hilarious stand up comedian called Russell Peters...
Well 1630 came and we asked whether we could check in... they said yes so we checked in and got our boarding passes... met our frens whom we met during the climb Michael, James and Poh Seng in the airport with the same dilemma and solution as us... so we chatted and waited for boarding time...
1800 came and we got up to go through the custom checkpoint.... We were stopped by the officers saying our flight is not available... it has been re-scheduled to 0020... Wow... that would make a big difference from 0055... We were pissed... Why were we not informed during our check in at 1800? How is it that there is a 1930 flight and a 2020 flight which was on schedule but we get pushed back to 0020? It was just ridiculous...
We spoke to the supervisor which by the way was very rude and sarcastic... who just kept telling us the simple fact tht our flight was delayed and offered no alternate options or compensation except for the small suggestion that we take tomorrow's flight.... Some of us were working the next day and a flight at 0020 would mean an arrival at 0300 and reaching home at 0400.. how much worse could it get? After much arguments and heated discussion, the supervisor agreed to put us on the waiting list for an earlier flight which was "99% no chance of getting a place" in her own words... Wow...how encouraging.... When asked for compensation she replied... Oh, that one you need to write in with all your flight details and wait for Air Asia to reply you... hmm... sounded like that made it a hassle to hinder ppl from claiming the compensation....
So we patiently waited again.... somewhere around 2000 James went to check with the supervisor and finally there was good news... Yaay!! We had just enough space for all of us on the 2020 flight... she quickly re-arranged our luggages to the correct flight and we thanked her for her help and off we went to board the flight.... got home at about 0030 that nite....better than 0300 I suppose...
All in all I was very disappointed in how the entire situation was handled...
Firstly, if the flight was to be re-scheduled, shouldnt they consider a decent time?
Secondly, how can you re-schedule a flight which was meant to replace a re-scheduled flight? Beats the purpose right?
Thirdly, isnt all the delay in the system? If they were really sincere in the compensation, it should just be automatic and not require ppl to write in right?

It all just seems a bit ironic that this happened on the day the open declaration on timeliness came out as well... Dont ya think?

How much more uncreative can u get?

I heard this advert over the radio this morning and my first reaction when it ended was "Weird"...
It goes like this:

M: Honey, I am home!! How was your day?
W: Uuurgh... the air cond broke down, the children were fussing and dinner is burnt...
M: That's marvelous...
W: Huh?
M: I know what will solve all our problems. Let's get a T****** air cond... It now comes with a stainless steel pot!!
W: Wow! a T******* air cond and a stainless steel pot? That's wonderful!!
*forgive me if I got the script wrong but that is the gist of it....

What the ****???!!!!! Who ever thinks of such an advert... the next time I heard it, I reacted with a resounding "Ridiculous"!! It is just plain weird.... How much more uncreative or unimaginative can one get? So what was it telling you? With the new air cond you kids will not fuss and with the new pot the dinner will not get burnt? It just makes me laugh and cringe at the same time...
Is our advertising industry really so lacking?!! Or was the company so stingy they wrote their own script?
Only God knows.... hahaha!!

Alone with Kungfu Panda

I finally did it... I finally watched a movie all by myself.... always had a phobia about it... dun know why... it just seems like the most pitiful alone activity someone could do... you sit there alone in the chair with strangers all around you.... strangers who lean over to their friends and whisper... strangers who between scenes comments to their friends... strangers who burst into laughter with someone to share it with.... strangers passing food to each other...
Well, I decided last Saturday to give it a go since a few friends have assured me it wasnt as bad as it seems... Was contemplating between Kungfu Panda and The Hulk while lining up for my tickets... Kungfu Panda was full while The Hulk still had plenty of spaces...hmm.... I decided to go for something light for my first attempt at watching a movie alone.... as well as try out my friend's theory that there will always be a good seat left for a single occupant... hahah!
Walked up to the counter and asked is Kungfu Panda really full? Is there 1 ticket left? Waalah!! There was... haha!! 2 apparently but I chose the nicer more central seating one....
The experience wasnt to bad actually... I still had a good laugh although I was laughing with myself but the show was still entertaining... :) You do feel the need to control yourself from leaning over and talking coz no one is there to listen... haha!! But all in all it was decent...
Would I do it again... ?I suppose but only if I really wanna watch that show and no one is free to accompany me.... What can I say... I am a people person... I like people around me... :D

Journey to the summit.... Day 2

It was Day 2 of the climb... we were headed for the summit.... didnt sleep at all the entire nite... just kept tossing and turning.... maybe what people say about sleep avoiding you when you are too tired is true... anyway... we woke up at 0200hrs and met up with Francis at Laban Rata... Started our summit trail at 0210hrs in pitch black darkness with a temperature of 7.4 Deg.... Bbrrrrr.... cold...We has a 2.7km hike ahead of us... it was so dark that all we could see was the patch of ground right in front of us that the head torch was shining on... there were so many staircases my legs were screaming for help.... it didnt help that with the cold weather it was difficult to warm up our bodies much less hike efficiently...haha!! But hike we did.... and we also had a Kodak moment with every marker....

0220hrs

0310hrs0345 hrs

0428hrs

0455hrs

0523hrs

We has no idea how far more nor what grounds we were actually climbing on... everything was just dark... the thin air didnt help as well since we were constantly short of breath...

Finally!!! We reached the peak!! we have successfully conquered the peak!!!!! We were at Low's Peak 4095m above sea level... and the view was spectacular....

0540hrs

We got to the peak in just the nick of time to witness the breathtaking sunrise.... What a sight it was... At that point, all the tiredness of the climb just melted away as you stare with awe over how beautiful nature was.... After lingering for almost an hour while taking in the beauty and snapping our camera's happily, we headed down back to Laban Rata.... turning around, we were greeted with this....

So this was how we hiked up... while we had previously just blindly followed the rope, it was now all visible to us... The mountain top looked like it was from another planet... the groves on the planes... the textures.... it was a work of art just by itself...

We took a snack break at the base of Low's peak and was approached by a journalist from Malay Mail who was doing a piece on the climb... He was part of a group of media sponsored by Air Asia... why did he approached us? Well something caught his eyes when he saw us... or more that he saw our pack of rations still full to the brim with chocolate bars... haha!! he immediately stopped by our side as asked whether we would mind sharing some with him... share away... we were glad someone helped us out with the chocos.. I kinda bought too much... haha!!

After a short break we headed down towards Laban Rata again... the downhill walk on the slopes were really killing my knees... but there was no other way down so I endured it... we got back to Laban Rata at about 0930hrs, had breakfast and a short break and once again started our gruelling task of hiking downhill via Timpohan back to Kinabalu part...

Now this was the worst part of the entire trip... for me at least... my knees were warning me on our way down from the peak but it just totally gave way after 1km of hiking from Laban Rata downwards... after that I was in pain every single step... every km became more and more difficult... has to use 2 walking sticks to aid me... it just got from bad to worse that it came to a point where I couldnt bend my right knee anymore... a slight bend would send jolts of pain through me... It was excruciating.... at km3... Ming has to take over my backpack... So as much as I would have loved saying I conquered Mount Kinabalu all by myself carrying my own backpack (and not using a porter like most girls...) it would not have been 100% accurate since Ming came to my rescue by carrying my bag for me...

It took me an hour to finish one km and I had 6km in total... and what made it worse was that it was raining heavily off and on for 3 times... We left Laban Rata at 1028hrs and only arrived at the base at 1640hrs... It took me longer to come down than it did it go up... I even had to walk backwards the last km just to reduce the suffering....But at least I could proudly say I made it up and down all by myself... I knew I had the option of paying a porter to carry me down and end my torture which I nearly did.. I was so upset and frustrated with myself that I nearly gave up but something in me just kept telling myself that I could do this... I could and would finish it all by myself irregardless of how painful it was or how long I took... I will not give up (unlike the grown young man who relented and opted for the porter to carry him)... Call me stupid but I was just determined... Anyway you view it, I would still have completed my Mersilau-Low's Peak-Timpohon hike all by myself with Ming alongside....

Thank you Ming for carrying my bag and walking by my side every single step of the way eventhough you could have just went ahead and finished the hike so much earlier on... and thank you to Aaron for patiently waiting for me to finish my hike eventhough it was your wife's birthday... really appreciated it....

Was it worth it? Definitely yes.... Would I do it again? Not in the near future but maybe next year? Via Ferrata? We shall just have to wait and see.... ;)

*the nicer peak pictures are courtesy of Ming...

Journey to the summit..... Day 1

The day has arrived..... Finally, I was about to hike up Mount Kinabalu... woke up at 0700hrs to have our breakfast and this view greeted us... it was like a postcard of the swiss alps.... our target was clearly in sight....

Soon after we left the resort at 0800hrs to head to the start point of the Mersilau Trail.... met up with our guide Francis who claimed he could reach laban rata in 3 hours on his own time... Wow, that is impressive....
It was Friday the 13th... with that said we met our first obstacle along the way through Kundasang town...
A lorry has managed to lodge itself into the grounds horizontally across the access roads closing all possibilities of passing through to the Mersilau trail.... at that point all we could do was stare and each other and wondered was this an omen to use the Timpohon trial instead... A local suggested we use an alternative route which would take an additional 45 minutes of road travelling to get to an small slip road just after the obstruction... Aaron, our friend who volunteered to send us suggested we wait 30 mins and the road would be cleared...
It seemed quite hopeless since multiple attempts of dislodging it has failed but we waited... lo behold Aaron was right...30 mins later after 5 attempts or so it finally managed to get itself out!! Yaay!!!
So up we went towards the start point of the Mersilau Trail... collected our pack lunch and took a photo for the albums... a before shot.... it was to be an 8.2km hike right up to Laban Rata.....

"We are heading here!!!"

The first flight of stairways....

"Jeng jeng jeng... here we go.....!!!"

We kicked started our hike at 0937hrs...It started off as like any other hikes... we were tired by the first 15 mins or so... panting a little... haha!! but it was all good...

Passed the o.5km mark at 0955hrs and was still feeling fit... the pace was right...didnt think I needed to photograph the marker... it was after all just o.5km right?

We reached the 1km mark at 1012hrs... the hike was beginning to show on our faces... better take a photo to mark our journey... haha!! we decided every 0.5km was worth documenting after all....
The non stop uphill was taking its toll.... was panting hard upon reaching the 1.5km marker at 1018hrs... so far the average speed was about 14mins every 0.5km...not too shabby I suppose...
As we trudged on, the path took a downhill turn at km 1.7 which suited us fine.... actually it was more than welcomed....
We reached the 2.0km marker at 1045hrs all smiles... haha!! downhill was doing us good..... headed on towards the 2.5km marker at 1057hrs still on a downhill terrain... Ming is pretending to be tired... haha!!Checked with our guide on how long more would lady luck be on our side and we continued the downhill hike... The answer was not good.... Francis told us it will only be only km3.0 and onwards from that, it is all uphill!! Yikes....
Reached the 3.0km marker at 1110hours.. at this point we also reached a small waterfall....
It was nice to take a break and just take in the view for awhile.... appreciate mother nature's work.... After a 5 mins break it was back to our journey... Uphill this time....
Whoa.. after a km plus of downhill, this first 0.5km uphill climb was gruelling...but we reached the 3.5km marker at approximately at 1137 hours...
Another kodak moment at the 4.0km marker at 1157hrs ... Ming's leg was giving him warnings already.... time to be more careful.... to add to the situation, it started to rain as well... as if hiking was not bad enough, that rain pelting all over you while you were hiking made it worse...
We were utterly exhausted by the time we saw the 4.5km marker at 1227hrs.. so tired that Francis noticed and told us our lunch stop was just ahead of us... haha!! but the route to the lunch hut was not an easy one...The most daunting stairways of the entire hike was along this stretch... it looks like the stairways to heaven but trust me... when you are taking it, it seemed more like you were headed to hell.... At last, we arrived at the hut at 1300hrs for lunch....
What's for lunch? Mmmm... a couple of sausages (but one group had Popiah... wonder why? hmmm) a hard boil egg, a couple of cheese sandwiches and a fried chicken.... after all those hours of hiking... who cares what you are eating... it's FOOD.... took a 30 mins lunch break and got back on our feets to soldier on....
Just before approaching the 5.0km marker at 1340hrs Ming had a bad case on cramps and needed to down some salts just to reduce the cramps... Look at the pain in Ming's face.... his leg was really giving him a hard time...really admired his determination... mind over matter... it was 1405hrs and we just reached theb 5.5km marker...3 more km to go!!! went along ahead and somehow missed the 6.0km marker...haha!! Francis said we passed it at the point were I got so engrossed with taking the photos of these pots.... Finally, we managed to reach the meeting point of the Mersilau Trail and Timpohon Trail...What does this sign mean? It was then 1450hrs and we had just completed 6.2km and have 2 more km to endure and we were done for the day.... But how demotivating it was to see the next marker.....Yikes!!!4.5km?!!!!!!Why is the number reducing?What happened to 6.7km? The marker was meant for the Timpohon trail only... how unfair... Ming fell on the way to this marker and I didnt know until he told me coz I was a wee bit ahead of him... Sorry Ming... *guilt*

At 1550hrs we had 1 more km... yes!! 1 more km to go!!! Only 1!!!!! but the the road ahead was not any less merciful....Every step and turn we took lead us to a view similar to this... it was all uneven rocks and mud... Didnt help that it started to rain once again... We reached our final marker at 1615hrs.... just a little bit more.... the light at the end of the tunnel was near.... the first sign of relief came when we spotted Waras Hut... our humble abode for the nite which is just slightly below Laban Rata, the checkpoint for the day....Yess!!!! We made it... it is official... at 1651hrs we have finally made it to Laban Rata...The view of Laban Rata was surely a sight for sore eyes... we were finally there and no more climbing for the day.... we were 3272.2meters above sea level....

Temperature was a cool 10.8 Degree Celcius but we didnt feel it at all... Must have been too tired to feel any coldness... we have just hikes for the past 7 hours and 14 mins.... We had our dinner, a bath and went straight to bed... it was an early 2am morning call the next day... we will need as much energy as possible... Zzzzz......

At the top of the world...!!!!!

I did it!! I have conquered Mount Kinabalu!! Even made it for the sunrise!!! The gruelling climb was definitely worth it when you reach the peak!!

Full report when I get back to KL!!! ;)

KK here I come!!!

The day has arrived... tomorrow I will be flying to KK at 1100hrs.... shall then transfer to Kundasang and put up a nite in a hotel...
Early the next morning I shall start my hike!!! Ooooh... I am excited and scared at the same time... haha!! Did a final weigh in of my bag and it is 5kgs without water..yikes... and I didnt put much in... haiz.. now haf to consider hiring a porter.. haha!! but preferably not to la.. I would like to proudly say I conquered Mount Kinabalu with no help except for the jacket la..haha!!
Well, we shall see how then... keep my fingers cross all goes well!! :D

3 Days and counting....

The day is drawing near when I shall conquer the Kinabalu mountain...

All my bags are packed,
I'm ready to go,
I'm standing here,
Outside your door....

hehe!! I packed both my bag pack and my luggage bag already... the backpack is so stuff you can hardly put your hand in...

Blanket - checked
Pants - checked
T-shirt - checked
Hydration pack - checked
Towel - checked
Hand towels - checked
Toiletries - checked
Poncho - checked
Candy bars - checked
Beanie - checked
Scarf - checked
Plastic bags - checked
Sandals - checked
Wet tissues - checked
Jacket - checked with Ming... hehe!!
Gloves - also checked with Ming...
Head torch - checked with Ming as well...
Tripod - checked but not into my bag... haha!!

Anything I left out? quick quick..better remind me... I remember my toothbrush too!! ;)

I am getting excited...haha!! Yaay!!!

RM2.70 per litre petrol!!!!!

What the hell does the government think they are doing? RM2.70 per litre of petrol is a RM0.78 hike from the previous price... this has been the highest hike ever for any petrol price increases...
I am beginning to despise the statement "our prices are still one of the lowest in the region"... how come it doesnt also say that our salaries is also one of the lowest but our cost if living is one of the highest... they claim singapore is paying more than RM5/litre... which converts to SGD2.50 how come they dont say that in Singapore a SGD2 chicken rice can still be found... with SGD50K you can get a Honda City? With SGD5 you can get a 400ml bottle of shampoo... hey, after all these are what you spend on daily... food and daily consumables right? (not the car of course)... even clothing is cheap for them... can you actually find a decent quality piece of clothing for less than RM50? No right? but in Singapore you can...
So overall, if I were to earn SGD and spend SGD, my cost of living is low.. obviously you need to compare income value against cost of living right? not convert the SGD to RM and compare... what bullshit... Do they think we are stupid or just plain gullible... what is worse is the fantasy world they live in dictates that the fuel hike will not affect other price... I can bet from today onwards all coffee shop food will increase by RM0.50 per bowl/plate..... you think not? So if they think it is only the fuel and electricity that will increase, they are really dreaming....
I shall soon have to change jobs coz the distance and cost to work will kill me... it is not worth it to stay in the company anymore... Maybe I should move to singapore where the fuel prices are higher.. I will most probably have a more comfortable living there as compared to here while paying higher fuel cost....

Happy 3 working year anniversary....

Last Sunday, 1 June 2008 marks my 3rd year in Isuzu... although it may not sound as much to many but to me it is quite an achievement.... this is my longest lasting job. not that I job hop very often but the last one was almost 2 years only... Had dinner with Ang from IT who also joined at the same time.... we vowed that as long as we stay in Isuzu, we will continue to celebrate this date together... :) Let's see how many more is there...
As a total, I have worked for 5 years and 2 months... haiz... another 31 years and 4 months to go.. aiks!! so long more... :( waah... the government has gotta stop extending the retirement age... haha!! or else I got more years to work...
I have never foreseen myself not working til retirement... dunno why... time to really consider what else I can do ler... haha!!
Well, wish me luck!!!