It's all over....

Yeah!!! Once and for all... it is over and never coming back again... hahah!!

MBA is over and done with....

What better way to celebrate than a fancy setting....

A glass of bubbly.... (toast included...)

A nice dinner.....

Topped off with a yummilicious dessert of chocolate cake... *heaven*

That was how me and Elaine celebrated our new found freedom.... *bliss*

Yaay!! Results are out!!!

Finally....!!! after a month of daily checks my results for my Management Information System is finally out!!!
After such a long break from studies and exams I was real nervous as to how I would fare in the exams....
Guess what I got?
I got a score of 89/100!!! hehe!! Yaay!!! It is considered a Higher Distinction Grade... I am not gloating ya... I am just genuinely thrilled... hehe!! I am so easy to please... I am grinning ear-to-ear as if I scored a Higher Distinction for the entire MBA but it is actually only for one subject... haha!!!
Lets just keep my fingers cross that I will continue this trend throughout my whole course... I would truly be estatic if I did... but the coming module is daunting... I am now doing Maketing Management but the next one is Law for Management... sounds scary huh? I am worried... with my terrible memory.. I forsee myself doing real bad in that subject.....

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!!! ;)

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!!!

Happy Belated Birthday....

I just realized that my blog has passed it's 1 year old birthday a month plus ago...
I have actually managed to sustain this blog for so long!! haha!!
Albeit not having many readers, but it is still an achievement on its own...

Happy Birthday to my bloggy....

I am considering getting you some new clothes... u think? ;)

One Year Old!!

Today, my little copper swift turns one year old... How quick times have passed... so many sad occasions where ppll bullied him... banged into him... but so many nice memories of him zipping about town as well...

It also marks a full year of car installments for me... Being my first car, I am so proud of myself.. hehe!! The downside, still got 8 more years... Yikes!!! haha!!

Anyway.... just happy he has turned one!! Happy Birthday my Copper School Bus!!!