my weekend getaway

Abu went to Switzerland, work+jalan2+marathon+take photo. cik Julie went to Kuantan, holiday+wedding+reunion+breakfast by the beach+training. 3 days 2 nights, a marvellous weekend for me. Its semester break, and usually I’ll be staying back at campus, or prison myself at home. Not much of jalan2. But this time around, I had the perfect reason for a perfect getaway in Kuantan : my friend’s wedding. Both newly weds are my friends, 1 from school , another from uni. The groom was my high school senior way back in 1997, and the bride, my good friend when I was studying in the Kuantan campus. Introduced the couple at my birthday dinner( 2 years ago). They clicked right away! hihih.. Met a number of my school and uni friends at the wedding. Eddy, another close friend, was also there ( as a hired photographer!) 

Sampai Kuantan on Friday with Najwa (form 3 classmate), stayed at her house in Bukit Sekilau. Ye la, you all tak tau Bukit Sekilau, takpe, nak cerita jugak.. huhu.. rumah btul2 atas bukit, guest room xde kipas or air condition ! Natural air ventilation and cool wind. Tapi tengahari panas jugak. Malam menggigil coz sejuk !! left KL around 11am.  2 ½ hours drive. Lunch at this Indian restaurant opposite Kuantan megamall (Mega Curry House), highly recommended for those who savour Indian food, and eating on banana leaf. Mango lassi, briyani, yumm !! balik rumah, tido ! 6pm-7pm joined fellow Pacesetters at Taman Gelora for their regular evening run. We ran pass the golf course along Jalan Teluk Sisek, Taman Teruntum and up Tembeling, and back.(normal route) Cikgu, Ah fook, jimmy panjang,tan wah sing and other regular runners were there. William, Sharon,Jason, Azrul and Abe Din was missing in action. That nite dinner at Tanjung Lumpur(Kuantan’s seafood heaven) with Abe din, and later yam cha with my Pacesetters friends ; Ms Soh, Akin, Abe din, Pau Chen and boyfriend. And after that another round with a highschool friend.

 

cikgu Lee,me,Ah Fook @ Gelora

missJeweLz&missSoh

Akin, Pau Chen,bf,me

Next morning : lari again, this time at Bukit Pelindung. (Kuantan’s double hill. [ingat KL je ada ke?huhuhu]). Okay, for those yang tak kenal Kuantan , or wonder where Kuantan Pacesetters and runners/walkers train, Bukit Pelindung is one of the hotspots. Bukit Pelindung is adjacent to Teluk Chempedak(TC), and we usually do runs starting from TC , up Bukit Pelindung from the beach, trail running for about ½ hour or so, and down  the hill to the housing area. Basically you can start from either the housing area or the beach. After lari, had breakfast at Kemaman Kopitiam with Jimmy and Abe Din(we ran together @ Bkt Pelindung). Caught up on the old good days when I was studying in Kuantan before, and things else.

Bukit Pelindung

 

jim,julie,din

Celcom tower & nostrils

Jimmy Liew a.k.a Jimmy Panjang

cute !

oit baby, walk lah !

12 oclock : got ready for the wedding. Groom’s house dekat je.. 3 minute’s drive from Najwa’s house. Nak jalan kaki pon bley. But its like 12 0’clock.. *panas le..*We didn’t stay long at the wedding, bride&groom busy with other guests. Next stop : Kubang Buaya. Another area in Kuantan. Kidnapped my friend’s adiks, and brought them to McDonald’s Teluk Chempedak.. Treated them lunch, and after that a short stroll along the beach. By the time we got back to Najwa’s house , around 3.30pm, I was already tired.. very. Had to cancel the evening run with Jimmy Liew and a few others.. mlm dinner at Sara Thai restaurant, yam cha @ Coffee Street. Slept around 3am..damn.. 2mrw morning long run with Yong !! alamak.. how ah..

makan @ Alin+Amir’s wedding

najwa: enjoying myself !

age group :me,syera,pele,chad

 

safety first. peace!

playing mummy

Teluk Chempedak

kak Siti

 

missjewelz,siti najwa

Next morning : woke up around 6.20am.. (humm.. janji with Yong 6.30am..) but it was raining ..ahaha…takpe,pergi jugak Taman Gelora..the run was cancelled.. after that balik rumah, changed, and fetch Shamina, Nadd and Nazmi for breakfast.. Plan was to have  breakfast by the beach, on 1 of the large rocks. But since it rained earlier on(rocks slippery), we retreated to McDonalds. Hihi…fun, fun !! Nadd got engaged recently. Congrats dear !! J last year,this year and the coming year mmg ramai kawan yg bertunang, kahwin, dapat anak.. humm.. and me? Still a striving and struggling UG. And just now mom bising , the usual stuff.. increasing age, single, tak habis study lagi, I can’t tanggung you , where are going to work after this, what if you fail, bla2.. tension tau. It’s a motivation in one way, but at the same time served an unpleasant feeling and emotion. I am at my own pace, taking careful steps as not to tread and fall, setting my focus on what I’m doing, and plan what is necessary and have that optimistic attitude and outlook towards life. So when someone comes to me and ask ‘What if you fail?’, instead of  starting to feel edgy, I would most probably pity the person who posed that so-not-motivating question. There are other ways you could ask such question as to not make it so horrible. And I believe, to trigger plan B or C if plan A doesn’t work is not by asking ‘What if you fail’. It’s a psychological sin if you do that. Setting options in a more approachable manner is the best, and most acceptable. Lay options for your kids, don’t restrict their mentality and choices, let them pursue what they want to do, and not what you parents ‘feel’ and ‘know’ what’s best for them.

Damn.. I wasn’t planning to write this.. its easier letting out then letting everything decay inside right ? The toxic effect would be too hazardous and I might ‘die’ due to poisoned blood circulation and infection.

Discovering yourself is one thing, and portraying yourself is another. You are who you are, and how people see you doesn’t necessarily reflect who you really are. Get me? And for some lame reasons, some people don’t see the potential in you, sometimes underestimating you. And when you try to talk on the same ground with people of different generations and intellect (ehemm..), its kinda hard to achieve that real satisfaction and objectivity. I’ve a friend, Milly,also an undergraduate. Imagine, being told by her guardian that if she fails in her study, they will put her in Air Asia ! (stewardess what else). See that short circuit ?? Turn off betul kan..tuh la, what to do. Its not like you can change the mentality of her guardian. Setting your customized plans shouldn’t be a hassle; you can have a hierarchy of charts for you to map ‘the flow’ that goes with you. Finish study by this age, work by this age, kahwin by this age. What you want. But what about the other people around you? Other who?? Your family lah , duh ! Expectations, expectations.. This word really haunts me, and it does to a f**king extent agitates my life. It’s like you map out and walk your life according to the rules and regulations of ‘others’. Why is it so hard to live in peace AND serenity? Day by day, the stress increases, I’ve yet to finish my undergrad, (soon lah), and I’m really hoping I could pursue postgraduate studies after that, dunno, clinical psychology or sports psychology.. abroad. And after that, work ! kahwin? After postgraduate lah, insyaAllah.

I’m on a different gear, and ‘some’ people are on different gears. Some people could afford to complete their studies early,get married,have kids,work. Live life cool. Its all about options, and how you tackle those options to have a life. Time too, is another factor. The older you get, the strain adds on, like there’s no time left. Want to fart also tak sempat. When will u be done with your studies? When will you start work? where? when getting married? That’s what we call LIFE, people. You plan, and when the time comes to work that plan, you proceed. Similar to babies learning their first step, 1 by 1, step by step. Same goes to life ! I can afford a triathlon race: cross-training, regular and planned training, register for a race, pay the fee, race day; you go race girl; give it your best shot. Sleep early, wake up early also, eat a bit, then the swim leg,T1, cycle,T2,run. All accordingly. 1 by 1, not all at the same time. Transitions in life are important too. Sometimes it takes less than a split second for that transition to take place.. where? Your mind. Simplify your life and generate that crystal clear mind. Not a serabut one.I’m trying to achieve that crystal clear, and boy does it take some effort.. it does, really. You can be indulged by your worldly realm, which most of you out there are, I assume. But once in while, relax your mind a bit.. lay low and easy.

I can’t wait2finish my psychology studies. And hopefully things will brighten up a bit after that. But actually, even now my life is on track. Just need to speed up a bit. I feel I’m more optimistic of my goals despite the few setbacks which have occurred. At the same time, enjoy my life. I love my life, simply because I only have 1. not 2 or 9.  I’ve a lovely and caring family, awesome and cool friends, plus the other things which I enjoy doing.. from eating to taking part in races. Irresistible. If you can’t enjoy your life, than no one could do it for you, sorry ! So, guys&gals, enjoy !   

Friends for Life