Saturday Be Like

My focus in coaching took a turn on 1st February 2021 which requires for me to work on Sundays for the next one year! As a result over the last two weekends, I have been trying to maximise my Saturday by doing things I love and surround myself with people whom I enjoy their company. 

Yesterday was no different - started my day with a ride around the neighbourhood traversing the concrete jungle of Klang Valley. The hills were alive even in the wee hour of the morning! I resolved to tackle each and every single one with vigour since I have not been cycling as much due to the lockdown as well as time constraint!  

Section 16 Wall

Jalan Kelantan 

(can't run away from my beloved state even if I want to!)

Many many hills later, we headed to Canteen in BSC for my first cup of cappuccino. 

Ivy had been wanting me to host a talk on ClubHouse for a few days already but the logistics and timing was never right. After a quick conversation on Ikigai (Alfred had just finished reading a book and I had just delivered a speech about it), we figured between the two of us, we would have enough content to chat about it. That got Ivy excited and she quickly got the ball rolling. We hurried home in time for the session. Since it was the first time for all of us, we didn't know what to expect. I started the conversation to a very silent audience. Turned out they were totally engaged and some even stepped up to share their Ikigai experience. Tasha joined for the first part of it but had to leave half way for her lunch appointment. Not without leaving a little note to her mommy dearest. 

I know I will always have at least one ardent supporter in every new venture!   

The afternoon was even more exciting when Judy, Kaarthi and I met for coffee at Pokok. Toastmasters brought us together but now our lives are intertwined in more ways than we thought it would be. We chatted about everything under the sun - from Tommy Thomas to Marie Kondo to Stephen Covey for hours on end! While Judy is predictably full of entertaining life stories, I was hoping to uncover the  carefree side of Kaarthi as I was assured that it exists waiting to be unearthed! I guess we will just have to have more coffee before that reveals itself!  

Had to rush home for dinner and meet one of my athletes before calling it a day. I have not met Hao for nearly a year when we decided (according to him it was solely my decision!) that he needed to spread his wings by being exposed to training with other coaches. Apparently it is not working out for him as well as we hoped for. His mom thinks that he is sabotaging his relationship with other coaches so that he can return to the way things were. I have been coaching him for 7 years (since he was 12) and I thought a break from each other would be welcomed by him. After last night's reflection, I may need to find an extra 20 hours a week so as not to lose him as one of Malaysia's most promising athletes.  

Too exhausted to think of how, but totally fulfilled, I fell asleep with "New Amsterdam" playing in the background. Bon Soir! 

Mister Bombastic

During our Toastmasters meeting this week, Tatee texted me after I had just delivered a speech "2 Steps Forward and 1 Step Back."

Tatee: "I need to bunga-bungakan my sentences! I tend to use very straight forward simple English. Was told to use a few bombastic, descriptive words".

Me: "Oh! Kena baca lots of fiction".

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The day after, I started reading a book "Mister God, This is Anna". It is an account of a 4 year old who seemed to understand with uncanny certainty the purpose of being, the essence of feeling and the beauty of love. The following is the extract from the book. 

"The whole business of adults going to church filled Anna with suspicion. The idea of collective worship went against her sense of private conversations with Mister God. As for going to church to meet Mister God, that was preposterous. After all, if Mister God wasn't everywhere, he wasn't anywhere. For her, the churchgoing and Mister God talks had no necessary connection. 

For her, the whole thing was transparently simple. You went to church to get the message when you were very little. Once you had got it, you went out and did something about it. Religion was for doing things, not for reading about things. Once you got the message there wasn't much point in going over the same old ground. Keeping on going to church was because you hadn't got the message or didn't understand it or it was just for swank!"

And the message:

"I know to love Mister God and to love people and cats and dogs and spiders and flowers and trees - and the catalog went on - with all of me." 

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Anna's thoughts were expressed in straight forward simple English but the message has since, entrenched in my medial temporal lobes forming part of my semantic memory. I just couldn't stop thinking about it. 

Which brought me back to my advice for Tatee. 

Perhaps, in retrospect, I should have told her that it is not the bombastic words that she should be concerned about. It is far more important to focus on the usage of vocabulary that can help express ourselves and connect with others. Just what Anna had done. She and I are now connected at so many different levels with just the above passage. She had managed to get into my head and when it comes to storytelling, that is the ultimate goal!  

Fruits - Fab, Fad or Fat?

My dining table centrepiece this morning

A friend once told me that she went through 50 to 60 oranges a week and she is a family of 3! When I asked "why" instead of exclaimed "wow", she was a tad upset with me and started on a "rampage" about juicing. 

Personally, if there is a dirty word associated with fruits and vegetables, it would be JUICING.  I cannot for the life of me understand why people would waste a bag of kale or a perfectly good fruit to a blender or extractor or a juicer. More so when there are a lot of scientific researches that concluded the benefits of eating whole fruits and vegetables and none (up until September 2020) that supports juicing as better than eating them whole.  

And even when you, like most people do NOT read scientific researches, common sense should prevail. It takes at least 3-4 oranges to make a glass of juice. Imagine the amount of fructose in that! I am not just talking about the spike in the glucose level that could lead to insulin resistance and a host of diseases that come with it, but these extra calories, if not careful can easily lead to weight gain! 

Fruits - fad or fab? Well, if you are into juicing, you can certainly add fat to that burning question too! 

Serendipity Indeed!

I was at 1U looking for some books recommended by Dr. Pui San when Gim Kim texted me. 

Told her I was heading to the book store  to which she replied, "Maybe you could have a look at some of the books I have too!" 

I was already excited at the prospect of receiving and reading a book that she co-authored. Now she is offering me even more books! Of course I dropped all my other errands and rushed to her house before my afternoon training session! 

Typical of an addict who can't get enough with just one hit, I left her place with 6 additional books! A book for every 2 days of MCO 2.0! How awesome is that! 

Speaking of MCO 2.0, on the day that the government announced it, (being the optimist that I am), I told Kaarthi that the good thing about this MCO is that it will give me a chance to redeem myself at making my own bread! 

Honestly, I had no intention of doing that because now I know someone who makes fabulous sour dough! I know if I flutter my eyelashes long enough, she will bake me one! And the best part is that she lives within 10km radius from my house!  

I told Gim Kim exactly that. How Gina would text me and told me that she had sour bread in the oven and how I would shamelessly rush to her place to pick up my supply! Gim Kim just smiled at my story! 

It was only this morning that I managed to read Gim Kim's story. Turned out Gina is Gim Kim's half-sister! 

SERENDIPITY Indeed! 

   

What's Next?

During my schooling years, I had no worries in life except to do well in school, to please my parents (well…it was to avoid from being beaten up for bad grades actually), to fight for the scarce scholarship and to obtain a university placement abroad because coming from a middle income family, that was the only way I could travel overseas!

In my 20s, my only responsibility was to my employer, so, I worked hard, moved from one position to another to gain as much experience as possible with the hope that one day soon I would be at the top of the corporate ladder.  

And then I got married and had my daughter, Tasha. I was in my early 30s and the minute she came out wailing, all my other priorities seemed miniscule. But commitments had been made, so, I juggled between my family, my studies for a Masters degree and work. It was the most stressful period of my life but one that I would not trade for any others. 

It was a joy to see Tasha grow, I received my Masters degree eventually after 7 years of burning midnight oil and my career boomed.  Having been brought up to always have a goal in life, the question I asked myself then was “WHAT’S NEXT?”

The answer came without me having to look hard for it. I was 40 years young then but my bodily functions started to slow down! So, I started running because people were saying that it was the best way to burn fat but the competitive side of me took over and before I knew it, I signed up for my first race of 7.8km in Putrajaya. There was no turning back after that. I couldn’t get enough of running. They called it the Runner’s High. I was so consumed by it and started to increase my mileage progressively to 10km, 15km, 21km and 30km. Through it all, I always had my husband to accompany me on the runs and Tasha was always there as my number one support crew – she would rocktape my old joints to prevent any kind of injuries, prepared cold shower, massage and nutrition after the race, took photographs as a reminder of the suffering I went through during the race! But that was not enough to stop me. The year I turned 42, I decided to celebrate it by running a full marathon, to commemorate a km for every year I have lived. I experienced such sense of accomplishment like never before when I crossed the finishing line that it kept me running a dozen more full marathons around the world before I asked that same question again, “WHAT’S NEXT?”

The natural progression would have been ultra running of 100km and more but I felt that I needed to do something different than just running. And that was how I stumbled into triathlon. My biggest challenge was swimming because I never knew how to swim freestyle. So I took lessons and when Tasha was home on weekends, she would videotape my strokes and when asked for comments, she didn’t spare me any details. Such tough love! Just like running, I approached the sport progressively. I did a few Olympic distance races in Port Dickson, Singapore and Miri, then 70.3 (half Iron Man distance) races in Taiwan, Bintan, Phuket and Putrajaya before I decided to step up and take the ultimate challenge!

Iron Man is the ultimate distance for triathlon as is the full marathon for running. It comprises 3.8km swim, 180km bike and 42km run. It is a race of a different breed because it requires discipline in every aspect of your life – from nutrition to sleeping hours. For six months I breathe, eat and sleep triathlon. I swam 192km, ran 1301km and bike 7129km before the BIG day arrived. Tasha did her usual support crew duty the night before the race, Franco drove me to the race and stuck around until I was able to calm my nerve and went into the swim start. Everything went as planned from the swim to the bike to the run. 14 hours and 25 minutes later, I was on the red carpet heading to the finishing line. I saw Franco with tears welling in his eyes and heard Tasha shouting “I am so proud of you, mom!’ I was beaming with joy and as I stepped on the finishing line, the much-awaited announcement echoed in the air…

LINI KAZIM, you are an Iron Man.

That was just over a week ago, and now as I am writing this summary of my life, I shall let you guess what is the most frequently asked question that’s playing in my head?

The Birth of the Palestinian Tragedy

1894

A French army Captain Alfred Deyfrus, an Alsatian Jew origin, was accused of handing secret documents to the German military, was sentenced to prison for life for treason by a secret and closed trial. It was only in 1906 that his innocence was officially recognized through a decision without recourse by the Supreme Court. He was then rehabilitated and reinstated as a Major in the army.

1906
The implications of this Dreyfus Affair were numerous and affected all aspects of French public life. The affair engendered numerous antisemitic demonstrations, which in turn affected the emotions within the Jewish communities of Central and Western Europe. These led to an international movement of Zionism that supports the need for the Jews must find their own state.

1917

British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour issued a letter to a prominent British Jew, Lord Rothschild, promising Britain’s support for a Jewish home in Palestine in return for the Jewish support against the Central Powers (Germany, Austria, Hungary and Ottoman Empires). 

Known as the Balfour Declaration, the letter calls for the "establishment in Palestine of a National Home for the Jewish people . . . it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine...”

1920 - 1939

While Jewish immigration to Palestine in the 1920’s caused little alarm, the situation escalated markedly with the rise of Nazi persecution in Europe. Large numbers of European Jews flocked to Palestine, inflaming nationalist passions among all Arabs, who feared the creation of a Jewish state in which they would be the losers. Palestinian resistance erupted into a full-scale revolt which lasted from 1936-39.

1945

The crisis of Palestine reached a boiling point in the years immediately after the war. With international sympathy firmly behind the Jews in the wake of the Holocaust, Zionist leaders pressured the British to admit thousands of displaced Jews.

1947

At the same time, underground Jewish groups initiated a campaign of terrorism against the British. Washing its hands of the whole imbroglio, Britain declared in February 1947 that its mandate over Palestine would end on May 14, 1948. The matter was then addressed by the United Nations, which, after rejecting various plans, voted for the partition of Palestine in November 1947. The plan called for the partition of Palestine into an Arab state and a Jewish state, with al-Quds (Jerusalem) to be placed under UN trusteeship. More than half the territory, including the valuable coastal strip, had been allotted to the Jews, who only owned about 6% of the land. The Arabs were shocked, and conflict was inevitable.

1948

On May 14, the British terminated their mandate over Palestine, and the Jews immediately proclaimed the independence of the state of Israel. The tragedy of Palestine was born.

Astro Kampus

Vodafone 2012 - Part 3

Vodafone 2012 - Part 2

Vodafone 2012 - Part 1

Sharizan's Fly Me To The Moon (featuring Tasha Rende)

My Pride and Joy went Tagalog

CILC ELVES @ DIVALI HOLIDAYS

The good thing about having only 7 in a class is that I could easily fit half of Tasha's classmates in my living room and that's what we did today. Tasha had Faith, Eznyeta and Balqis over for a project date although I honestly dare not vouch whether they finished the project since I heard a lot more giggling than serious discussion.

After lunch of home made lasagna, the little ladies made scones for tea: Verdict on the taste was only 5/10 but the fun level was 20/10. All in all 25/20 - so kudos to all the little ladies!

The girls' first attempt at making scones

The CICL elves at work! My kitchen was spick and span after that!

The really good looking scones! They just have to work on the dough a bit more!

PIANO PRACTICE

Tasha on her promise to practise piano:

I promise I will practise piano for one hour and I will force kakak to listen to me for one full hour even if it makes her ears bleed!

sms on 27th December 2010

MY FAVOURITE THINGS

Maalox and nose drops and needles for knitting,
Walkers and handrails and new dental fittings,
Bundles of magazines tied up in string,
These are a few of my favourite things.

Cadillac's and cataracts, and hearing aids and glasses,
Polident and Fixodent and false teeth in glasses,
Pacemakers, golf carts and porches with swings,
These are a few of my favourite things..

When the pipes leak, When the bones creak,

When the knees go bad,
I simply remember my favourite things,

And then I don't feel so bad.

Hot tea and crumpets and corn pads for bunions,
No spicy hot food or food cooked with onions,
Bathrobes and heating pads and hot meals they bring,
These are a few of my favourite things.

Back pains, confused brains, and no need for sinnin',
Thin bones and fractures and hair that is thinnin',
And we won't mention our short, shrunken frames,
When we remember our favourite things.

When the joints ache, When the hips break,

When the eyes grow dim,
Then I remember the great life I've had,

And then I don't feel so bad.

TASHA'S FINAL PERFORMANCE

For 5 years, we endured the double classes before the exam, daily practices prior to the concerts or performance, the sewing of sequins and endless purchases of make ups and hair pins....

For 5 years we fought who picked her when, who would do the video and took the photos of the performance, who would do up her hair and how....

For 5 years, we cried when we saw her on stage, gracefully moving on her tippy toes...

All that came to an end this July.

Tasha was sad to leave her friends and teachers behind but let me tell you...her decision was such a relief for us.

N/B: For parents who aspire their kids to be ballerinas, think before you commit!

MELANKOLIS SANG ANAK BUAT ARWAH EMAK

Franco and I were late for this performance.
Also found this on her laptop.

(SING IBU SONG)

BERMULA DARIPADA SEGUMPAL DAGING MERAH
HINGGALAH KEPADA PEMBENTUKAN TULANG-TEMULANG
TERBENTUK DI DALAM RAHIM SEORANG INSAN
MENJADI PERANTARAMUKA
ANTARA MAKHLUK DENGAN TUHAN

SELAMAT SEJAHTERA
DARIPADA INSAN YANG SERING ALPHA
INGIN BERKONGSI NASIB
BERKONGSI CERITA
KISAH SANG ANAK YANG RINDUKAN EMAKNYA
DENGARKANLAH
SUARA HATI
BUAT EMAK
INSAN YANG TERCINTA
TERNGIANG-NGIANG DI TELINGA KAMI
KETIKA EMAK MEMANGGIL KAMI
KETIKA EMAK MENASIHATI KAMI
KETIKA EMAK MENEGUR KAMI
KETIKA EMAK MENDODOI KAMI
DAN KETIKA EMAK
MENDOAKAN KESEJAHTERAAN KAMI

MASIH SEGAR DALAM INGATAN KAMI
KETIKA EMAK BERKATA “ANAK-ANAK MAK……. EMAK TAK ADA PUSAKA UNTUK DIWARISI…. EMAK TIADA HARTA UNTUK DIBERI.
MAK HANYA MAMPU MENYEKOLAHKAN KAMU…. KERANA MAK PERCAYA HANYA ILMU SAHAJA YANG DAPAT MENGUBAH NASIB KAMU SEMUA….
JANGANLAH ANAK-ANAK MAK SIA-SIAKAN SEMUA INI…… KERANA MAK TAK HARAPANKAN APA-APA BALASAN DARIPADA KAMU SEMUA…
CUKUPLAH BAHAGIAN ANAK-ANAK EMAK DI DUNIA INI”


MACAM KAMU SEMUA EMAK KAMI CANTIK, LEMAH LEMBUT, SOPAN SANTUN BAIK BUDI PEKERTINYA


BETUL! BETUL! BETUL!
EMAK KAMI CEKAL,GIGIH, DAN PENYABAR ORANGNYA
9 BULAN 9 HARI EMAK KANDUNGKAN KAMI
TIBA MASA EMAK LAHIRKAN KAMI
EMAK JAGA KAMI
DENGAN PENUH KASIH SAYANG
EMAK SUSUKAN KAMI
DENGAN SUSU BADANNYA SENDIRI
EMAK BELAI KAMI
DENGAN KELEMBUTAN DAN KEIKHLASAN
EMAK TAK PERNAH ABAIKAN KAMI
KERANA EMAK AMAT MENYAYANGI KAMI

SAKIT, PENAT, LELAH
SEMUANYA EMAK PENDAM

EMAK…..! EMAK……! DI MANAKAH EMAK?
KAMI RINDUKAN EMAK! KAMI SAYANGKAN EMAK
MAAFKAN KAMI JIKA KAMI MALAKUKAN KESALAHAN
KAMI DAH MENYESAL KAMI MENYESAL…… EMAK!
JIKA ADA SATU HARI LAGI TIDAK AKAN BERHENTI
TANGAN INI MERANGKUL ERAT TUBUH EMAK
TIDAK AKAN BERHENTI IKHTIAR KAMI

MENCAPAI KEJAYAAN

POEM FOR MUM

Found this on Tasha's laptop, during one of my random surveillance....
(the documet is saved as POEM FOR MUM.doc)

10 years ago I was born.
My mum always told me it was
the happiest day of her life.
I wonder if she just said that because
all mums say that.

One day I was flipping through the album
of my first few pictures at the hospital.
These pictures had been taken several hours
after my mum gave birth to me.
Some of her friends were there to.

As my mum held me in her arms I
could tell from her eyes that she was about
to break down in tears.
I nearly broke down in tears when I saw
the pictures.

It was such a beautiful moment.

Now that’s how I know my mum didn’ just say
that it was the happiest day of her life.

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!!!
God Bless You

ANTERIOR TIBIAL COMPARTMENT SYNDROME

Compartment Syndrome is a condition characterised by increased intracompartmental pressure within the inelastic fascia that surrounds muscular compartments.

During strenuous exercise, increase up to 20% may occur in muscle volume and weight due to blood flow and edema. Although normal fascial compartment can accommodate increased muscular volume during strenuous exercise, in chronic exertional compartment syndrome (CECS) a noncompliant compartment leads to abnormally elevated tissue pressures.

Repeated episodes of CECS may lead to compartment fascia thickening which increasingly affects the ability to return to its normal state of yield.

University of Athens’s research confirmed correlation between long distance runners and increased risk of CECS development.

WII SPORT REVISITED

It's Tasha's birthday week and guess what she asked for....WII Game! I was quite adamant about not having this game in our household, preferring Tasha to indulge in actual outdoor activities rather than virtual ones.

Unfortunately I was not strong enough to keep to my stand. Listening to her plea and reasons, I gave way and as of 24th May 2009, Tasha is a proud owner of a WII game.

Franco spent Sunday "boxing" with Tasha and yesterday I rushed home from work just so that I can play tennis with Tasha virtually. Never would I thought that it would dictate my office hours! This game has indeed brought a new dimension into our lives.....