Ruth

Well, I went to Kota Kinabalu 2 weeks back, and had a damn good experience and a darn good time. Me and 4 others set off on Sunday, and came back on Friday. The goal- Conquer Mount Kinabalu. To be honest, when the idea was suggested to climb it, I did not think it was a big deal, as I did not think it was a very famous mountain. So not famous = easy task? I was so wrong.
We set off for the climb on Monday. Eventhough I thought it should be an okay climb, I was training, and so, the 1st day climbing up about 6km was ok for me. But then again, we did take a lot of breaks. Practically every sheltered area (called 'Pondok'), we rested, and ate and drank. After hiking up for about 6km, we came to our lodge, where we would spend the night with dinner provided, before waking up to set off at 2.30am for the climb to the peak.
I realised it is warmer to just keep moving, but because of the picture moment opportunities, I had to endure the freezing cold winds to keep still and smile myself silly. But it was worth it in the end. The view was breathtaking, and to know you are standing on top a mountain, just gives you that feeling of achievement and accomplishment. A contented fuzzy feeling that just makes you feel good all round.
Little did I know that it was time for the hardest and most difficult challenge- getting down the mountain. Sure, seems easy in theory AND practical. I mean, would you prefer to climb up or down the stairs given the choice? Of course 99.9% of us would choose down (Just like dettol killing germs). It is a given. But going down the mountain was different. Of course coming down was faster, but by the time I reached the bottom, my knees were screaming in pain, cos the cartiledge in my knees could not take the pounding. It did not help that it rained when we were coming down, so there was the added fear that we would slip, fall, and roll to our deaths (or fear getting a broken ankle, which feels like death!). We waited for a van to take us back, and the pain grew and I found myself unable to kneel. Not that it was too painful, but my legs just refused to bend to that extent. I feared getting up the next day, as I was not sure if my legs would be able to move when I woke, but when I did wake up, my legs were actually feeling better.
Thank goodness we had no plans on that day. Just rest and relaxation. It was a Wednesday, and lo and behold, it was Movie day! Movies going for like RM$5! It was such a good deal, and being Singaporeans, we had to take advantage! So we watched 'GI Joe' and 'The Proposal'. 2 movies in a day. I'm not going into details of the movies, but I will just say that 'The Proposal' was funny, 'GI Joe' only had action to offer.
The next day we set off for White Water Rafting- level 3 and level 4. Water was muddy, but apart from that, it was fun. Was scary when the bus was trying to go up the mountain and stalled, and started moving backwards, but we arrived safely at our destination. Took an old train to the mountain which passed by villages and kampongs. It was an experience to see and take in all this.
So overall, I thoroughly enjoyed myself, and I actually hope to do more of this in future. But I have stopped exercising since the trip and need to get in shape again. Anyway, I shall sign off here with a sign, and a question- what do you think this means?

Judges

Take time to relax especially when you don't have time for it.

My last post had this comment left by a random reader who stumbled upon my blog. She said she loved reading my post, and will keep reading my blog often. I was glad when I read that comment, knowing that someone really enjoyed reading my blog, and would visit often. I felt inspired and thought that I would write as often as I can. That was about 4 months ago. By now, I think most people would have had already decided not to come back here, seeing that I have not updated for a long long time.
My first order of business, was to take down that annoying Michael Jackson tribute that I had put up. I have not a clue what possesed me to put that up. But it is gone now. If there are still people reading this, well, now you can read in peace.
I realised I have not had a day to myself for the last few weeks. Today, I originally had 2 appointments. But both were cancelled. Which I why I have actually found time to blog. Cos I have practically been home the whole day.
I have been keeping myself very busy lately. There are a few lifestyle changes I have had to make, cos of various reasons.
Of course a lot has happened within these past few weeks, and there a lot of things to come in the following weeks as well. So much so, I am not sure where to begin.
In summary, there was the Langkawi trip, Genting trip, Jasmine's Birthday party, The Liverpool saga (very heated debate going on now), and a visit to the aged living in Toa Payoh.
And in a weeks time, I will be flying off to Kota Kinabalu. I will be going hiking up the mountain and white water rafting. So I have been training to try to get in shape to survive that trip. I will fly off on National Day itself. I think it is best I start there. Starting with National Day. Singapore celebrates National Day on August 9th. And as we near it, there is a debate going on about Liverpool having played Singapore about a week ago. First off, let me just state that I am a Liverpool supporter. When I heard that Liverpool was coming to Singapore to play, I could not care less who they were going to play against. I just wanted to watch Liverpool play their beautiful game. So I paid a whopping $88 dollars to watch them show off their stuff. I enjoyed myself, having seen the players do what they came to do, and there was the Liverpool 'You'll never walk alone' song that was played that added more to that fun atmosphere. Now, there are people asking why the National Anthem was not played, and why the supporters did not cheer for Singapore. I think I already explained why I did not cheer for Singapore. I have the advantage of seeing Singapore play whenever. But to meet and see Liverpool play over here is not as common as seeing the National Team play. So darn right I cheered for Liverpool. After all, it was a Friendly. It should not be a big deal. No one boo'ed Singapore as I recall, so what is the big hoola about it?
And on why the National Anthem was not played, seeing as it was not an International match, or a serious competition, I don't think it should be a big deal that it was not played. Why was the Liverpool anthem played? To give us an experience of hearing that anthem being played on the stadium speakers, to us. I believe the organisers were just trying to be nice and give us that Liverpool atmosphere that we listen to and watch on tv, whenever there is a Premier League game or Champions League game on.
I feel that it is unfair to 'take appropriate action' as the FAS put it, against the promoters, who I believe, had Liverpool supporters best interest at heart. I'm sure it was not their intention to belittle the Singapore team. Did they belittle Singapore? Seeing as how it was just a friendly soccer match, I do not believe they did. If the Singapore team, or other Singaporeans, are unable to take all this in the name of fun, then perhaps next time if Liverpool visit again, we should just have an S-League selection playing against Liverpool. Or even a foreign selection, so that we Liverpool supporters can truely have our dream of participating in an Anfield like environment in peace.
Well, I think I have really trailed off in this topic. So I should just end here and let Ynnib Nai leave you with some wise words of wisdom-
"Sex is like nose picking. It's fine as long as you practice it yourself, but it's disgusting watching someone else doing it."