Royal 8th Thoroughbred

Tahniah Tuan Doktor..

2011-10-02T18:30:00.000-07:00

Dear all,

Another one of us got hitched over the weekend..

In attendance: Mat Gan, Bear, Bandit, Papa, Low, Bean, Mandela, Kam, Kappy, Bai, Quek, Jampok, Bapak, Achot, Akeng, Joejo, Mawar, Mat Ten, Kong & Upiq

we expect a full report from him soon to introduce the wife, but till then, enjoy the pics:

0815hrs- "mana diaorang ni? cakap nak datang wedding aku.. fitique boy pun belum sampai!"

0830- "Bandit, hang jaga Ang Pow untuk Khadi and saksi"

0900- WE'RE HERE!!!!

0905- Low marah pasal batch trip ada seekor kambing aje.. he wants 2!

0950- RV stop at Putrajaya Toll..

1020- rombongan arrives at bride's house..

1040- Kappy, selaku ketua rombongan

1050- supporters

even kor armor datang support!!

OP Stupe, the hardest working guy on the day..
providing visual capture support...
tapi dia IronMan, so dia fit, so mampu kerja lebih..

Pilots pun support..

cheering IC.. saudara Azwan turut memberi support.

Mat Gan support dari belakang!
Siap urut belakang pengantin, kasi tenang..

lepas kasi support... makanlah!!

Ala, kalau makanan tak cukup, it's because mamat yang pakai baju putih tu..
previous pic, dia dah makan se-round, and now, beratur semula for second round...
hehehehe..

the alim (pandai mengaji) Manufacturing Director cum long distance runner,
or
the pilot cum yoga instructor cum diving instructor
Ladies, you can only choose one..

GROUP PHOTO!!

Lepas tu Komandan ajak lepak rumah dia..

Sedang menyaksikan Bai kena kutuk pasal tak confirm attendance for batch gathering!

Ramai pulak budak G Company yang turun (Bapak, Achot, Akeng, Joejo, Mawar, Mat Ten, Kong)

For the record, Upiq and Mat Kong were the last to arrive.. we attached this photo as proof that they actually came!!

TO THE BRIDE AND GROOM,
SELAMAT PENGANTIN BARU,

SEMOGA BERBAHGIA SENTIASA..

Cikgu Adnan - Road to London

2011-09-26T00:34:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Bandit, me, OP Kamarul Azhan and a bunch of people including medias went to Taman Jaya Park to send Cikgu Adnan off on his solo cycling expedition to London. He will be cycling across Thai, Laos, China, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia, Austria, Germany, France and finally England.... Wow! That is very long journey will cover about 20,000km in distance. His target is to reach London before the start of London Summer Olympic Games 2012. He said it doesn't matter slow or fast, his objective is to help increase public awareness on HIV/AIDS issues as well as raise fund for MAF and also his own personal quest for adventure. Let's wish him all the best in his mission. Doa kami semoga selamat sepanjang perjalanan.

Trip update

2011-09-07T21:30:00.000-07:00

	Shirt	Sticker	Badge	Attending
Bear		2	2	1
Mat Gan				1
Bandit	xxxl	3	4	1
Ala	s			1
Ucop	l	4	2	1
Budin		3	3	1
Jubes	l			1
Sebal				1
Nazril				1
Low		5	2	1
Jepun				1
Ron	l			1
Mandela		4	2	1
Ohm				1
Kam		1	0	1
Jampok		6	3	1
Mat Yep				1
Zam	l	2	3	1
Kappy	xxl	2	0	1
Kong				1
Joejo				1
Mat Ten	s			1
Akeng	l	4	2	1
Bapak	l	4	4	1
Achot		2	2	1
Upiq		4	2	1
Kebu	m	2	2	1
Papalatz	m
Gegek		2	2
W Jack		2	2
Over		2	2
Ezmil		2	2
Penyu	xxl	3	1
Dondeng		3	3
		62	45	27

Royal 8th's Emblem

2011-08-24T17:54:00.000-07:00

To celebrate our 25 years of our first hell /change parade / show parade/ extra drill etc etc, Ron has fine tuned Jube's design of the batch emblem, of which the design concept cam from Mat Kong.. I am indirectly saying, A, B and C Block all contributed to this design...

INTRODUCING, THE ROYAL 8th EMBLEM:

pics from batch gathering

2011-08-15T18:12:00.000-07:00

some visual reference/evidence, just in case bini ingat lu orang pergi dangdut for buka puasa... hahaha..

KITA KELUAR YOUTUBE!!

2011-08-15T18:04:00.000-07:00

Video of batch buka puasa by Mat Ten:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6P8YA8pTRRY&feature=player_embedded

Cayalah Mat Ten!!!

25th ANNIVERSARY BATCH GATHERING

2011-08-15T17:11:00.000-07:00

Venue: Rain Forest Resort (RFR), Taman Negara http://www.tamannegara-rainforest.com
http://rainforest-tamannegara.com/

Date: 29-30 October 2011

Itinerary:
Saturday
0800 Fall in @ RMC Sg Besi
0845 Depart RMC
1230 Arrival RFR (check in, lunch)
1400 Boat ride + light jungle trekking to waterfall..
1700 Back to RFR
2000 BBQ
Sunday
0800 Breakfast
0900 Canopy Walk
1230 Lunch
1330 Depart RFR
1800 Arrival Sg Besi
Cost: RM380, inclusive of lodging, food, transportation

THIS IS OFFICIAL/FORMAL/WIFE-FRIENDLY/SKIMA NOTIFICATION.

For unofficial itinerary, please refer to the updates on the batch yahoogroup and FB.. contact Bandit for more info.. 012 7760655 or azlyanwar@gmail.com

Batch Gathering Sempena OPPP Weekend

2011-07-08T01:50:00.000-07:00

Dear all,

Some scenes, courtesy of Kam, during our recent gathering..

So you can actually prove to the wife that your outing was legit.. HAHAHAHAHAHA...

OPA HOCKEY WINS LEAGUE MATCH

2011-06-09T18:17:00.000-07:00

Dear all,

The match report is taken from the OPA Facebook page, and written by OP Azizan ("Tom") (85-89H). I am sure that this piece of news is somewhat refreshing, more interesting and merrier, in comparison to the headlines of bribery and immigration :

OPA Hockey debut match in KLHA Div 4 vs Havenger : 2 - 1

It was a debut game in KLHA, very much inspired by OP Rezal H'93 Pakeeza's sponsored new outfit - Black Lotto . On behalf of all players and members of OPA Hockey ...our sincere Thank you .

Gratitude to fellow OP members who were @ d stadium to lend support, and all well wishers from OPs (in FB) prior to our debut game . Spirit and morale were high ,... evident in all coming in time for the warm ups and the 'discipline' in game trough out.

The fixture did us a favor having us playing Havengers (LaSalle Pj OB), still it was a nervous start in first ten minutes but, it was a tight discipline game as charted by OP Shazly Khan (90-94E). OP Omar Sharif (Ohm) (87-97 E) scored the 1st goal but tragedy struck soon afterwards to OP Atoy (am not sure of real name and intake ) as he had concussion after being hit by a deflected ball. Play was suspended nearly 35 minutes, and the 2 doctors playing (OP Raja Ahmad Sharul (86-90D) & OP Azmeel) were there to attend to Atoy.

OP Chai (am not sure of real name and intake )scored d 2nd fm a good lay out by OP Azril Omree Hasbullah(Bond) (87-91E) and scoreline was 2 -0 at halftime. 2nd half was a copycat from the earlier half , just that we failed to create some decent attempts. A lapse in defense allowed them to claw back with a goal and it was a nervous last 10 mins .

Still, it was a tight and discipline game to ensure a 3 points in the beg.

Percentage of S/Corner was 0/3 , and maybe OP Shazly Khan will need to improve on this. Outstanding player (my pick) was OP Bainun/ OP Azmeel, but the whole team deserved credit for the 3 points gain.

Updates on OP Atoy is that he had regained consciousness, awaiting scans and we had made all efforts to inform his family. To OP Atoy, we wish u a speedy recovery, and we would be glad to dedicate this win and the 3 points to you.

Welldone Boyz !!
-OP Tom-

As this is a batch blog, I'd like to give a GEMPUR WIRA to Royal 8ths involved:
OP Ohm (first goal scorer)
OP Bond (assisted in setting goal)
OP Upiq (team manager)

Royal 8th's 20th Anniversary Gathering

2011-06-08T02:58:00.000-07:00

Guys,

Please note that the tentative date for the Royal 8th's 20th Anniversary Gathering is 29-30 Oct 2011 (2d1n event).

Venue- Raub Pahang. Activities 4x4 off road, BBQ and 1hour stand-up comedy entertainment by Gegek. Note, due to logistical and budget constraints, there'll be NO PAINTBALL, but we'll play EJECT instead (please get Isma to come to re-live the HENTIKAN!!! incident).

It'll be a REBELLICAN ONLY event- no wives, kids, girlfriends, jambus, bibiks, drivers or secretaries please)!

And to make sure that you guys behave, Alpha Company shall be on duty, with Mat Gan as Duty SUO, Bear Duty JUO and myself as Duty Sarjan.. Ala shall be detailed to cover all religious matters. Amril shall be singing his one hit wonder "antara berjuta bintang di langit..". Ucop is still on Attend B due to his braces. Ison will be the entertainment.. oppps, I meant will be providing the entertainment.. Ilam will supply the goat, and Akai should hopefully make it (chibai.. Kalau buat gathering kat Raub and he can't make it, memang idle gila Alpha Company!!)

And if you want someone to abuse, we'll try to locate Balwinder..

We are in the midst of finalizing the costing.

Pls spread the word around. We'll keep you all posted via FB, batch mailing list and batch blog.

Inter alumni quiz

2011-02-02T18:23:00.000-08:00

Dear ALL,

The TKC OGA has requested me to publicise news of their Qudrangular Quiz Competition cum Dinner to be held as follows:

Hi guys...

Forwarding a message on behalf of the OPA Quiz Team Captain, OP Captain Abdul Aziz...

Time: 8.00 pm

Date: 09 Feb 2011 (Wed)

Venue: KL Golf & Country Club (KLGCC)

Alumnis taking part:

Sri Puteri OGA;
TKC OGA;
MOCOBA;
OPA.

Dinner cost is only RM 80.00 per pax.

Anyone interested in attending, do contact OPA Office.

Come one, come all - it'll be great FUN!

Good Luck OP Rizami Anuar

2011-01-13T02:15:00.000-08:00

Taking the right step forward.

We'd like to congratulate Rizami @ Papalats for having the courage in registering and training for the Bahrain Marathon- 21km category.

As he waits for the starting gun, we wish him all the best and 'please enjoy your run!'. We look forward to his race report soon!

Welcome to the Rebelican Runner's Running Ring "4R". Hahaha.. I just made that up.

Bandit.

Touch Rugby Report

2011-01-05T17:15:00.000-08:00

Those who attended

Well, this is not much of a report, but more of a promotion to get you guys to exercise more in 2011..

The first touch rugby session was held on 2/1/2011 at Padang Utara. The session went well.. TQ OP Lim Ee-Van @ Stupe (my race partner) for the pics!

Once your fitness level is like Kam's semua benda boleh buat, marathon, mountainbiking, rugby, futsal, hockey.. you name it, he can do it!

Yours truly in action..

Next session is on 6/2/2011, 745am Padang Utara..

Mat Jaid's TTS

2011-01-04T06:38:00.000-08:00

Welcome back Mat Jaid (beit for just a 2 week holiday).

And also welcome back Jepun, who is now based back again in UTM.

In attendance for this mini TTS:
Bandit
Bear
Ala
Cicit
Jepun
Kam
Zamri
Mat Kong
Mat Jait

Estimated next time we'll be seeing Mat Jait, in 2 years time perhaps.

TOUCH RUGBY SESSION

2010-12-28T18:52:00.000-08:00

Dear all,

There were some positive response for a call to play touch rugby at Padang Utara on 2/1/2011 from the rugby boys. We'd like to extend the invite to anyone interested. Details as below:

Time/Date: 0745-0900hrs Sunday 2/1/2011

Venue: Padang Utara

Contact person: Bandit- 012 7760655

Note # 1- don't worry about your fitness level, the OPA Rugby Team are not a fit bunch either, they managed to win the game against MCOBA a few weeks back because the Kuala Kangsar Girls decided to play in their high heels, instead of rugby boots! hahahaaa..

Note # 2- Padang Utara is easily accesible via LRT, stop at AsiaJaya Station and walk 500m (pass by Hussien Onn Eye Hospital).

Note #3- I'm off to Pertama Kompleks during lunch time to buy a pair of boots! Hahaha..

Please forward this email to your batch and othe OP related lists..

OP Azly
(87-91 Alpha)

P/S post has been updated after lunch

OP-PP

2010-12-17T07:18:00.000-08:00

Some photos during OP-PP Games last Sunday.

Only 6 of us at the OP-PP last weekend. 2 A coy, 2 E coy & 2 F coy. Kompeni lain yg tak hantar wakil semua ambik 10.

OPA BEATS MCOBA IN 2ND DIV RUGBY FINALS!

2010-12-13T00:28:00.000-08:00

I LOVE MONDAYS!

Commence quote:

"Dear OP's

Last Saturday (11/12/2010) was the final match of 2nd Division between OPA &
MCOBA. The final result was OPA Rugby 21 - MCOBA 10.

Report:
The game started at 3.30 under the hot sun. Our team was down to 2 tries from
MCOBA. But we managed to pullback one under post try from our one and only OP
Ismadi Ismail (93 C coy - OPA Rugby Team Manager).

We gathered and changed our
tactical game in the second half. We managed to get 2 tries in the second half.
FYI, all our tries were under post tries (It makes our Stand-off @ Flyhalf task
in kicking conventions easier. Hehehehehe). There was a time in the 2nd half
that we conceded up to 5 penalties in our 22 meter line. But we managed to
defend well with discipline and full effort.

Kudos to OP Rahisham @ Achot (93 C coy - OPA Rugby Captain) for leading our team in the final match.

Congratulations to all players for their effort and commitment during this
league. FYI yesterday during our annual OP-PP games, there was a prize giving
ceremony presentation and announcement on our achievement.

Cheers......
Tajul Josalmin Tajul Ariffin
OPA Rugby Vice - Captain
97-2000 B"

OPPP Itinerary

2010-12-07T20:01:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone,

The OPPP Game Itinerary is as follows (TQ OP Capt Abdul Aziz Abdullah for forwarding the details):

ATURCARA KARNIVAL SUKAN OP-PP TAHUN 2010

1. 0800-0900 - Pendaftaran: Dewan Tun Templer
2. 0800-1400 - Karnival Golf dimulakan: KGMTD
Abseiling/Repelling: Tapak Abseiling
3. 0930-1200 - Menembak M 16 dan Pistol: Lapang Sasar B Kem Sg Besi
Bola Tampar: Gelanggang Bola Tampar UPNM
Sepak Takraw: Gelanggang Sepak Takraw MTD
4. 1230-1310 - Makan Tengahari: Dewan Makan Putera
5. 1310-1400 - Sembahyang Zohor/Rehat: Surau Maktab
6. 1500-1600 - Hoki: Padang Hoki 1 RAMD
Bola Sepak: Padang Bola Sepak UPNM
7. 1615-1740 - Ragbi Padang: Ragbi UPNM
8. 1745 - TarikTali OP-PP: Padang Ragbi UPNM
9. 1800 - Penutup dan Penyampaian Hadiah: Padang Ragbi UPNM
10.1830 - Jamuan dan Bersurai
Tiupan Bugler

OPPP GAMES 2010

2010-12-06T03:37:00.000-08:00

Dear all,

Quick announcement:

OPPP GAMES for 2010 will on 12/12/2010- Sunday.

Royal 8ths are planning to be there during the evening- ie rugby time.

Hope to see you all there.

Also, OPA will be conducting a career talk for the PPs on 13/12/2010- evening. Siapa yang free, please join. I have proposed to OPA that we do small booths so that PPs can have private Q&A sessions.

Selamat Pengantin Baru!

2010-10-30T08:12:00.001-07:00

Guys, let’s wish our friend Penyu & his wife a marriage filled with love & joy. Attendees: Mat Yep & partner, WanJack & wife, Upiq, Budin & me were solo, while Bandit brought his kids along. We had good food & great time together. Do not forget another Rebellican wedding in December ;)

Adreana Zahrah bte Mohd Riza

2010-10-09T23:10:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

This is Adreana Zahrah Bte Mohd Riza, birthday 10-10-10..

My apologies for the delay in updating this.. I had problems downloading the photo to my PC.

On that note, on behalf of the Batch, Azura & Mat Gan, congrats on the arrival of Adreana..

Eryna Balqis Binti Syahrul Nizam

2010-09-20T23:03:00.000-07:00

Dear all,

This beautiful young lady is the daughter of Syahrul Nizam @ Mat Kong.

And before anyone makes any wise as remarks, let me the first to say "thank goodness she has the mother's skin and hair!"..

Mat Kong and Farah, on behalf of the Royal 8ths, congrats! Welcome to the realm of fatherhood/motherhood!

DOC'S BACK

2010-09-12T19:33:00.000-07:00

Dear all,

A quick announcement of our Doc Hisyam's @ Ala Usat's safe return from his humanitarian mission in Pakistan.

He got back on the first day of Syawal, went over to visit him and his family later that evening. Happy to report that he is physically OK.. but I guess after any humanitarian mission, one must not discount the emotional scars.. he showed me a photo of one of his patients, a toddler who was literally in a 'skin and bones' condition..

Well, Doc's next mission is the December Do..

opppsss.. did I let the cat out of the bag?

Anyway, welcome home Bro.. you've done us proud!

SELAMAT HARI RAYA

2010-09-07T18:10:00.000-07:00

Wishing all readers, KOPs, OPs and Royal 8ths:

SELAMAT HARI RAYA,

MAAF ZAHIR & BATIN..

kepada junior kami, halalkanlah grub yang kami palun,
kepada senior kami yang buruk lantak & tibai grub kami, kami halalkan.. (ironic?)

kalau ada posting yang menyinggug, kami pun nak mintak maaf,
kami ni nakal sikit, tapi tak jahat.. kena justify nama REBELLICA..

kami juga berharap Tuan/Puan semua akan selamat pulang ke kampung,
dan return trip, semasa nak balik ke bandar, kamipun harap perjalanannya selamat..

kepada geng '388', have a good break...
kepada yang buat open house, ajaklah MEMBERRRRR...

The Royal 8th Thoroughbred

Buka Puasa @ RABEKA

2010-09-05T17:28:00.000-07:00

With OP Farouk Khalid at the helm, a few of us volunteered to dedicate our upcoming run at the Penang Bridge International Marathon (PBIM) to the kids at Rumah Amal Belaian Kasih (RABEKA). In doing so, we hope to raise funds for this orphanage.

RABEKA is situated in Ukay Perdana. It has occupies 4 double storey terrace houses, to accommodate around 40-50 kids, aged 3-17.

To date, we've managed to collect over RM1k, of which (for transparency purposes) RM330 was from the Royal 8th's Buka Puasa Gathering and another RM300 from an OP in Johor. With your help, we hope to raise more..

Last Saturday, we had a simple Buka Puasa at RABEKA. We had a generous donor who gave RM1k cover the Iftar. At the children's request the menu was:

** Laksa

** Roti John (man, these kids LOVE roti john!)

** Oranges (the first thing that finished!)

** McD's fries (goes well with roti john, I guess)

** McD's strawberry sundae (the highlight of Iftar!)

Laksa, McD fries and sundae..

We also got cakes (one baked by Farouk's wife @ Puan Afniza, one sponsored by a lady at my office and another by one of the runners). Another runner donated ayam percik. An officemate donated 2 huge bottles of cordial (after hearing, that sometimes, these kids berbuka with air kosong). My boss at the office donated a hamper.. (as a show of gratitude and again, for transparency purposes, I am doing these 'shout-outs' to the donors)

Cakes + Kids = Smiles

Laksa rocks too..

But the star of the evening were the kids, and the highlight for us were their smiling faces.

Some of the kids

While these 2 guys made me smile with their cute antics,

I couldn't help but feel sad, knowing that they are without

parents or born into poverty.

Blessed be the caretakers, who gave dedication and attention

to these kids.

We hope to give you more updates on the Run 4 RABEKA project.. you can find us on FB under Run 4 RABEKA, and if you would like to know more about the RABEKA, please visit: http://www.rabeka.org/

In attendance: Farouk + Family, Jabir + Family, Bandit + sons, Kam & KOP + Family

Mr Oi's Funeral

2010-09-02T21:51:00.000-07:00

Budin and I just got back from Mr Oi Loh Kah's funeral. There were other OPs in attendance, including our Putera Sarjan Richard Boak.

There were many who came to pay their last respects, I didn't count how many,but safe to say, even if MBPJ doubled the chairs at the crematorium, there'll still be people standing!

Here's a cut & paste job in memory of the Mr Oi:

"OP Nordin Manan (70/73C):

Mr Ooi Loh Kah was one of our teachers in the 70s with a long and illustrious contribution to our Alma Mater, the Royal Military College, in the field of education and sports.
My particular memory of him was when I returned to the college in the 80s as a new golfer playing in RMC Golf Club [also known as "Kelab Golf Pi Mai" because of its rough terrain] and he was fishing for "ikan haruan" with rod and frog as bait.
I am a bit partial to haruan fishing so I asked him if I could borrow his rod and cast a few. I put down my clubs and had a go and lo and behold I caught one with my first cast!
He looked at me and said "I have been here since three o'clock and haven't caught a thing and you catch one with your first cast, so ong [Chinese for good luck] la you Nordin"
May he rest in peace and condolences to his family particularly his son OP Mark Ooi who plays his rugby for Cobra."

"OP Alan Siew (57/59E):
Allow me to add another bit to Ooi Loh Kah history.
He was trained at Brinsford Lodge Teachers College, Wolverhampton ,a year junior to me but a personal friend. He does not show any air in his posture whenever he talks with anyone, was very humble, gives his views rationally and never in an affrontal manner. The later characteristic made him many friends. We were both in the Physical Education option, and enjoyed all games whenever we went to play against other colleges and High Schools. I was very glad to know that he was sent to teach in RMC although I was sent to Kelate after we returned from England.
Rest in peace, dear friend."

But Mark Oi, his son, said it best, during the service today:

"he was a quiet man, but he was a do-er. Less talk, more action".

And from this attitude, his boys dominated MSSWP Rugby.

Thank you, Sir, for your contributions to the RMC. The old guards always talk about their 'mat salleh' teachers, but the Royal 8ths are proud to have our Pak Oi and Mak Oi!

SAFE JOURNEY DOC ALA USAT

2010-08-31T22:15:00.000-07:00

Royal 8th salutes our Muhamad Noorhisyam B Salleh Ajak @ DOC ALA USAT, who will be going on a humanitarian mission to Peshawar, Pakistan to aid the flood victims.

He will be one of the 40 doctors who volunteered under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' JV with the Malaysian Red Crescent Society. His mission will last for 7 to 10 days, departure on Friday evening, expected to come back on the first day of Raya..

A few years back, we had Razi Pahlavi B Abdul Aziz @ BOOT serving as a volunteer for the MERCY MISSION in Palestine..

May such humanitarian efforts continue.

Bro, selamat pergi, dan selamat kembali..

http://www.onlinenews.com.pk/details.php?id=167880

Mr Oi Loh Kah Passed Away

2010-08-31T21:00:00.000-07:00

This letter was emailed earlier:

Dear OPs,

I received an email from a batchmate informing me of this terrible news, and have just got off the phone with Mark Oi, to confirm the details.

Mr Oi, or Pak Oi, as he's fondly remembered, passed away earlier this morning at HUKM due to kidney failure. He has recently underwent an operation, which led to this complication.

Allow me to stroll down memory lane, and to perhaps introduce the Oi family to OPs from other generations.

The Ois were sports teachers in RMC from the 70s to the early 90s.

I'm sure many of you remember your first swimming lessons with Puan/Ma'am/Mak Oi. Coming out of the changing room at the RMC pool, wearing the swimming trunks with the gold buckles that you got from TKR. And her telling you to hold the pool ledges as you start kicking to her count 'one-two, one-two, one-two'.

The first time, as a form 1, when you awkwardly held a rugby ball, and Pak Oi telling you that you have to run forward, but the ball could only travel backwards. The Monday morning results announcements. And how many MSSWP rugby championships were won under his guidance.

The presence of Mark Oi and later his brother, whom most of us seniors couldn't remember the name, and simply call Adik Oi. Both brother were good in sports. Mark is a pilot and you can often see him bulldozing the rugby field during the OPPP Games.

I have to admit, I really felt the loss. Feeling a bit depressed.

Rest in peace, Sir.

Wake will be tonight and tomorrow at PJ. I'm planning to attend the Wake tomorrow. Funeral service will be on Friday. Will keep you posted on details.

Please forward this sad news to other RMC related email lists. Details shall also be posted on the batchblog. Www.royal8th.blogspot.com

OP Azly Anwar 87-91 Alpha

BATCH BUKA PUASA REPORT

2010-08-23T17:50:00.000-07:00

Nothing much to report actually..

In attendance:
ALPHA- Amril, Bandit, Mat Gan & Bear
BRAVO- Budin & Kitol
CHARLIE- Upat, Acun, Cicit, Gegek & Yusmal
DELTA- Low, Abeng (& tunang), Wan Jack,
EAGLE- Auk & Mandela
FOXTROT- Mat Yep, Penyu, Kam, Zamri & Bai
GOLF- Mawar, Mat Kong, Mat Ten, Achot, Joejo
HOTEL- Boot, Upiq, Kebu

Menu:
sup tulang/ekor/peruk/kambung/rusuk kambing/puyuh etc etc
rojak ayam
mee bandung
kuey teow
otak-otak
nasi lemak

Collection that shall be donated for the Run4Rabeka campaign: RM330

The photos below elaborates everything else.. an event filled with smiles and laughter.. there were some serious discussions, including a lecture from Low to Gegek on emergency landing procedure..

There were also the usual amusing one-liners, namely the Ganeswaran classic: "Roland tak lari, dia bounce!"

TQ Kam for the pics..

Batch Buka Puasa Gathering

2010-08-23T10:08:00.001-07:00

At Jalan Doraisamy on 23rd August 2010.

IFTAR @ RMC

2010-08-22T22:52:00.000-07:00

This was the first OPA function that I've attended after a few years. I make it a point to attend OPA functions when it's the AGM or if the functions are related to Puteras (RMC).

I went with OP Farouk Khalid, or to be more precise, hitched a ride. The drive down to Sg Besi was pleasant, with some minor congestions here and there.

We smiled upon arrival at Sg Besi.. it's been almost 20 years, and the town still looks the same. The same old BSN at the corner of the 'main business block'..

We parked at the Parade Square, and despite the College providing a shuttle van to ferry the OLD Puteras up to Boy's Wing, Farouk and I decide to walk up the 171 steps.

We were rewarded with a spectacular view of KL at dusk. We passed by the fully air-conditioned class rooms and canteen. We also passed by the refurbished basketball court. Refer to photos.

View from 125th step

RMC's Guard Room is reduced to this small hut, placed at the upper roundabout.

Don't tell me that you're not impressed with the basketball court.

Classrooms

We went straight to the mess as it was nearly time for Iftar. There were of course the familiar faces, OP Khiaril Annuar, OP CA, OP Amerul, OP Bustaman, OP Jamalus etc etc..

The Puteras were smartly dressed in Mosque Orders. Those with '388' military numbers were in batik (yellow for Form 4, greenish for Form 5) and kurtas. All OPs were appropriately dressed (thank goodness nobody was 'idle' enough to wear slippers into the mess).

Azan came. Iftar was simply dates + karipap + kuih gulung. Then off to Maghrib prayers. Dinner followed: nasi minyak + ayam masak merah + acar + dalcha..

I was a bit frustrated with regards to the quality of the food served... the food didn't taste anything like the nasi minyak we had in the late 80s. The food served was tastier.. cukup garam, cukup perisa.. it wasn't the mess food that I was craving.. what happened to the ayam keras, sayur layu, nasi ketul and watery dhal that I was fed with between 87-91?
Well, that's progress for you.

After dinner, it was Isya' + terawikh.. followed by pulut + pengat durian with the Puteras for moreh.. then the OPs had a private session of roti canai and teh tarik..I got home at about 12pm.. TQ Farouk to driving.

OK.. here are the college updates (took time to speak to Puteras and Staffs):

1) Commandant Company is ALPHA.. and for 2010, ALPHA is in the lead!

2) From the outside, the college look good.. which makes me wonder, why are we moving to the new venue again?

3) Ohhh.. perhaps the answer to #2 is the water issue.. and that evening, those praying rellied on a military mobile water unit for wuduk..

4) Food was improving.. and yes, you may agrue that food was 'upgraded' because the OPs were visiting.. but back in the 80s, even if the OPs came, the food was still as tasteless as any other day! hahahaaaa

5) We no longer have Company Commandant.. instead they are called OC Company. But functionally, they are the same.. I just got a bit confused on the matter because I had 3 OCs on my table..

6) The Puteras were asked to recite Asma Al Husna after the end of moreh. But then things went corny.. they made the Boys sing Inilah Barisan Kita.. WWWHHHYYYY? Why not sing Berkhidmat Memimpin? Sorry, but the song selection, was in my books, just corny.. whoever gave the orders, 'dude, that was just lame...'. the only person getting excited over Inilah Barisan Kita was OP Tajul, the Alumni Rugby's vice captain (to each his own, i guess)

7) Puteras' welfare were well taken care off. Form 5 gets RM100 allowance, with only 10% deducted for Annual Dinner. Unlike in the 80s, allowances were cut for the graduation ring, blazer, mess rations etc etc.. back then, we had less allowance and more cuts..

OK that's it from me..

Bandit

OPA BUKA PUASA

2010-08-16T01:33:00.000-07:00

FORWADING ON BEHALF OF OPA:

As a change, the OPA Berbuka Puasa will be held at The Royal Military College, Sungei Besi on FRIDAY, 20th August 2010 together with the Puteras.

We have not done this before and the Commandant has been kind enough to entertain our request. Please inform the Secretariat of your attendance for catering purposes before Wednesday,18th August 2010 by email or sms me at 0123993125.

The best part of this will be the Morei-Teh Tarik session after the Solat Terawikh.
The dress code willl have to be adhered to, i.e. Baju Melayu/Smart.

Please spread the news to all your yahoogroups either by email or sms. It is getting costly with the new stamp charges of 60 sen to post by Pos Malaysia to all 2000 over members.

We hope that the turnout will be inspiring to the Puteras.

OP Azudin O Fuad
Executive Secretary

CORRECTION- BATCH BUKA PUASA

2010-08-15T23:47:00.000-07:00

Dear all,

Due to many having to balik kampung, berbuka dgn in-laws etc etc..

Batch Buka Puasa shall be at Doraisamy Soup (near Dang Wangi Station)..

Details as below:

TIME/DATE: 1845hrs- Monday 23 August

VENUE: Doraisamy

I take it as a JANTAN ONLY session??

See you there and please pass the word around..

TQ

Congrats Abeng

2010-08-13T01:32:00.001-07:00

That's it.. Delta Company boys are all hitched (OK lah.. Abeng is semi-hitched)..

CONGRATS BRO..

NOTIFICATION- BATCH BUKA PUASA

2010-07-19T02:57:00.000-07:00

Dear all,

Batch buka puasa is scheduled on the SECOND SATURDAY OF RAMADHAN.

VENUE- to be confirmed...

Just booking the date in advance...

Please spread the word to the rest..

Thank you.

JIN BERTANDANG..

2010-07-12T17:00:00.000-07:00

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BACK IN BUSINESS BABY!!

2010-07-12T16:56:00.001-07:00

It's been some time since the last update... in fact, it's been almost half a year..

well, it's time to get active again...

ALL BOYS... FALL IN!!!!

Another one Bites The dust!

2010-02-14T06:24:00.000-08:00

Asalamualaikum,

I hope you are in the best of health and enjoying your long Chinese New Year weekend. Chinese New year coincided with Valentine's day, or in some people's case (mine included)it is also known as the Single's appreciation Day.

Anyhow, I celebrated my New Year with my batch mates whom were born in the year of the tiger.( I'm a rabbit...born a year later)

One of our tiger decided to get married on this day.

Hasnizam Hashim or OP Ilam is one of the more quieter fella among us and it was a wonderful surprise when we were invited for his wedding. A soft spoken and rather unassuming guy, he was one of the last few of the batch mates from my RMC class who has yet to tie the knot.

We were all happy and pleased with him.

Speaking of pleased and knot, some of my batch mates weren't too happy when they got to know about my situation.

I got the usual tongue lashing and the usual "I told you so", "She was always going to screw you up man...." and I thought that I thoroughly deserved it.

Serve me right for falling in love with a married woman!

Another long story...

My batch mates wanted me to be back on my feet right now and get my life sorted out. They want the old ironman doc and the hard partying skirt chasing guy to be back on his feet. I guess I have been neglecting and ignoring my friends lately.

I am sorry fellas.

I am sorry nenek (mum) and Atuk for the one year heart ache that I have caused.

To Awah and Atiyah, you don't have to worry about calling auntie mummy anytime soon.

She has moved to Johor and we won't be seeing her.

Yes Awah, I miss her too.

Warm regards.

Doc

Check out this link for photos

KL International Marathon 2009

2009-07-05T09:39:00.001-07:00

There are 6 OPs in this photo. Can you identify them?

Half marathon participants - Joejo

Full marathon participants - Ala, Bandit, Budin & me

It was Budin's first marathon. Now he is a marathoner! Well done bro!

OP-PP Games 2009

2009-07-05T09:36:00.000-07:00

Tak meriah mcm dulu la..... where were other Rebellicans?

Xterra Malaysia 2009

2009-07-05T09:24:00.000-07:00

Some pix from Xterra Malaysia race in Kuantan last month. Xterra is off-road duathlon with swim 1.5km, mtb 30km & trail run 10km. 5 rebellicans involved in the race. 3 of us bean, upiq & myself did the race while bandit worked as a volunteer and budin was a "registered" participant... whatever it means, u gotta ask budin himself :P

ARE YOU READY FOR THE WEEKEND?!!

2009-02-22T16:24:00.001-08:00

Yes... I know its Monday, but this weekend is gonna be an exciting weekend for the Royal 8th..

Reason number 1:
BIG gathering at Mat Kong's wedding reception.. As it's G Coy's last man(bachelor) standing, let's get G Coy to head the 'Rombongan Rebellica ke Jemputan Kenduri".. Ahmad Kengkang, Achot, Joejo.. Jalankan Tugas!!

Reason Number 2:
Royal 8ths in Langkawi! Yessir.. Ala Usat, Bean and Kam will be doing the IronMan this weekend.. FYI this is the MOTHER of all endurance sports.. these guys will start with a 4km swim at kuah jetty (translated 1.5 to 2 hours of swimming) .. they'll then hop on their bikes for a 180km ride (that's over 7 hrs of cycling).. and by the end of the day, a 42 km run! they start at 7am, and they should cross the finishing line between 10 to 11 pm!

This is Kam's first IronMan.. This is Bean's 3rd(beat that!!).. and the last I heard, Ala Usat is suffering from a shoulder injury!..

We'd also like to wish OPs(OP AJ, OP Sofiyan, OP Ee-Van) and Kawan OPs (the guys from leTuang, Ish, Arif, Senn, Rashid Robo etc..etc..) a safe and smooth IronMan..

let's wish all our MACHO MEN the best for this weekend:
1) Mat Kong- you can do itttttttt!
2) G Coy guys(to organize the convoy)- you can do itttt tooo!
3) IronMan hopefuls- you can do itttttt! you can do itttt alll night longggggg!

Will report more upon my return from Langkawi- Bandit going as supporter! wooohooooooo!!

Jemputan Kahwin

2009-02-15T17:04:00.000-08:00

Dear all,

But this time, you may have realized that there are a handful of kenduris left for us to attend, unless (ahem) if some of us decided to 'add' another one.. yup, after these handful gets married, the next time we meet will be at the weddings of our children..

Back to the subject, please be informed that all Royal 8th and family are invited to attend the reception on Mat Kong's side..

Date:: 28 Feb 2009 2:00 petang

Venue: Dewan Seri Perkasa, Masjid Al-Imam Ash-Shafie, Taman Maluri

RV point: Kat masjid pukul 1.50pm..

Kam, Ala and Bandit have already attended the Akad Nikah.. and it's confirmed- PERKAHWINAN SAH!! (don't tell me you don't trust an SUO (Kam), a Doctor (Ala) and the most handsome guy in the batch (aku-lah!!)).. we were invited for the Akad Nikah because we won't be joining you on 28 Feb- will be in Langkawi for IronMan (Kam, Ala and Bean taking part)..

Wasalam..

Selamat Pengantin Baru Mat Kong!

2009-02-15T06:25:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Mat Kong & his bride Pn. Farah! Semoga berkekalan hingga ke akhir hayat.

For full WRITTEN report, please go to: http://opdochisyam.blogspot.com/

If you are too lazy to click above link, below is the report taken from Ala's blog:

Dear all,

Hope you are doing well.

Last Sunday me, Bandit, Kam, OP Stupes and wife Aileen attended Mat Kong’s ‘nikah’ ceremony. The reason why we went for this event and not the reception next week is that we would be away in Langkawi during that weekend. Anyway, let us just say that another one of us has bitten the dust.

The nikah ceremony was held at the bride’s family home at a posh part of PJ. I can imagine why Kong did not want it to be held in a mosque as I would imagine the ‘heat’ would be too much to handle. I also think that he wanted people like Bandit and I to feel comfortable enough to attend it.

I am proud to admit that since I came back from India in 1998, I have never missed on any of our batch mates wedding when I’m invited, except for Bean’s. Sorry Bean. I’m sad to say that some of our batch mates doesn’t seem to make the effort to attend our batch mates wedding or other family events when invited. As far as I know only doctors and pilots like Bean work during weekends. If you are living in Terengganu or Sarikei Sarawak then perhaps it is excusable. But if you are residing in Damansara or Keramat and you can’t make it in the Klang Valley for your own batch mates, then bloody shameful on you mate!

We were a little bit late and by the time we arrived the ceremony was already in progress but we could not come in as it was already full of people inside the house.

Luckily they had a PA system put on so that we could listen to what’s going on inside.

The Imam was giving the taqliq, reminding Mat Kong to treat the mrs with respect, not to leave her for 4 months at a stretch without giving the nafkah, etc etc.. I was listening to the sermon with great intent outside, just in case you know.

Since we could not come in, we had to peek inside the house via the window to take a picture of Mat kong. I think the weather was warm and they forgot to switch on the fan as I could make out Mat Kong sweating inside. The strange thing was, all the other people looked cool and comfortable inside.

Anyway, it was one of the few times that I can honestly say Mat Kong as being dashing and handsome. In fact this may be the last time I’m going to say it. The bride, Farah look beautiful in her wedding dress. Mat Kong sure is a lucky guy.

We wish them all the best for the future.

Having said this, we were wondering outside why his shoes were facing outwards when other people were facing inwards towards the house? Was it just in case a quick getaway was needed ? Just in case Farah’s dad ‘tidak merestui’ the marriage? Or worse still was it just in case Kong got cold feet? Need not worry as I was properly attired to take over if needed.

In the end, my services were not required. Mat Kong did not run away. The bride’s dad did not change his mind.

The Nikah went smoothly. Even Mat kong did the ‘Lafaz’ at one go!

Bandit, Stupes and I almost cheered outside the house.

Lunch was served and they played some Alleycats songs. Songs that Mat kong would chose at the Karaoke like Sekuntum Mawar Merah and songs that I would chose like Seribu Bintang.

I asked Farah after the reception if I could still take Kong out for a late night’s out now that he is married. With a forced smile on her face, she said yes.

I suppose someone got his first tongue lashing from the wife that night.

Or I could be wrong.

Anyway, here’s to a long and happy life together!

Congaratulations once again!

Warm Regards

Doc Ala Usat

PS: Pending for biting the dust: Ilam, Jason, Yusmal, abeng, Roland, Katun, amin and mat jaid

Pending list (special category): Mat yep, Kam and Ala usat

2009-02-03T02:13:00.000-08:00

Dear all,

After 11 days of being away, finally news from Boot himself:

"All of the team members have been evacuated safely and now back in Cairo. Inside Gaza, we have passed the acute phase of the emergency medical need and we are now going for rehabilitation phase on the primary health care centre (PHC). The focus is on reconstructing the damaged infrastructure of the PHCs and to come up with some programmes on capacity building for the local medical personnel.

You have heard about the latest military escalation there and yes we experienced some missiles and drone bomb detonations that rattled our base. But the emotional and mental state of the team members are still very very strong. We will wait and see whats gonna happen after the 5th of February. Should calm arise.. we will go in again to continue our job.

Other than that all of us are very much happy working here. We even celebrated the Gong Xi Fa Chai with our Chinese colleagues.. but no firecrackers only real explosions.. and had a good time...

Thank you very much for all of the kinds words and encouragements. Believe me all these are the only strength that we have to keep our working mojo up and to uphold our mental state steady..

Till then take care and be strong!!!!

Regards,

Boot"

So.. it seems that the mission is going well.. stage one DONE!

We really hope that with the current aggression, the team won't go back to stage one again. Ashame to have the Israelis "Un-Do" the brilliant job that the team has done! However, the local news report states minimum human casualties. We hope it stays that way..

For those interested, there'll be a FORUM ON PALESTINE at Crown Plaza Mutiara Hotel on Thursday 5/2/09- it's a whole day event.. please go to www.criminalisewar.com

Entrance Fee (at the door) is rm50- all proceeds go to the War Victims in Gaza..

God be with you, to protect and guide..

Royal 8th in Gazza update

2009-02-02T21:49:00.000-08:00

Dear all,

after almost 10 days of no news, here's an update from NST:

KUALA LUMPUR, Mon:

The Mercy Malaysia medical team in Gaza has been evacuated from the war-torn city amidst fears of renewed attacks by Israel. The non-governmental organisation (NGO) said its team of six doctors safely crossed the Rafah border into Egypt at 8pm.

“The call to evacuate came at the behest of the Malaysian Embassy in Cairo,” Mercy said in a statement.

Executive council member Norazam Abu Samah said they will standby in Egypt to await further instructions from Mercy’s headquarters in Malaysia and will go back into Gaza to continue their work when the situation improves.

“In the course of our work, we do not wish to put our volunteers and staff in harm’s way,” he said.

The team, which had been stationed in Gaza since Jan 27, was tasked with implementing sustainable primary, reproductive and mental health programmes.
Norazam said he and Mercy volunteer Razi Pahlavi Abdul Aziz would be heading to Egypt to plan the organisation’s next move.

“We are monitoring the situation very closely and should be able to come up with a concrete plan of action soon,” he said.

So, bottom line- he's safe! And though the team is facing some hurdles, they are now re-strategizing their next move!

A Royal 8th in Gazza

2009-01-22T21:26:00.000-08:00

On January the 20th, an email arrived at my inbox..

The email was simply titled "The Mission", it came from one of my Royal 8th brothers.. extract of the email reads..

"...I will be going to Rafah and maybe entering Gazzah soon... and will be there for about 15 days.. Job scope.. to establish and setup a proper medical disaster relief operation (field hospital) and logistic for the following missions... ...Honestly, though I've been in so many international humanitarian disaster missions... but this one I ada rasa nervous and frankly a bit takut.. But the heart is there already... ...BUT Just in case if anything happen or I couldnt make it back to KL... I mintak maaf banyak banyak kalau ada salah and silap..."
My stomach churned!

I instantly remember the poem line that was recited during a Choral Speaking Competition back in 1990 :

Into the mouth of hell, Into the jaws of death, Rode the six hundred..

I sat and wondered, he has everything.. a good job, a loving family, comfortable house.. why risk it all? why go to a country that is undergoing a 'fragile ceasefire'? The Israelis could attack anytime.. And during the previous session, they don't give a damn about what gets hits.. UN building, civilians, children.. why risk it all?

I diplomatically called him a HERO.. and posted to the email groups that I am in, telling everyone of his sacrifice.. but being a fool I am, I still could not understand WHY WOULD HE RISK IT ALL...

My question was answered when one of the guys who read my mail wrote:

"we are really very proud of you. Don't be scared. Allah have chosen you for this duty and certainly only who knows what is best for us all. perform your duty with sincerity for only Allah's sake and you would reap the handsome rewards in the world after"..

I now understand.. It was FAITH! It was his CALLING!

It then all adds up.. it was fated that would be chosen.. everything happens for a reason.. as he was the best person that MERCY feels in leading the mission.. the call was made on him.. the duties on his shoulders.. and as a Muslim, Malaysian as a HUMAN.. he answered the call, the responsibility, the trust and the faith put upon him..

And in turn, he gave trust and faith to GOD, for the strength to lead, for the clarity of heart and mind to execute his duties, for the safety of him and his team, for the success of the mission..

I now understand...

OP Razi Pahlavi Abdul Aziz @ Boot, I now understand why you risked it all..

And I know that you are not the sort of person who likes this kind of publicity.. but:
1) Upiq, Kam, Ala and I have volunteered to the task of maintaining the batch's chronicthis is part of the batch's history.
2) the likes of Mat Jaid in US, Papa & Bull in the middle east, Mahin in Mexico and Kums in UK would like to know the batch's happenings..
3) This is not just a dedication to you, but also to those who have contributed to 'devloping' you as a person. To your mom and dad, your wife and family, your teachers and educators (the likes of Cikgu Adnan, Capt Ambi, Lt Fauziah, Mej Manaf, Capt Sahar, Capt Yusoff, Capt Hassan, Miss Goh, Miss Shobha, Cikgu Ismail, Cikgu Hairul (HABASH), Pak & Mak Ooi, Col Ghani, PW1 Ibrahim, Stap Rani, Stap Muniandy.. ). Congrats parents/family and teachers.. this is the fruit of your labour.

Anyway, my dear brother- selamat pergi, selamat kembali.. we like the rest of those who know you offer our prayers for the safety of you and your team, and well as the successful completion of your mission..

l

Farewell Gathering for Mahindra

2009-01-09T20:18:00.001-08:00

Gathering Malam Esok

2009-01-07T17:50:00.000-08:00

Dear all,

Mahindra is back in town.. FYI, he's currently a pilot for Korean Air, is currently on leave, PRIOR to leaving Korean Air to fly small planes in MEXICO.. He now wants to be a dive master cum dive instructor cum tourist guide cum sea-plane pilot... FYI he is also a qualified Yoga instructor and an avid rock climber...

A simple gathering is planned to welcome back our Brother before he embarks on his next adventure:

Venue: NZ Corner- Wangsa Maju

Date/ Time: 9 Jan 09.. Friday.. 2130hrs

OPA SATURDAY TALKS

2009-01-07T17:44:00.000-08:00

Dear all,

please make effort to attend this initiative from the OPA:

Date: Saturday 17th January 2009.

Commencing Time : 10.30 hrs.

Venue : OPA Penthouse.

Topic : " How to survive when you are down "

Audience : All OPs , OP's wives , OPs Children.

Call OPA Office to confirm your attendance: 03-78591924 or 03-78463110

OP Abdul Wahab Jaafar Sidek, Ex-F Company, '64 - '67 was OPA Honorary Treasurer for 16 years and has been a strong supporter of the OPA. He feels strongly about helping other OPs and this is his way of making his contribution.

OP Wahab will relate his experiences over the past 25 years from a practicing Chartered Accountant to Entreprenuer and later on serving the Country in his last job with the Minority Shareholder Watchdog Group.

ROYAL 8TH BABIES

2009-01-07T17:40:00.000-08:00

Dear all,

Please join me in congratulating Mazli 'Mandela' & Fil, and Rafiq 'Upiq' & Yom for their latest additions.. ANOTHER BOY for Mandela.. and a BABY GIRL for Upiq..

Tahniah to all..

CNY suggestion

2008-12-25T19:17:00.001-08:00

Guys,

it's been awhile since the last time we met for makan2.

We normally stage a Puasa-Raya theme get together, how about if we meet for CNY plak?

Kulup, would like to host the event?

Let's go Jungle Bashing

2008-11-23T21:30:00.000-08:00

Dear all...

As you know, I'm a hopeless romantic.. there's many things I miss about my carefree days in Sg Besi.. When waking up at 0600 was a norm rather then chore, eat as much as you can without the fear of gaining inches, a running 2km was actually a sprint.. yup when you're in that shape, life was indeed, carefree..

Anyway, wouldn't it be cool if we could re-live an element of those days.. remember the fun we had when we went for compass marching and jungle trekking.. and those road runs during annual camp! (yes, i am be sarcastic- hoping that reverse psychology would work on you!)

here's my sales pitch..

LETS GO JUNGLE BASHING IN JERAI..

it's simple really-
....leave KL on 19 Dec (Friday)
.... there'll be 4 of us in the car
.... camp fire at pantai murni
.... sleep under the stars
.... Saturday morning, we enter this competition (4 pax per team)
.... we're suppose to run/jog/walk/crawl 42 km
.... in the jungle
.... one of our check points will the PEAK of Gunung Jerai
.... we have to do it within 10 hours
.... we go home

Entrance fee- rm100 per team!

common guys.. it's gonna be fun! I've convinced one of our juniors to set up a team for his batch.. let's set up a team for the Royal 8ths..

any takers?

Total distance: Approximately 40 kilometers

The race will be divided into 2 categories:

Open category team of 4 persons, male or female, will cover the complete distance of 42 kilometers.
• You must be at least 18 years old at time of registration

REGISTRATION & RACE DATE AND TIME

1.	Registration is open from 8.00 am to 5.00 pm on Friday 19 December 2008 at Pantai Murni, district of Yan, Kedah
2.	The race for the adult category, will start at 7.30 am on Saturday 20 December, 2008 at Pantai Murni, Yan, Kedah.
3.	The race for the students category, will start at 8.30 am on Saturday 20 December, 2008 at Pantai Murni, Yan, Kedah.
4.	There will be no late entries at registration or on race day.
5.	On the day of the meet, a substitution can be made for medical reasons only. The team must provide a letter from a doctor indicating the name of the sick or injured runner, the medical reason, and the name of the substitute runner. No additional entries can be made on race day
6.	All entry fees must be submitted to us before 7th December 2008.
7.	All race bib numbers, goodies bag, t-shirts, confirmation of participation letters will be picked up during registration. There will be no collection and distribution of these items during race day.
8.	MAXIMUM TIME of the race is 10 hours

An Evening with Jepun

2008-11-22T18:08:00.000-08:00

Dear all,

IR Jepun is back in town.. we're meeting up tonite at NZ Corner, Wangsa Maju, 2030hrs.

So far, there's 10 who said they'll be coming..

Regards

We're still here..

2008-11-16T05:48:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone..

A quick note to inform you that we're still here... we're still ALIVE.. however, there has been little group events.. hence minimal postings were made..

Speaking of group events, 2 'minor' events include- POWERMAN LUMUT.. Bean and Kam were scheduled to due the FULL POWERMAN- 11km run, 60km bike and 10km run.. however, Kam had severe food poisoning (muntah etc).. hence only Bean managed to qualify.. the Big Boys (Upiq, Boot, Budin and myself) were committed to do the Half distance.. Budin burnt out (having to climb Kinabalu for his office a few days before Lumut), and Boot was sent on an overseas assignment by his office (periuk nasi kena jaga).. so only Upiq and I crossed the finishing line..

The other event was the Penang Bridge Run(marathon).. Doc Hisyam and Kam went- both completed sub 6 hours, hence achieving Merits for the run.. ok.. translated into layman's term, go on the treadmill, pace yourself at 6km p/hr.. and do it for 6 hours!

Don't foresee any major events coming up till the year end.. most of us will be busy with the school holidays, finishing annual leave, family weddings, Raya Haji, Christmas break etc, etc..

Anyway- hope it's not too late to wish our Hindu friends a happy Deepavali, especially to Kums and Gegek.. I know Gegek (like on any weekend break) would head north to Taiping..

That all for now..

SELAMAT HARI RAYA

2008-09-28T17:11:00.000-07:00

UCAPAN SELAMAT HARI RAYA DARI KAMI, KAUM ROYAL 8th...SEMOGA TERHIBUR HATI KETIKA ORANG YANG TERSAYANG...

MAAFKAN SEGALA SALAH SILAP, TERMASUK APA-APA YANG TER-FLICK, TER-KIBAU, TER-KENA HELL SEMASA KAT CWG PUTERA DULU....

KITA BERJUMPA SEMULA SELEPAS RAYA.... BANYAK AKTIVITI YANG DI-PLANKAN..

Old Song

2008-09-23T18:44:00.000-07:00

Trip down memory lane.. SP ACUNUNUKS sang it as Melati, and the rest of us prefer to use Sejati... (TQ SP CLEO UPATRA FOR THE PICS)..

Sejati
Itu yang kau ucapkan
Bila janji kugenggam
Bawah pohon kemboja
Yang sekecil kita

Menanti
Di mahligai mainan
Kita bina bersama
Dari dahan yang rapuh

Usia perangkap kita
Remaja kita tinggalkan
Namun aku masih
Menggenggam janji

Tinggal kenangan
Gagal segala impian
Tinggal bertanya
Erti sejati

Kenangan itu
Hanya mainan bagimu
Tinggal bertanya
Erti sejati
Yang telah engkau janjikan dulu

Guess who became the RMAF fighter pilot, the MAS pilot, Saudi Air pilot and the Helicopter pilot.. Guess who is with AG's Chambers and who is with Shell Petrochem?

Genting Royal8

2008-09-15T22:56:00.000-07:00

Taking the cue from Bandit, the Genting adventure was dominated by the rebellicans.

Stage 1 - Genting Sempah to Goh Tong Jaya.. approx 10km
Stage 2 - Goh Tong Jaya to Genting Highlands... approx 11km

Bandit may have covered most of the stories and i would just like to add some spices.

I was told taht this year the event attracted the biggest turnout ever. Approx 30-odd nutheads young and old, male and females, came for the event. The option lies on the person to bike, run, walk, crawl, roll etc. One guy even ran down to completed a chilly marathon.

I have to salute the first timers who'd braved the challenge when many of us who'd have preferred to sleep rather than torturing oneself late into the wee morning.

Kam the 2009 Ironman-trainee ran up while the rest opted for a stroll in the dark. I heard he had cramps just before reaching the top but just thinking about him running up the steep terrain sent shivers to anybody's spine. Cayalu...

Boot had initially planned to stop at Goh Tong Jaya but eventually pulled himself up and completed the whole distance albeit muscle cramps and mental pain but armed with a bucket full of determination.

Budin who'd stopped at Goh Tong Jaya, caught up with us on the way up in the support car and maybe he just got inspired looking at us walking in pain decided to walk the rest of the journey. He got cramped inside the last km but managed to complete the challenge with a mighty courage.

Bandit - the pioneer, the one who started all these adventure craze among Rebellicans reached Goh Tong Jaya with renewed spirits and rejuvenated. He then took the role of a support car to ensure the rest of us reach the top safely.

Ala came a bit late and had to race to Goh Tong Jaya. From there he tracked back downhill in search of us and kept cycling up and down tirelessly. For once i felt safe seeing him around knowing if there's any incident, we have Dr to rescue us back to life.

Bean the twice Ironman came a bit late too but completed the walk with ease. Probably not enough challenge for someone as fit as him. He maybe the only Rebellicans who hasnt morphed into plus size since RMC days.

The most suprising of all was Zam the sailorman. He'd volunteered to be the Rebellicans support car crew; an equally important role for the night adventure. Seeing him waiting for us by each blazing corner give us motivation that we have watchful eyes covering our arses should there be any mishaps along the way.

All in all, we had a blast from the past. Terasa cam jalan lasak masa camping dulu minus the celoreng, M-16 and spike boots. tired like hell, torture like shit but satisfied as a moon.

Bandit upon reaching Goh Tong Jaya. Happy giler.

Budin kat starbucks Genting Highlands.

Boot and Zam chilling out with hot coffee.

Rebellicans. Bean was still walking.

March up to Genting

2008-09-15T20:39:00.000-07:00

OK.. seems like the posting on the batch list is a bit stale, considering that everyone’s who went for the Run/Walk/Cycle up to Genting had already written about it in their private blogs.

Cut story short, the following went up to Genting last weekend (mode of getting up in brackets):

1) Doc ‘Ala’ Hisyam (cycled his way up) blog report: http://opdochisyam.blogspot.com/

2) Bandit (crawled, drove, cycled and ate his way up)

3) Budin (marched)

4) Mat Lebet ‘Bean’ (strolled)

5) Zamri (marched)

6) Kam (RAN)blog report: http://kasturie.blogspot.com/

7) Upiq (marched)

8) Boot (marched)

We also had OP Stupe, OP AJ, OP Shazly and 3 handfuls of the leTuang gang going up! In fact there was this one guy, Yip, who ran up and down Genting!

There’s nothing much to write about, except that we had fun.. it was BLOODY COLD.. Kam and Zam suffered from cramps but still managed to march on.. Upiq showed ZERO pain as he marched.. Boot went up at good speed.. we're quite impressed by his fitness level.. doing the full 178km on the second stage of the interstate, and almost running up to Genting.. the guy's improving.. Doc was simply tooooo happy to see the guys taking part... there’s a few going again this weekend.. but for most of the Royal 8ths, we’ll most likely being doing it next year..

Fancy pics from Kam's blog page. Wahhh our friend sudah ada awek sit on his lap! hebat.. hebat..

Budin & Bean.. back view and front view.. note of how much Budin was sweating.. Yeahhh Malaysia Sihat!

Arrival @ Genting.. chap sitting with arms stretched is Yusran.. the birthday boy.. what a way to celebrate another year of aging- run up Genting

OP AJ, OP Shazly, IM Ishal and OP Stupe. Bandit opting for another mode of getting up to Genting

View from the top... 6 of the 8.. Kam, Ala, Upiq, Budin, Boot and Bandit (Zam pergi Kuchil-tak tahan sejuk, Bean still strolling up.. tak larat, pasal masa berbuka makan banyak sangat)

Welcome back Zam.. FYI Zam no longer sails.. he's grounded for good..next on his list is buying a bike!

Royal 8ths would like to thank the leTuang gang for organizing such acivities..

INSYAALLAH, NEXT YEAR, THERE'LL BE MORE JOINING..

GATHERING FOR 13

2008-09-11T17:36:00.000-07:00

"Mr Darah Manis" - Mat Gan.. Opppss.. I meant Mat Kong

Yesterday we had a small gathering at NZ Corner Wangsa Maju.

In attendance:
1) Bear
2) Mat Gan
3) Bandit
4) Mick Stone
5) Papalatz
6) Wan Jack
7) Bean
8) Faiz
9) Kam
10) Zamri
11) Mat Kong
12) Joejo
13) Boot

Met up at 2215hrs (and everyone was PUNCTUAL!).. left at 0130hrs!

Check out Zam's hand gesture..

Total damage: 32 glasses of teh tarik, teh o ais limau, limau panas, nescafe etc.. half box of Taiwanese Moon Cake and Korean Biscuits (thanks to Mat Kong).. 60 sticks of satay.. 2 roti telur and 1 roti canai (ironic isn't it, Mick, whose been overseas for so long, earning ex-pat salary, living ex-pat life style, comes home and craves the humble roti canai..).

Today, Ala, Upiq, Boot, Kam, Bean, Zamri and I will be marching up to Genting at 2200hrs.. RV at 2130hrs at Genting Sempah..

Pics posted is a bit crappy.. sorry, our usual photographer (Kam) tak bawak camera, so I took the pics (on life lah Alpha Company)

Our Guest of Honour- Papalatzs

MAT KONG.... Congrats..!!

2008-09-09T18:53:00.000-07:00

Majlis Pertunangan Mat Kong dan gefren nya

The celebrated stud. Senyum habisss..

The lady who'd won Mat Kong's heart.

The arduous negotation process.

AMIN. Selamat semua.

(Mat Kong, lesen besar ko blum dapat tau? Keep it ringan2 jer.)

AUDAX

2008-09-08T17:42:00.000-07:00

holla me hombres..

el feedback from the Interstate ride: VERY POSITIVO..

and almost every one is itching for another AUDAX (refer to wikipedia for long winded definition: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audax_(cycling) )..

el plan: start on Saturday.. arrive at destination in the afternoon.. have a REALLY good dinner.. sleep.. on Sunday, ride back to starting point. ideal distance is 100-120km (one way).. Maybe slightly after PD? Cycle up to Sg Besar?

common guys, start throwing in your suggestions? andele! ariba!

adios, muchachos..

El Bandit..

INTERSTATE 2008

2008-09-03T20:49:00.000-07:00

THE EVENT
Budin, Boot & Bandit went for the PCC Interstate Ride..

It was a 3 day event.. started on Friday (29 Aug 2008) Kajang to Rembau (133km). Day two saw us riding from Rembau to Rompin (177km) and on the final day Rompin to Kuantan (155km)..

Before we carry on with our report, a note of thanks to the guys at PCC- WELL DONE GUYS!! THANK YOU FOR ORGANIZING SUCH EVENT!!!

THE CYCLING
There's nothing much to say about the cycling bit except that it was hot.. the route was hilly on the 1st day, but on the 2nd and 3rd day, it was as flat as Ron's crew cut! Traffic was not much of a problem on all 3 days.

There were several types of riders, ranging from hardcore to the casual tourist. It gave Budin the chance to sprint with the second pelaton on the final day.. going at an average of 28km/h over the distance 90 km! He could've gone further, but for the promise that he was to take over the driving duties from me! He said the experience was just like what he say on TV at the Giro or Le Tour or LTDL (except that on TV, the professional riders were averaging at 45km/h, and the bike the used were 10 times more expensive- hint to Sue to let Budin buy a better bike!)

Boot in AERO POSITION..

Budin riding uphill..

Another highlight of the ride was Boot doing the full long stretch on the second day- 178km!! What I admire here is the fact that he rode at around 20km/h... you can look at the glass half full and say that he was at a relaxed pace, or you look at it half empty.. the slower you ride, the more time you endured under the sun.. Boot started his journey at 0630hrs and arrived at the Rompin Hotel at 1730!! 11 hours on the road.. minus the 1 hour break for lunch etc... that's 10 hours on the bicycle saddle!! pain in the arse is an understatement..

our everyday routine- getting ready to ride at 0600hrs

and since we carpooled, it meant that at any one time, one of us drove while the other 2 cycled. In total, we each cycled 300++km over the 3 days.

ACCOMODATION
The accommodation in Bahau and Rompin was good. They didn't put us in any dodgy rumah tumpangan.. The rooms were air conditioned, there was TV and fridge.. all was well except for the final day. THUMBS DOWN to De Rhu Resort in Kuantan! There, we checked-in was at 1730hrs!! Very bad service! Imagine those who arrived at 1330! They waited 4 hours for their room! Sorry, but I had to make a mention when the service was wayyyyy below standard! Have you ever heard of a hotel/resort, where the check in time is at 1730??

The delay at the hotel didn't effect us much.. on the last day of the ride we pulled the brakes and took it REALLLLYYYYY EASSSYYYYY... (except for Budin going hardcore with the pelaton!)...
In my case, I had the pleasure of taking a well deserved nap by the sea side after drowning 2 biji air kelapa muda.. and no, we are not talking about 2 gelas, we are talking about 2 biji!! Boot on the other hand was accompanying our new acquaintances who also decided to take it easy on the last day..

How cool is that, unloading your bike at 1500hrs for a seaside ride, last leg to Kuantan

And Bandit assisting Boot with his cramp.. next to Boot is Eddy.. at 1500hrs, after over 7 hours of riding, who wouldn't be tempted to just lay down for a few minutes..

MAKAN
Part makan, memang BEST.. Bandit found the PERFECT Chendol, which he described " the highlight of the ride was the best chendol i've ever had.. not because it was cooling, but the chendol was PERFECT.. the santan is creamy yet light.. and the gula melaka was so thick.. it stuck like ceramel on the firm chendol! Chendol has never been so sexy..  ".

We had: steak, mee mamak, roti telur, nasi lemak, keropok lekor, sweet & sour fish, fried chicken wings, nasi goreng and to end the trip.. a beach side seafood dinner with steamed TIGER GEROUPA, lemon chicken, garlic baby kailan, teochew chillied lala, battered fried squid.. we also had ais kacang, lencheekang, air kelapa muda...

FRIENDS
Speaking of acquaintances, we totally enjoyed the time spend with le Tuang gang.. Mac, Ish, MaySen, Ariff.. Thank you for the support and tips. And to our new friends, Eddy of Klang, En Raja, Joanne, Tuan Haji and of course the bubbly Anne.. it was a pleasure to make your acquaintances..

Noticed ex-RMC have a similar pose

Star rider- Mac! We salute Mac because this guy can REALLY RIDE.. (and he always have the ladies hanging out with him!)

We were also glad to have 3 days to hang out together. You can say it's quality time spent.. we were busting our lungs when we recalled the mishaps of 'Hantu Tinggi'.. we spoke of topics ranging from politics (or more precise Politically related Frustration), kahwin 4, private schools for kids, career options etc..

Our only wish was that we could have more Royal 8ths joining the ride.. Imagine a weekend ride with the likes of Mat Kong as your support crew.. imagine ke-dajal-an that he could inflict.. maybe do a "George" (i.e. letak air laut dalam water bottle orang!).. This year, we missed the Royal 8th cyclists like Ala, Kam, Upiq, Achot and Lebet.. maybe next year guys..

We also missed the LeTuang riders.. it'll be cool to have crazies along.. imagine the places we'd eat with you guys around!

Good ride, good food and good friends...

Seiring dan sejalan: Interstate 2008

2008-08-25T18:02:00.001-07:00

Dear all,

the 3 Bs (Boot, Budin & Bandit) will be going on a road trip this weekend.. we'll be heading south to Rompin.. on our trusty steed.. Yessir.. 3 studs, 6 legs, 3 steeds..

basically, we're joining the PCC (cycling club) in their annual 'Interstate Ride'..
the trip starts on Friday, from Kajang to Rembau.. overnight in Rembau.. (the major hurdle for this the hills.. )

on Saturday, we ride from Rempau to Rompin.. over night at Rompin.. (on this day, the major hurdle is the distance- 170++km)

on Sunday, we're expecting cooling sea breeze, pit stops at EVERY air kelapa muda stall as we head to Kuantan..

we should be back in KL by Sunday evening.. ride report should be posted by Monday..

3 guys, friends since 1987.. after 21 years of friendship, they're off to a road trip.. yeeehaaahhh..

Bandit

GATHERING FOR MAT JAID

2008-07-28T20:44:00.000-07:00

We last saw Mat Jaid 8 YEARS AGO!!!

Recently he came back for a 3 weeks break..

Anyway, just to keep you up to date:
Mat Jaid is based in Detroit.. he's serving the Emergency and Trauma Unit at a hospital there. seems to be enjoying himself.. involved with the state level tennis circuit and have a few triathlons under his belt!

Basically, America is treating him well... but I wonder, with all the money he's earning, why couldn't he invest in a decent pair of braces.. as you can SEE, his trademark guSEE, is very much visible in the gathering pics..

Gathering was held on 24 July 2008 at Kopitiam Restaurant in Tmn Melati. In attendance: Mat Jaid, Boot, Wan Jack, Upiq, Cicit, Kam and Bandit.

On behalf of the guys, it was a pleasure seeing you again old friend.. God knows when well see each other again, or in fact if we ever will.. take good care of yourself over there..

PD International Triathlon 2008

2008-07-24T00:06:00.001-07:00

Many OPs turned up for the recent triathlon event in PD.

from right (back row): OP Shazly, OP Chipang, OP Kam, OP Stupe, OP Bandit, OP Upiq, OP AJ, OP Chief Kutu, KOP.

from right (front row) : OP Chan (Msia's youngest Ironman) and OP aper ntah (tak ingat nama)

There were other OPs who werent in the photo like OP Sofian and a few others.

The OPs entered the Olympic Distance event as individual and as a team relay.

Batch Dinner esok

2008-06-19T17:40:00.000-07:00

Dear all,

please spread the word around- Esok kita buat batch dinner..

time: 2000hrs

venue: SABAK STEAMBOAT & BBQ, TMN MELATI (off MRR2 , between Genting Highland/Kuantan and Ulu Klang/Tmn Melawati exit)

price: RM25 per pax

Apa-apahal.. call me: 012 7760655

Antara yg dah confirm:
Ala Usat
Upiq+wife
Joejo
Papalats
Bear
Bandit + wife
Cicit + wife
Kam + awek
Boot
Achot
Isma (perut)
Abeng Colby Laxman
Nazril (late & not eating)
Faiz + wife..

There are a few more names.. aku tulis kat notebook aku.. lupa nak bawak..

Regards

Bandit

Update on Cikgu Adnan

2008-06-19T03:16:00.000-07:00

Dear all,

Just to inform you that Cikgu Adnan has passed Khorat Region.. this means that he's almost at the Thai-Laos border! Hmmmm... close you eyes and imagine..

KL to Ipoh..(200++ km)

Ipoh to Penang..(100++ km)

Penang to Alor Setar.. (100 ++ km)

Alor Setar to Bkt Kayu Hitam.. (100++ km)

Bkt Kayu Hitam to Surath Tani.. (200++ km)

Surath Thani to Bangkok (400++ km)

Bangkok to Khorat (300++ km)

And now, with every downward push of the pedal, he gets closer to the Loas border!

Hmmmm.. around 1500km.. Makes you wonder, how much can a 60 year old body take? How strong, his desires must be..

Now, one thing I find facinating about this ride is that Cikgu does not use a speedometer.. this means that (with the exception of the sign boards and mile stones), Ciksu does not know how much further he has to pedal.. to totally different concept of cycling then what we are used to.. during the PD ride, we had the luxury of knowing that we were 10km to the next check point cum water station.. 10 km means 25 minutes..

I guess it's the journey, not the destination! The route is not marked by towns or check points, but instead, but memories of stalls he stops, of bus stands he shelters from the rain, of the curios questions that was asked by road side hawkers as he stops to refill his water bottle.. the journey.. an interesting concept..

If we were to apply it on our daily lives, it's not that I stayed in the office till 8 or 9pm.. it's more of, I submitted this report, I solved that problem, I closed this deal, I attended that meeting...

Sounds like the Aerosmith song.. Amazing:
Life's a journey - not a destination
And I just can't tell just what tomorrow brings

Cikgu, a toast to you who is THOUSANDS of kms away.. maybe resting your tired legs after another day of riding.. or maybe you're carbo loading to prepare for the next day..

May the journey be a good one..

Bandit

Untukmu Uppiq

2008-06-15T09:18:00.000-07:00

Dear friends,

It was with great pleasure and joy when I read the triumph of our Rafiq Khan in completing his first triathlon recently in Melaka. I was away in Kelantan and Bali and somehow managed to miss my favourite traithlon. Upon returning, I sent Uppiq a congratulatory SMS and he was joyful! I was extremely happy for him. Also to the fact that according to him, he did gain some aspiration and "semangat" from the rest of our batch be it being moral support and at times from my cerita dongeng that I write at times. He asked me to write a story. Well, I wasnt there to write about it. But I do have the story of my very first triathlon done just about three years ago. The theme is the same as what you achieved big guy, its the average guy just outdoing himself.

I won some money writing this story back then. (USD 25), so here's to you Uppiq! Currently my number one idol!

Warning: long story. Possible time waster in office!

Doc ala usat

Tasik Kenyir International Triathlon

3rd April 2005

Tasik Kenyir

Terengganu.

On the 3rd april 2005, the light and easy team comprising of three average Joe's in me (doc), azman and steve competed in the first triathlon of the year in Malaysia. And by doing so managed to prove that despite being average regular guys, with a little bit of training and perserverance and a bit of gung ho attitude, even average Joe's could complete what seems to be an impossible task....the triathlon. A few days ago, even I thought that the discipline of swimming 1.5km followed by a 40km bike ride and to top it off with another 10km run was way out of my reach. Happily, I was proven wrong.Here's our story...

I really cant recall when the decision was made to enter the triathlon. Probably it was one of those light and easy running or biking days we've had. I guess it was probably Steve that promoted (boasted maybe) heavily on doing the Triathlon. (he's done one before last year in Port Dickson). If we can do running races and are competent enough with bikes...why not do the whole monty of swim-bike-run? Anyway you survived the marathon, did the Duathlon in good time. Why not? Yeah man ...why not? And so it was, without knowing it I made the jump 2 weeks before the race date. We had the duathlon coming in the week and followed by the actual Triathlon the week following. Not a great deal of time to train but what the heck...here we go! According to Azman, he had always wanted to compete in the Triathlon but never had the gang and motivation to do it with. So here we go Man.

The biking and running was not really my main worry as I've done longer distances before. But the swimming was my greatest fear. You have to ask Mat Gan about how blatantly crap my swimming was(still is). The honest truth is Mat Gan just thought me how to swim 1 or 2 months back. After just beginning to be able to do 200metres of breast stroke, my weekly swimming with him at Bukit Jalil was put aside as work commitment for him and other training preparations for me took over. I was involved with the biking group and even though we call ourselves bikers, we seem to be doing a lot of running lately. So my swimming remained really poor.

Without knowing it,it was 1 week before the triathlon! After just completed the Duathlon the previous week, I had no time to train! The Tuesday pre race weekend was supposed to be my proper train and planned for a follow up on Thursday with a combined swim and bike. I only managed to swim that tuesday! With Azemy, Zabil, Steve, Azah (zabil's wife) and their daughter we made the training count. Zabil and Steve did 40 laps non stop in an hour. That was free style mind you. I had Azemy who havent swam in years to keep me company." Lets do 2 laps at a time", was my suggestion to him hoping that we could do 30 laps which was the distance required.After stopping and puffing at every stop, we barely made it....in almost 1 and a half hours! Oh dear....I was in real trouble. I really dont want to be out of the water last during the race. That would really demoralise me.Off course not to mention the bike and swim that followed. And to make it worse the following Thursday on which was planned the swim and bike had to be cancelled as I was stuck in the hospital till 8 pm! Shit! there goes my careful planning...off course to make it really complete, I hadn't touched my bike sice the Malakoff Duathlon race. I guess this is how average Triathletes train....in chaos!

We travelled the day before from KL on Steve's pick up. I picked Azman up at the LDP and ferried our bike and stuff to Taman Tun to rendezvous with Steve. Steve wasnt feeling too good the past few days being down with a viral infection of some sort, and Man due to work, couldnt train as much as he would like. How very average of us all!

Anyway after waking Steve up and unloading our stuff on his pick up, we were off.1030hrs saturday morning. The drive to Kenyir was smooth. I volunteered to drive. We followed the new Karak Kuantan east coast highway. On the way passed trough Sg Dua, Bentong and other places where we have ridden before. I brought my CD's and obviously the theme of the journey would be retro 70's with songs from The Eagles, Police and off course the driver's favourite...Alleycats. After repeated hearing, Im sure Azman and Steve would have memorised the lyrics by now. After a heavy lunch at Temerloh R and R, we proceeded on. Took the exit at Gambang before Kuantan and headed North. We diverted away from the coastal road and followed the in land route following Bandar Bukit Besi and in the process passing trough Agricultural settlements of KETENGAH. Some of those places had funny names like Ladang Gajah Mati, Sg cetek etc. The in land route was less busy and we saw a lot of heavy vehicles.After some time we were getting worried that we werent seeing anyone with bikes heading our way. Were we on the correct way? Is the race today instead of tommorrow? Man theorised that the race may have been held on the Saturday as Friday and Saturday was the weekend holiday in Terengganu. Oh dear...here we go again. I also forgot to confirm our hotel bookings. It wasnt until the town of Kuala Behrang that we finnally saw a car with 2 bikes on its roof. Ok guys we were on the right track. For such a large tourist attraction, Lake kenyir sure didnt have too many signages to direct tourist. We finally entered the Lake Kenyir compound and was immediately terrorised by the endless undulating hills as we approached the lake proper. Just like that, the weather which was hot and humid earlier turned into heavy downpour. After the long 7 hour drive, we were glad to finally reach the Hotel car park to unload our bikes. The first thing that greeted us was a nearby parked car with Pacesetters stickers.We drove all the way to meet up with our good friends! Next to us was a Thai registered van offloading a couple of very fit and toned girls.Oh shit, we were in enemy territory.After looking around like fools, we managed to find the registration area. The area was in the Kenyir Lake Resort. We were by now tired after 7 hours of travelling and were getting wet in the rain. Equally distressing was the hotel lounge was filled with very fit looking triathletes wondering around almost naked with their tight attires. The three of us....The overweight mat salleh, the under weight doctor and the construction worker from kelantan strolled into the lobby no doubt looking very miserable. "Which way to the Triathlon registeration?" I asked the reception. With a shocked and amused look, she directed me. As we lined up at the registeration, the girl at the counter immediately took out the sprint relay list, no doubt expecting all three of us average Joe's to be in that race and not in the triathlon proper." Race category sir". said the shocked face at the counter. " Men. Open please." The whole registeration counter stopped doing whatever they were doing then and we were instant celebrities.The sight of us three really made their day I guess. T shirt size? Steve: extra large please. Sorry only L. Doc: S please.Sorry only M.

We shared a chalet of some sort with an extra bed for Man.It was quite a comfy place overlooking the lake. In the evening, you could see the waves crashing into the lake shore. Azman and Steve apparently saw some big fish, Toman maybe and fortunately didnt tell me about it till the race ended. We had our dinner at the local eatery....carbo loading of some sort. One plate of nasi ayam goreng followed by mee rebus. The rest of the triathletes were carbo loading at the hotel buffet and here we were eating in the rain at the road side stall. How very ordinary.

We were all in the chalet by 2130hrs. After getting our stuff ready and cracking a few jokes after attending the race brief, we couldnt believe it when we saw this Mat salleh dude running in the dark. Obviously this chap was one of the pros. This guy was training and we were on our way to bed. Man was very informative telling us the who's who of malaysian Triathletes. That guy there, he did the Ironman 5 times. That chick there, ran for malaysia in the Marathon. That guy there....Me and Steve was only interested at the fit looking girls around. Some of them were quite pretty, but some of the hard core ones really looked tough and beefy. With well toned bodies and hard core looks......I surely wont be fantasising about them tonight. Some of them really looked outright scary!

After warning Steve not to snore and man watching TV, we were settling in bed. At this time my panic attack and fears regarding the swim surfaced. " Dude, You really think I can do it man?" I asked Steve repeatedly that night. Perhaps lying to make me feel better or maybe just to make me shut up came his not really convincing reply " yeah , sure you can".........Steve didnt snore that night, but he woke up a few times to clear his nose and was tossing about in bed all night. I dreamt of finishing last and being rescued by the race officials.

The alarm was set at 0500hrs, complete with a wake up call....however we only managed to rise at 0530hrs, with me and Steve struggling to the breakfast buffet. Man, cleverly stayed in bed and asked us to tapau something to eat. Once again, Me and Steve made our dramatic impact by entering the dining area full of beautifully toned athletic bodies. The watermelon and the pair of chopsticks made everyone stare. Steve was clearly overdoing the buffet bit by grabbing all that was on offer. I sneaked in our water bottles and filled them all with orange juices. Steve grabbed some pancakes and bread for Man....no doubt making some people whisper in amusement. Out we went the back door with our grubs trying our best not to look foolish and being caught when out of the blue we bumped into the mat salleh dude just coming in from his early morning jog. Oh dear. After the usual pre race banter and again asking man and Steve if they thought I could make it safely around the lake.....we were off at the starting line. The place was buzzing with activity. People jogging around, doing their stretching etc..I was more concerned with the water.

The lake was calm. It looked rather green and murky. We went in for a test swim and were immediately struck by the fact that the water was warm. Expecting our balls to shrink in cold, it was a pleasant surprise. We were body marked with our race numbers and was told to wear the given race cap. Steve told me to get my cap numbered too just in case.....I did the extra thing by walking around the rescue team with my race cap on. "tolong tengok nombor saya ye 143.....Kalau lemas....."

To be honest, even up to this point, I was still undecided about my chances of finishing the swim. I wanted to ask the race marshall if I DNF the swim, could they allow me to continue with the run and bike........suddenly the horn went off! And we were all away. Shit! Hearts pumping, We jumped into the water. Steve could sense my anxiety and he offered to swim with me to the first bouoy and let me take it from there. Within a few minutes, we were already at last place. It was only me and a few people who swam the course using breast stroke.We were immediately fighting for last place. The swim was in the lake around a triangle 250 metres on each side marked by a bouoy. Do it 2 rounds and you get 1.5km. Easy...

I finally reached the first buouy, and Steve with good nature told me that I wasnt last.....almost last. ..and he was off. I continued with my breast stroke slowly trying hard to remember what Mat gan and steve told me. Glide longer, keep your butt up and look down. Or was it look at someones butt and keep down? I cant remember. I do remember that the lake was dark and you could only see a few feet down. Good I suppose, as I dont want to see any Toman having a go at my organs. I was swimming alone. Calm and serene especially when everyone was way ahead. At 500meteres, i felt waves crashing next to me....a human torpedo with effortless motion sped past me. Shit! I was being lapped! Turned out 5 to 6 of the fast ones lapped me before I could reach the turn. I continued onwards. Passing the 2nd round, the swim was calm again as basically I was one of the last few in the water. At the last 250meteres, I was "escorted" by a lady in a kayak (my would be rescuer) till the end. "Am I last?" I asked while gulping in lake water........"No....almost last" came her answer. She was very supportive giving me shouts of encouragement. She was my mermaid angel. I wanted to kiss her for keeping me afloat. Without realising it, I was nearing the jetty and the cheers from the crowd was getting louder. Come on Doctor! were they cheering me on? I hope so. Nearing the jetty, I thought that i saw soft ground and stopped swimming and tried to walk.....I sank and suddenly was gulping water.Dumbass! Belum sampai lagi la! Sikit lagi!. Shit! I finally brought myself out of the water in the deafening ironic cheers and claps from everyone there.44mins. The VIP who started the race was still there. Come on. You can do it. With cameras on me and everyone looking, I needed a smart ass answer to look cool (not stupid). "I guess I can kiss my 1st prize money good bye huh" was all that I could muster. Everyone thought that was really funny. Sure..it wasnt really. I looked behind and saw two other people coming out of the water.......Alright! Im not last after all! I felt really pleased with myself till I saw that the 2 person were Patsy my friend, who is a 68 year old ironwoman, grand mother and a 71 year old man who was the oldest competitor that day. Oh No!......I was immediately brought down to earth....

On with the bike! The interchange was smooth, especially when your the only one there. The TV cameras was focussing on patsy and the old guy and i was left to fend for myself. I took off my yellow swimming cap, dried my feet, gulped down some fluids, put on my helmet and was off. I was still pounding from the swim but i was still a bit confident as I knew biking and to a certain extent running was my ok point. Immediately after the first turn, the bike course went up a steep gradient of a hill! Aduhh!! I was cursing my luck then but i would later realise that the hilly course was to be my "leveller" with the others. The bike course is designed around the lake compound with bikers having to pass 2 loops of 8km length smooth tarmac road with another few km coming out and in to the transition area. the view was fantastic! The sky was blue with low set clouds. What a relief after the long hard swim. At the end of the loop, the road ended next to a waterfall. Beautiful. Oh yeah. Did I tell you that the course was hilly? Thats the beauty of it. At first i was cursing but after realising that most of the roadies especially those with expensive bikes and drop down aerobars arent really good climbers, I began to feel good. Coming from a mountain biking background, those hills were treated with disrespect. Even Man and Steve who were the only 2 out of 3 persons on mountain bikes felt good. They (and me) managed to overtake many of the roadies. I caught up with my first roadie after 3km on the road. I felt good. From 3rd last, now Im 4th last. without realising it I was overtaking people. I was really speeding now. I managed to pass Man and Steve as they were coming on the opposite direction. As always, the light and easy team was the most cheerful lot with shouts of encouragement to everyone and anyone willing to look at us. We found that the average joe's out there were more responsive, some smiling and waving back. It was wonderful to see familiar faces .....faces you see at the jogging track, like Bernard Ho 60plus age who's a regular at Taman Tun. The pretty girl you often see at KHS but never had the guts to say Hi to. The uncle who swam past you and kicked some water in your face. Suddenly the biking was enjoyable.

Did I mention that there were hard core, dumbasses, arrogant bums out there? Oh yes they were as off any race, you get the PROS who are well behaved and get on with their job and also the Pros wannabe who are slightly better than us but dont have a chance in hell to win. But still they behave like they own the race. These are the guys who wear those tiny gayish suits, swear to tell you to get out of their way, ride those expensive carbon but climb like a dog up tree. I hate them! Bloody hell, some were outright rude.Drafting (allowed in the race) dangerously and overtaking from the left. Dicks. Anyway I got my revenge up those lovely hills. Though they were short lived as they drafted down the hill past me at 70km/hr. Never mind, see you at the running section. 1 hr 20min 55sec later, I completed the biking and was entering the running section. I passed a lot of people by now and was enjoying myself. I could see Steve leaving the transition a few minutes back. Lets go man! A quick change to my faithful asics and I was gone in a flash. I forgot my power gel. I forgot my cap. I forgot to drink. Dumbass! 500metres into the run, I started to feel the hunger pangs in the stomach. Headed to a nearby water station for the bikes and grabbed a cup of water.Gulped it down and felt the pangs go away.

The running is a 2 loop round a 5km hilly and winding course. As I was starting my run, The winners were finishing their race. The MC at the finish line was this Indian dude whom I suspected had a few drinks too many the night before. He was introducing the runners who were finishing and those passing by for the second loop as each runner passed the line.Finisher from Maalaaysiiaaaa Eugene Chaaaaaaaan! Coming for the second lap...from Singapoooooore.....Willliammm tannnn. You can do it! But give credit to the dude as he did his homework well. He would give additional info on the runners like 2 time Ironmen finisher.....Razali. 5 times Hawaii ironmen. The youngest competitor. The oldest competitor. etc etc.. When my time came , all he said was From Maalaysiiiiia dr Hisyam.........! Go doc! I stopped by him and whispered " Dr Hisyam Salleh: 2 time woodenman finisher" The dude immediately followed " From Maalaysiiiaaaaaa Dr Hisyam 2 times woodenman finisheeeeer!" Everyone there laughed. What a dick head. He had no clue what he was talking about.

During the run, I managed to overtake Steve. "shit doc, next time I'm not gonna give you any more swimming tips!" I continued with my pace. The watering station was at every 2km and the weather was now overcast. Not a major problem as far as hydration goes. But could my legs take it.? Surprisingly they could. I stumbled with a group of Pace setters from KL whom I've seen before....not very friendly people. They were clearly struggling even with their Impossible is nothing t shirt. I gave them as much support and encouragement and told them not to stop. Those familiar unfriendly faces became warm smiling beings. I ran with a navy commando(paskal)...Shah ..and we talked a bit. Apparently the Navy sent a few teams there as part of their "leisure activity". Aktiviti riadah. Hmm. Anyway Shah was completing the 2nd round and I was still in my first! With that he was off. His target was a sub 2 and half hour race. I think he made it. My next company was this fit looking Thai girl who spoke in halted English. She was ok. I think she wanted to concentrate on her brathing rather than talk with me. The course...well it was full of hills. Many people walked and I used it as my opportunity to overtake people. Approaching the finish line I could hear the MC dude in full action. "Coming in to finish is the youngest competitor age 13....... "me? I thought he was making a mistake. I looked to my left and there was this Punjabi boy running next to me. Oh No! I dont want my finishing to be spoilt by a boy! Azman who had finished the race shouted from the side "come on doc! budak kecik tu nak potong" I was almost beaten by grandparents and now I was about to be beaten by a kid. No Way! I sprinted the last 200 metres and left the boy....he he he From Maalaysiiiiaaa......Doc........

I crossed the line at 3hrs 3 min 07 secs.

Grinning all over. I managed to wave to everyone like I was the winner. I asked the MC if I could intoduce Steve as he ended his race. Sure doc, ok by him.

"From Canada. Average Joe. Steve!" I wanted to say fat ass but decided against it. Me, Azman and Steve huddled together enjoying our achievements. Without realising it, it was time to go home.The long drive back.

" I never thought you could do the swim doc" was Steve's honest remark. Sure man. Im a swimmer now. And I have a bright yellow cap to prove it.

Azman Swim 35.25(116) Bike 1:17:32(94) Run:57:46(86) 2:50:43

Doc 44(144) 1:20:55(106) 58:12(89) 3:03:07

Steve 32:06(101) 1:24:32(113) 1:10:08(124)3:06:46

PS: Its been 3 years since that first tri, and im proud to say a lot of OP's (our batch and others- bean, kam, stupes.....now Uppiq) have been encouraged to do the same. Some have even done the Ironman. Sadly too, we lost a fellow OP last year during the swimming leg of the port dickson tri.

Whatever the outcome, I hope to encourage more people to be active and adopt a healty lifestyle. Now we have a big guy to look up to.

Doc ala usat

RMAF Half Marathon 2008

2008-05-29T08:58:00.000-07:00

Cikgu Adnan's Ride

2008-05-27T18:35:00.000-07:00

I few months ago, I made a pledge to send off my teacher, Cikgu Adnan Osman. Cikgu will be cycling to Beijing. I was under the assumption that Cikgu will be cycling to Beijing in August.

Two days ago (26 May 2008), I got an SMS from Mat Licin (Cikgu’s cycling partner during the Malaysian section of his ride) that they’ll start their ride on Tuesday (27 May 2008).. Major misunderstanding on my part!! I had already reserved 3 days of my annual leave to ‘see him off in August’! And I had to clear some stuff at work before I sent off for the BTN course 29 May! Macam mana ni?? I was really hoping to cycle with him for at least one leg of his journey!!

Being a ‘salary-man’, I had very little choice.. I had to forgo my plans of joining them.. maybe another trip Sir.. but I will send you off!! That was the promise that I made to myself immediately after reading Mat Licin’s SMS..

So, on Tuesday, 0330hrs, I left my house, and rode to the RV point (near Carrefour Wangsa Maju) to meet up with Mat Licin. We were going to cycle to the starting point of Cikgu’s ride.

Though I only has 3 hours of sleep, I could not complain, Mat Licin (and later I found out, Cikgu too) did not sleep a wink!! Maybe they were excited over the trip, butterflies or jitters.. but these guys, almost twice my age, did not sleep at all that night, and they’ll be cycling from KL to Ipoh!

Anyway, Mat Licin and I arrived at St Johns Ambulance’s HQ (Jalan Peel) at 0500hrs. Cikgu and family were already there. There was also a St John’s VIP. After a brief photo session and well wishes spoken, Cikgu’s trip to Beijing started!!

We rode on Jalan Tun Razak, headed towards Jalan Kuching. But at the junction of Jalan Ampang, I had to leave them, and headed for my office… I still have mouths to feed.. I shook my hero’s hand, gave him a final salute, and took a left turning toward KLCC.. I looked back to Jalan Tun Razak and saw the blinkers (safety lights) of their bicycles slowly fading away.. I guess in books and movies, the heroes ride into the sunset after completing their adventure.. Yesterday, I saw two heroes ride into the sunrise to begin their adventure.. Looking at my bike’s odometer, it’s 10km down, 8000++km to go!!

Anyway, you can read about Cikgu Adnan’s adventure to Beijing at his blog site:
http://oadnanxtreme.blogspot.com/

On a personal note: Well Cikgu, what can I say.. I envy you, Sir.. You had a dream, and you got on your saddle and are on your way to realizing it. May your dreams come true.. Have a safe and enjoyable journey.

A'famosa International Triathlon 2008

2008-05-15T00:22:00.000-07:00

Dear All,

You can read the race report here.

Enjoy..!!

Training With Soon-To-Be-(God willing)-IronMan

2008-05-14T23:33:00.000-07:00

I was inspired by Upiq's Triathlon achievements.. who wasn't? And now I have such a strong urge to get off my butt and do something..

First thing's first.. I'm going to shop!! Yup, some people go to Seremban to by curtain/carpet/ wedding stuffs, I am going to Seremban tomorrow to buy a secondhand compact crank from this Mat Salleh who stays there.. (ye-lah, aku ni kan lembik sikit, mana tahan pakai gear yang besar, so kenalah cari gearing yang compact sikit!- FYI, the ride starts with a ride up to Genting Sepah!!). I'll be back in KL by noon, then I'll be setting up the crank and tuning my bike for Saturday..

coze on Saturdayyyy... I'm gonna be training/riding with IronMan 2009 hopeful, Kam Kasturie!

FYI, the IronMan consist of 3 disciplines- 4km swim, 180km bicycle and 42km run. Kam will be doing all this on 28/2/2009.. that said, he has another 9 months to train..

Back on our ride this Saturday.. we will taking part in the Malakoff Charity Ride.. the ride consist of 3 stages-

stage/day one- KL to Temerloh (150km).

stage/day two (Sunday) Temerloh to Kemaman (160km).

stage/day three (Monday) Kemaman to Kuala Terengganu (170km)

A lesser mortal like myself will only be doing the KL- Temerloh section. But our IronMan hopeful will be riding ALL THE WAY to Kuala Terengganu. (ohhh speaking of Terengganu, just in case you missed it, Kam also swam 6 km from Marang to Pulau Kapas a few weeks ago). And next month, he'll most probably be going to Kenyir for Kenyir Triathlon.. (wehhh Kam.. mungkin ni hint engkau nak berjodoh dgn orang Terengganu!!)

YESSIR!! KAM KASTURIE, WE SALUTE YOUR IRONMAN SPIRIT, DETERMINATION AND DEDICATION. YOU HAVE THE BALLS OF BRASS TO TAKE ON SUCH CHALLENGE.

(p/s OP Shazly Khan (IronMan 2008), OP Fadzil (Cheif Kutu) and OP Ahmad Jauhari (multiple IronMan) will also be riding)

INSPIRATION FROM A FRIEND

2008-05-11T19:19:00.000-07:00

People do great things, and most inspiration stories comes from a person beating his limitations to achieve things beyond his reach. The further and more unreachable the goals, the more inspirational it becomes..

Here's one of those stories (I only wish my posting could do the story justice).

Rafiq Khan is the biggest guy in our batch. He's big.. what more with a KHAN's blood and KHAN's diet! Genetics and life style, the odds were against him to slim down.

Although he played a few games (tennis, squash, hockey- games typical of a Khan), people saw his appearance rather then the sportsman. He was often teased and looked down because of this. This was Rafiq a year ago!

Then the training began! His cousin 'dearest', OP Shazly Khan (90-94 Eagle) started a training regime. Such regime often coincides with activities where other royal 8ths took part in. For example, a 'stroll' up to Genting. (Refer to blog report: Lamb and Genting 21/9/07 http://royal8th.blogspot.com/2007/09/lamb-and-genting-2192007-make-sense.html )

Note: Shazly with a stick in hand

& they marched up to Genting!

Ni muka yang influence Rafiq naik

ke Genting!!

A month ago, Rafiq took the next step- purchasing his road bike.. and as reported in an earlier posting- the virgin ride was almost 100km!!

So, after the exercising, training, purchasing.. what was one to do? Well, this was where trickery and pressure comes in.. everyone in the group (except for me) went to take part in the A-Farmosa Triathlon. And these guys convinced Rafiq to do the sprint event. On the eve of the race, with everyone phsyced up and eager to go, they pressured (read Shazly pressured Rafiq in public) to do the full monty- 1.5km swim, 40km cycle and 10km run. And that was what he did.... I don't think that he was prepared for it, nor did he believe that he could complete the course.. he knew that his body will take an extreme amount of punishing.. he had nothing to lose.. (except hospitalization?).. be if.. a BIGGGGG if, if could endure all the pain, fatigue and survive the ordeal, he could prove to himself and others that all the training and and effort is showing results.. Completing the course would mean that he was actually reaching for heights that he, himself, thought impossible to reach..

Anxiety got the better of him that evening. Nervous, scared, excited etc.. he slept at 3a.m.! After 3 hours of sleep, Rafiq woke up to face one of the biggest physical challenge of his life.

The photos below captured the moments..

Pre-race anticipation

After over one hour, he completed the 1.5 km swim..

then on the bike (40km) and finally the run.. almost at the finishing line, he had friends running along side to cheer him on!

Notice the FINISHER's Medal on his chest?

After Rafiq completed his Triathlon, I've received calls for me to also complete an Olympic Distance Triathlon.. There were the typical "wehhh.. Upiq dah buat.. engkau bila lagi?"..

To date, he has lost about 40kgs!! Please refer to the Bagan Lalang Ride report (April 08) to see how much he 'reduced'

My friend, you have inspired me.. and I will start my training this evening- Fitness First Menara Maxis- RPM Class!! I will be training and I'll keep training, and hopefully, in a few month's time, I be at the same ranks with you- as one of those 34 year old- over weight guys who have completed an Olympic Distance Triathlon- THANK YOU FOR INSPIRING!!

I hope that my report does not steal the thunder from the achievement's of Kam (also first time completed Olympic Distance Tri.. Ironman hopeful for 2009!), Ala Usat, Stupe, Chief Kutu, Shazly, OP Sofiyan...

Ala's mail to Mr. Johan Jaafar

2008-05-04T17:51:00.001-07:00

"Ala's responding to an essay/story in the NST dated 3rd May 2008. Story at: http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Saturday/Columns/" - Kam

Mr Johan Jaafar,

NST

Sir,

Asalamualaikum, First of all, I am a fan of your weekly columns and essays in the NST. Today i read your article regarding Cikgu Adnan with joy and with pride not to mention admiration for the man. I am one of the hundreds if not thousands of students having passed under Cikgu Adnan's wings. He was my arts teacher and company commander when I was studying in the Royal Military College between 1987 to 1991.

When you mention to OP's (old puteras/ ex student of the college) about Cikgu Adnan, people will remember the gentle but stern arts teacher. People will remember also the calm composed gentleman that he always was. Those interested in arts will testify that he was a keen arts teacher who encourages his students to strive harder. Two of my batch mates who were mentored by him are now established architects and Interior designers, no doubt cikgu Adnan being a big influence in their chosen career.

But people may not know, that besides being a wonderful individual cikgu Adnan is actively involved in all those activities that you had wrote about.(marathon running, biking, mountain climbing and a lot of other adventurous stuff) He has also spent a lot of time doing charity work. Despite being in his his golden years where most people would take it easy, cikgu Adnan continues to inspire others. Just last month at the Kapas - Marang swimathon, he kayakked along my batch mate attempting to finish the race. He was among the last individual out of the water in the 6.5km race but there was cikgu adnan giving him encouragement all the way.Who would kayak in the hot sun for 3 hours just to accompany someone to make sure he makes it? Without cikgu, my friend said he wouldnt have made it. Cikgu adnan continues to motivate even till this day!

Which brings me to my first encounter with him since leaving college 17 years ago in 1991. Not surprisingly it was the KL Marathon where he nonchalantly overtook me and a fellow OP. Needless to say, he finished ahead of us half his age. This man is inspirational. I just hope more teachers, if not more people would be like him.

The next time you have your teh tarik with him, wish him all the best. A lot of 30 to 40 year olds from RMC are encouraging him on his Beijing epic. Knowing him, it will probably be a walk in the park.

Dr Hisyam Salleh

Subang Jaya.

Bagan Lalang Pix

2008-04-27T23:54:00.001-07:00

Aku tak amik banyak gambar because i was too preoccupied thinking of the unexpected.

At the meeting point, MTDC Bangi and a glimpse of my new babe.
Mat Licin, OP Shazly, OP AJ, OP Bandit and me. OP Fadzil aka Chief Kutu was busy managing the crowd.
Refuelling and re-grouping at Shell station near Sepang town.

Yeah, baby. Lunch time. Belasah kaw2.

Total distance = 98.97km.

Bagan Lalang

2008-04-27T22:30:00.000-07:00

While the THREE STOOGES went for the Klang Marathon, the 'BIG & WIDE' BOYS went cycling to Bagan Lalang.

Nothing fancy. just Upiq and Bandit, along with another 19 riders started their ride from MTDC to Bagan Lalang. We ate nasi lemak/nasi ayam/roti canai for lunch at Sepang Gold Coast. Then rode back under a scorching sun and searing heat. Total distance: slightly above100km.

We went with a few HARDCORE riders (OP Chief Kutu, OP AJ and OP ShazlyKhan). There were also a group of 'tour-ers' (meaning that these guys have superb endurance..).

One of the tour-ers was Mat Licin, the chap who'll be cycling with Cikgu Adnan to China in August! We'll beliasing with him to organized a send off (ie kita akan kayuh dgndiaorang, during their Malaysian leg).

Anyway, was quite impressed by Upiq's development, he got himself a 2nd hand Felt! And may I add, the bike was well utilized, completed 100km on his 'virgin' ride. Imagine the fun Upiq is gonna have with the slut! Total ride time around 4hrs++.

Here's to a healthier Royal 8th..

Upiq will post some of the pix he's got during the ride.

Reporting with a tan.. Bandit

Klang Half Marathon 2008

2008-04-27T04:31:00.000-07:00

Did Klang half marathon with Ala this morning. Met Joejo at the stadium. He ran 10k. In fact his company "DCM Tooling" sponsored the medals. He said it made of white gold + platinum + silver and some plutonium. Boleh gadai kat pawn shop. Nice job bro! Macam lambang Superman sikit.

Tioman International Eco-Challenge 2008

2008-04-17T06:29:00.000-07:00

13-15 May 2008 (Tue-Thu)

The disciplines include running, mountain-biking, canoeing and other exciting activities. Set within the tranquility of the island paradise participants will explore the mountain, jungle tracks, villages and the beautiful beaches of this island.

Challenges in this race relate to nature, culture and adventure – “the Amazing Race” concept, promoting extreme sports combined with traditional games, folk culture and eco-challenges.

The race will be flagged off by HRH Sultan Ahmad Shah at Kg. Salang.

Day	From	To	Remarks
Day 1	Salang	Juara	Flag off at Salang – Running and mountain biking(5 hrs) - night stop at Juara
Day 2	Juara	Genting	Canoeing (6 hrs) - night stop at Genting
Day 3	Genting	Tekek	Running - Finish at Marina

Details about the race, pls check the website www.eco-challenge.com.my

Kapas-Marang Trip & Swimathon

2008-04-14T08:45:00.001-07:00

Just to inspire you guys especially former college swimmers. If I can do it you guys also can do.
Cikgu Adnan was our support crew. Since I was the slowest swimmer among the group, he followed me most of the time and like bandit said, he did a good job at dictating me not to give up half way. More race pix in my blog & facebook. I wonder who else in our batch has done this race before?

HAVE YOU SEEN THIS MAN??!!

2008-04-14T06:51:00.000-07:00

WARNING- THIS MAN IS HIGHLY ACTIVE AND HIS FITNESS LEVEL CAN PUT THOSE HALF HIS AGE, TO SHAME- HE CAN JUNGLE TREK, RUN FOR 42 KM(FULL MARATHON), KAYAK, SWIM, CYCLE.. AND HE'S 66 YEARS OLD!

WE FIRST 'IDENTIFIED' HIM IN SG BESI IN 1987. AT THAT TIME, HE TRIED TO EXPAND OUR ARTISTIC HORIZONS!

WE THEN DETECTED HIS WHEREABOUTS ON THE INTERNET, WHERE HIS ACTIVITIES ARE OFTEN LINK TO ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENTS!

OFTEN, HE WOULD OUT RUN US DURING MARATHONS!

HE RECENTLY SEEN IN PULAU KAPAS, WHERE HE 'DICTATED' KAM KASTURIE INTO COMPLETING A 6.8 KM SWIM!

WE SUSPECT THAT HE WILL BE CYCLING TO BEIJING SOMETIME IN AUGUST!

CIKGU ADNAN, THE ROYAL 8TH SALUTES YOUR CONTRIBUTION TOWARDS THE ENVIRONMENT AND FOR DEFYING AGE- YOU SET AN EXAMPLE OF HOW AGE IS NOT A FACTOR IN BEING ACTIVE.. TRULY INSPIRATIONAL!!

IN ADVANCE, GOOD LUCK IN THE CYCLING TO BEIJING PROJECT.. errr any chance of letting us escort you on the first few sections of your journey..

HAVING GREAT PRIDE TO BE ONE OF YOUR STUDENTS- THE ROYAL 8TH

34 down, 34 to go?

2008-04-10T06:58:00.001-07:00

Just felt like writing tonight.. recently, in our batch mailing list, there were several birthday wishes.. the latest 'casualties' being Acun and Bapak...

BROTHERS.. CALL TO ARMS!!! LIFE IS PASING BY!! GRAB IT WHILE IT'S STILL THERE..

Assuming we get to reach 68 (68 is a good number.. just before we become burden to others, and just in time to say 'hello' to the next generation (ie the grandchildren)).. we are at the half way point..

Seeing the glass half empty, you tend to sulk and maybe regret some of mis-turns taken.. 'what if', 'if only', 'maybe if'.. to late mi hombres..

Seeing the glass half full, another 34 years to LIVE.. spend time with the family (INCLUDING YOUR PARENTS!!- NOT JUST WIFE & KIDS!!).. see the kids grow.. re-adjust your priorities.. consider contributing to society..

The best years of my life was when I was in Sg Besi.. what wouldn't I do to spend a week in RMC.. but that's just foolish thoughts..

What am I blabbering about?? God knows.. like I said, just felt like writing..

KL Marathon 2008

2008-04-02T04:49:00.001-07:00

a) how not to ....

b) How to celebrate your birthday.

Dear all,

A few of us OP's ran the KL marathon, last sunday 30th April. Albeit some only did the half marathon of 21km while others foolishly endured the knee shattering pain of the full monty distance of 42.2KM.

My story is in 2 parts:

Part 1) How not to train:

NEVER come into the marathon without adequate training ie: mileage under your belt. Just because you have done it 8 times before doesnt mean that it wont hurt. No matter how many you have done them before, a marathon is a marathon. It hurts...Though you may be an Ironman, healthy virile young man, a new bachelor, or a permanent bachelor at heart with strong cardiovascular prowess, you have to train for it. The minimum required is being able to run one and a half hours continuously at a steady pace (meaning boleh borak borak sambil berlari). Also good if you had done a semi long run 3 to 4 weeks before the actual marathon. It is advised to do a run half to three quarters of the race distance in that long run.

NEVER plan the next day following the marathon with a heavy schedule thinking that you will have recovered well enough. I know of this young doctor fool who actually thought that he can do long surgery the next day...He went to RMC in the 80's 431549. Stupid fella.

NEVER run like the Kenyans and hope to win the USD 100000 prize money. If you are born in KL and have a name like Kam Kasturie or even Lim ee Van (though Stupes look like an African), you just dont do it. The worst thing is to realise at the 21st km that the Kenyans have already crossed the finish line and you're already having knee pain and a fat old uncle is overtaking you!

NEVER enter the marathon just because the guy you bullied in college is doing it. Though its a marathon, there are many other shorter distances to try your hand in first. Joejo attempted the 21km run in preparation for the next big jump. Bandit will attest that though he bullied the 431549 fella years back, maybe he just cant do the 'same things' anymore.

NEVER attempt your first full marathon at age 56......unless you are OP Chief Kutu. At his age, he managed to beat me and kam. Very well done sir! Also by the way, cikgu adnan also did the full marathon. By the time i was driving home, he was at the 2km to go mark and it was already 7 hours on the clock. Did he quit and walked home after being disqualified? No bloody way! He was among the last people on the road but yet he was still smiling away and running slowly but surely to the finish line. I just hope they give him the finisher's medal. Definitely my hero.

NEVER leave your sense of humour at home and take it too seriously. Its just a race in the end. Learn to enjoy it. Enjoy the sights and sounds.(and smoke of KL). Dont forget to cheer on the oldsters passing you by. Dont forget to feast your eyes on the skimpies too..

I think that's a lot of NEVER / how not to advices for this race. Perhaps when I win like the Kenyans will I write on "how to"

Part 2) How to celebrate your birthday.

Most of us celebrate by getting pissed out and doing silly meaningless things like going out for a date with that chick that you fancy and dishing out large sum of money in the hope for some fun filled activities that women call 'romantic moments' and men call 'sex'. But to a newly single 34 year old handsome and virile Kam, all that he spent was RM 30 for early bird entry fee for the marathon.

In the end, it was the same like going on a heavy date.

He got sweaty...

He got dirty...

His knees hurt...

He was smiling...

He's going to brag about it....

He wants more....

And he has a medal to show too!

Happy birthday Kam !

Ps:

Full monty: Ala, kam, OP stupes, OP chief kutu, KOP's Steve, karoline.

Half monty: Bandit, Joejo, Boot, azmar.

Warm regards

Doc Ala usat.

Selamat Pengantin Baru

2008-02-17T19:12:00.000-08:00

Sunday, 17th Feb 2008 is the day when we congregated to celebrate another rebellican wedding day. 10 years ago, we used to count how many have gotten married but yesterday, we were counting how many have to yet to marry. It was a come n go reception, thus, allowing us to do whatever we like in the wedding hall. I got there around 1440hrs and was glad to see many rebellicans were still there.

Bear, Kuek, Bean, Kerbau, Joejo and Mat Yep (ayammm....)

Kuek, gaya askar habis dan Abeng, cakap tak benti (pakai baju batik jawa totok siot). Abeng was in his immaculate behaviour sense sebab dia sorang jer yg datang with his father instead of a wife..!! Abeng ngan Mat Kong are now on top of the-most-available-bachelor list among the rebellicans.

Ala and kerbau catching-up on each other developments. Kam tgh melantak....

bandit and his clone...

Bapa contoh.... tapi perut tgh laparrr tuh....

muka innnocent habis...

Cicit came with his family. Kerbau, Jun and Joejo's boy.

Lepas makan, kitorang lepak kat luar. keluarga pengantin siapkan khemas khas untuk minum kopi and kuih-muih. More rebellicans came to the reception.

Pasangan pengantin baru...

Group photo.

KL Tower International Forest Towerthon Challenge 2008

2008-02-09T10:10:00.001-08:00

Dear Friends,

Last week me, Kam and Bean ran the KL towerthon. It was a different kind of race for us three. Neither of us have ever ran up that many number of steps in our lives!

Bean practiced by walking up and down his condo, Kam tak train langsung while i tried to use the stairs more often in the hospital. It didnt work.

The race started at the bottom of the KL tower, near the entrance. It was raining with light drizzling which made the atmosphere gloom. We met a few KOP's like bacin, dicky etc..Also was greeted by our young OP, OP Chan who is a cadet at UPNM. Chan is training for the upcoming Ironman 2008 Langkawi.

Anyway, we were released in batches of 200 runners at a time. I think it was a wise move as the sheer number of runners in the narrow, staircase would probably caused some havoc. As I managed to register early for myself and Kam, we were in the first group. Bean was next, flagged off 15minutes later. Because of this I finally was able to reach the finish line ahead of Bean. First time ever, in ANY race....this I claim habis habis to him even before the race. It did not matter though as we were all given a timing chip attached to the shoe which monitors your start and end time, thus calculating your speed, timings etc.. All you had to do was pass trough a mat on the ground which had sensors.

The initial run up the road was hard due to the immediate steepness and also the high humidity due to the drizzle. We passed through the scenic part of KL tower adjacent to Bukit Nenas reserve forest. My parents came along as usual but they didn't enter the race as I thought that it might be too difficult for them. They went strolling along the forest reserve instead. It wasn't long, just a KM of lung busting action.

We entered the tower complex to the cheers of onlookers. Incidentally there was this middle aged guy attempting to climb the tower 50 times non stop as part of his effort to enter Malaysia book of records. He ultimately stopped at 30. I stopped at 1. As we passed the row of elevators which they claim can travel at 22km/hour, we were led to the staircase. Initial impression was quite impressed with the size of it. I was more or less expecting it to be a small stinky stairwell. It wasn't. It was wide enough for 3 person to walk side by side, it was well lit and huge ventilation fans were placed at regular intervals. I think at every 6 or 8 flights of stairs there were exits to some maintenance block which was used to store furniture and supplies. At each point there were staff manning them just in case you were knocked out and needed to be sent down. There were also regular medical crew along the way with adequate water stations along the way.

As we were already wet from the rain and despite the adequate ventilation, we were all dripping wet. I think the rest of the runners would be running on wet stairs later on.

It was fun running (walking...) up the stairs. People were stopping at the side, some nauseated , some with cramps. Runners cheering ourselves on. What was lacking in my mind was the girls..(the female runners were flagged of later) After what seems like a few storeys high, lactic acid was building in my skinny thighs and I was walking gingerly upwards occasionally overtaking not fit looking young men crawling their way up. On the way I saw a few of these young fellows chickening out at the exit. Cant imagine the pain they were going trough.

Well after 2058 steps up the tower we finally emerged at Level T3 which was a level above the visitor's observatory deck. What a relief! We were greeted by flashing cameras, plenty of water and told to march down to the Observation deck. What a view! I have been on the tower twice before but never been on it during heavy cloud cover. We were literary in the clouds. Cant see much of KL. Compound with all the sweaty bodies walking around, it was a misty and smelly atmosphere. We went down (faster this time) via the elevators, 20 of us sardined together. 3 African guys were talking loudly in front of us. Me and Kam were postulating what they were saying to each other. We came to this theorem.

Guy 1: If only I ate more rice and carbo last nite, I could have made it below 15 minutes!

Guy 2: Hmm How shall we spend our prize money tonight?

Guy 3 : Look at all these Malaysians with us...pathetic bastards. Pay money to race and don't win a thing....Ha ha ha...Thanks Kam and bean and ala....ha ha ha..

By then the elevator door opened and I was brought back to my senses. Took my medal and went looking for my parents. Definitely my dad will do it next year.

PS : Kam 24 mins

Bean 23 mins

Me: 28 minutes.

The Kenyans: 15 minutes.........ha ha ha..

I wish all our Chinese batch mate and friends a happy new year. Apparently the year of the rat will bring more races to the tired tiger!

Gong xi fa cai to low tuck loong, Bandit, acun, his brother amir, stupes and all the other guys..

Doc Ala usat.

KL Towerthon 3rd Feb 2008

2008-01-28T06:43:00.000-08:00

Jommm... sape nak cuba panjat tangga KL tower on 3rd Feb. Sempat lagi register, last day 30 Jan.
http://www.menarakl.com.my/Towerthon.pdf

Aku, Budin & Ala will take part. Jom la ramai-ramai!

TTS tonite

2008-01-27T18:33:00.000-08:00

Sempena kepulangan EZPALATS, we'll be having a TTS at the mamak shop at Jln Ampang, after office hours!

For more info: 019 2201033- Bandit

PLANS FOR 2008

2007-12-30T22:46:00.000-08:00

OK.. enough of 'feeling catchers' on 2007.. now lets start talking about 2008..

January 2008-
jom kayuh!!! aku target nak buat kayuhan century (century ride) 19 January!! Century ride means kita akan kayuh lebih dari 100km... aku nak cadangkan kita buat dari Putrajaya to Bagan Lalang..

we'll also be starting our batch lunch.. as for venue.. ananti aku consult Acun..

February 2008-
Jom kita sokong kawan-kawan yang akan take part in IRONMAN LANGKAWI- in short lets go to LANGKAWI.. last year, bean and ala did their Ironman.. this year, MAYBE, they'll be doing it AGAIN.. Ala, Budin and I have made plans to go there on the 22-24 Feb.. trust me, it'll be fun!!

March 2008-
Batch trip cum bike ride.. aku nak cadangkan kita pergi kayuh basikal ke MELAKA.. bertolak pagi sabtu, and malam sabtu, kita sewa chalet kat Umbai.. malam tu belasah seafood!! next day kayuh balik.. those yang tak minat nak kayuh, no problem.. kita RV aje kat umbai.. itu cuma cadangan...

SELAMAT TAHUN BARU

2007-12-30T22:43:00.000-08:00

Praise be to God for another wonderful year with family and friends..

The kids are older by a year, work experiences too.. grey hair sprouting.. the waist, an inch or two bigger.. and even one less year of installment on the car..

Take some time to reflect.. what have you done to make yourselves better in 2007? Are you a better person? A better father? Son? Husband? Employee? Boss? Driver? Golfer? Cyclist?

We’re gonna be 34 next year. Are we where we’re suppose to be? Seperti biasa, ada yg terlebih (terlebih berat?) and ada yang terkurang (lack of good deeds)..

Whatever it is… selamat tahun baru.. semoga 2008 will bring more joy and happiness.. yang kurang sihat, semoga lebih sihat.. yang banyak duit, ingat-ingatlah untuk melabur sikit untuk masa depan…

Thank you for the great 2007!! See you in 2008…Bandit

Bt 18 to Teratak Tekala

2007-12-30T00:13:00.000-08:00

Unlike last year we did Century ride to end 2006, this year to end year 2007 we did 33km easy ride from Batu 18 Hulu Langat to Teratak Tekala. There were 5 of us (Budin, Boot, Bandit, Ala & me) plus another 2 UPNM students and one of them is an OP.

near Semenyih dam... Bandit is showing off his new bike

Picture of RMC taken from spy satellite

2007-12-07T03:14:00.000-08:00

One of the enemy target for producing biological defense system, the NFL.... Nation's Future Leaders.

Yes Sir I'm A Soldier Boy…..

2007-11-21T04:18:00.000-08:00

"All men dream; but not equally, those who dream in the night, in the dusty recess of their mind only wake up to find it in vanity, but those men who dream in the day are dangerous men for they can carry out their dreams with open eyes."

When Lawrence of Arabia penned the above line in his magnum opus "The Seven Pillars of Wisdom" little did he contemplate that years to come men fitting that description would pass out from this prestigious college in a faraway land.

Royal Military College, the mere mention of the name is enough to set off a rush of emotion for those who studied there and its nemesis. A cradle for future leaders nestled in the lush mountain top of Sungai Besi garrison town, Kuala Lumpur. RMC is an institution like no other, under the purview of the Ministry of Defense, it strive to produce student with an iron discipline of a military officer coupled with an aptitude of a scholar.

The present day successors of the much dreaded ancient Spartans, boys as young as fourteen are trained on every aspect of military, ranging from drill to firing the standard infantry assault rifle, apart from the regular education syllabus found in secondary school.

This is the only college in the country which has the prefix "Royal" to its name, own regimental colours, golf team, Olympic size swimming pool, and above all pays you pocket money on monthly basis

The list of who's who in the public service, private sectors and military is a testament to the college and its charter "preparing young Malaysians to take places as Officers in the Malaysian Armed Forces, in the higher divisions of the public service and as leaders in the professional, commercial and industrial life of the country".

Entrance into this college is strictly based on merit, only those with straight A's in UPSR or PMR will be eligible for applying. Thereafter you will be called for a selection process, in which annually 5000 potential candidate throughout the country will battle it out for one week of interview and selection process. These include IQ test, medical examination, physical test and final board. Students will be vetted in stages, some would fail in IQ while others would fail in physical. The selected few will proceed to the final board, where the Board of Governors would determine which candidate has the right aptitude for RMC. At the end of the day out of 5000 potential candidates only 95-100 will make it to the college. The selection process is vital to ensure only those with the right mental and physical stamina enters in order to endure the punishing daily regime in RMC.

Founded in 1952 by Field Marshall Sir Gerald Templer, he envisaged RMC after the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. It is divided into 8 companies from A-H (named after the military alphabets like Alpha, Bravo and so on) each with its own distinctive flag and colour. Earlier when RMC was known as Federation Military College the company was divided into 4 companies named after famous battle fought by the British like Dettingen, Waterloo and Inkerman. Competition among company is ferocious in sports, academic and military studies. The company which fares in all aspect usually will be given the honor of wearing the yellow lanyard to set it apart from the rest.

A typical day in RMC will start at 5.30am and it's a chain of well choreographed schedule until lights off at 2230 hrs. There is an important rest period at 2.15pm-3.00pm where duty officers or seniors will ensure no feet are on the ground except on bed.

Saturday's are for military training beginning with the OC (Officer Commanding) Parade at 0715-0830. Thereafter Physical Training (PT), Battle PT, Battle Tactics, General Military Knowledge, Signals, Armament and Map Reading. Boys are allowed one overnight in the month and two outings. However they must be back to the guardroom by 1830hrs or their name would appear in the roaster board for extra drill the next day.

Following the passing out parade for the class of 2004, the Secretary General of Ministry of Defense who graced the occasion, made an announcement to reinstate the Form 4 intake. A lot of opinions were given about the shortcomings of commissioning Form 4 into RMC.

While everyone has the right to express their view owing to the civilized nature of our society, in my humble opinion it is the college which makes the students stand apart and not vice versa. Whether a boy has stayed in RMC for 1 year or 5 years it makes no difference. A year is enough to mould a young men into the kind of character that RMC looks for, those who do not fit into this category will not survive more than a year. Their individual instinct and biological capability will tell them its enough and its time to quit.

Once you wore the red hackle, yellow muffler, white gloves and carried the spear as the honor guard for your passing out seniors you are one of the few and a full fledged putera. We have old putera who have studied in RMC for a year yet is as illustrious as those who have been there for 5 years. Student may come with different mentality from outside school, but once inside and the shock treatment mooted by the seniors and drill instructors is enough to forget from where you came, but to accomplish the task of cooperation and oneness in RMC.

In RMC there are no individuals, it's the college and the company, one wrong move by anyone will ensure the wrath for your entire company. No one individuals made the RMC great, its great because its unique, owing to the dedicated academic staffs, military officers, drill sergeant, the gardeners who keep it trimmed and above all the old guards of the college the Old Putera Association, which will ensure its glory for years to come.

A tradition which every ex boy hold dear till date is the wearing of college tie every Wednesday. The tie of dark green background with thin yellow/red stripes representing the regimental colours of RMC. If you see a gentleman wearing it, do not be deceived by his immaculate mannerism for he is soldier first and whatever second. Rest assured you are safe in his presence for he will live up to the sacred words of "serve to lead" the motto of RMC.

I am one of the few privileged to be part of this proud tradition and I'm sure many generations to come boys will look up to this institution with veneration. Yes Sir, I'm A Soldier Boy…..indeed.

388522 OP Jeyaganesh Gopalsamy
Charlie Company
8^th Royal Thoroughbreds (1987-1991) "The Rebellicans"
Royal Military College

Gambar kenang-kenangan Quiet Room Members :)

2007-11-21T04:13:00.000-08:00

Upiq's comment : Haha.. Mick senyum keranggggggggg….

*Thanks to Budin aka Jammy Phang (nama Vietnam) for the nostalgic photo

Terry Fox

2007-11-01T19:45:00.001-07:00

We are blessed with a good health and fit (for some) body condition. If Terry can do it, we should be doing better.

Let's get out form the couch and start running... at least for a good cause.

Jom guys...

Hoki tonite..! 2/11/2007

2007-11-01T18:56:00.001-07:00

Guys,

I have made a booking at Bukit Jalil Main Hockey Stadium tonite. You are welcome to join us for a 2 hour hockey session with other OPA players. Booking is from 8-10pm and TTS will be held later at a nearby mamaks.

We have extra hockey sticks, extra balls and extra space for as many players as possible. Borois and peruts are regulars in our team. Come and enjoy the atmosphere plus networking opportunities....

Brings your wife, girlfriends, friends etc etc for a satisfaction guaranteed exercise workout.

See you there...!!!

TerryFox Run 2007

2007-10-27T21:21:00.000-07:00

Dear all,

Those who wish to participate in a race but don't have times or guts to do it, come join us in Terry Fox Charity Run on 4th November 2007 (Sunday) flag-off at 9am, at Lake Gardens, Kuala Lumpur. The race has been held in Malaysia for more than 15 years. It is a non-competitve family event with great number of participants below 10 & above 50 including babies. Don't worry, you all for sure can outrun them all.

To make a donation simply buy a Terry Fox Run T-Shirt only cost RM25.00. Every year money raised from the Run is donated to cancer research organization in Malaysia. Where to buy the t-shirts pls go to this website www.terryfoxrunkl.org.

What... you never heard about Terry Fox?? Check out this link to find out about him.
http://www.terryfoxrun.org/english/about%20terry%20fox/default.asp?s=1

Joejo's raya gathering

2007-10-19T20:55:00.000-07:00

Small gathering at Joejo's place in Keramat last thursday to welcome home Jawa back for raya break from Dublin. Attendees were Jawa, Bandit, Mat Gan, Mat Kong, Wan Jack, Faiz, Cicit, Boot & me. Semua datang solo, except for Jawa came with his wife & Mariam his 5th child. So, kira Mawar pegang record la paling ramai anak in our batch. Thanks to Joejo for the great food!

Mawar always cheerful

Batch Buka Puasa

2007-10-02T15:24:00.000-07:00

Dear all,

We had the batch buka puasa yesterday (30 Sept 07) at Ison’s Shoru Restaurant in Kelana Jaya. The batch buka puasa was a successful event.

“The batch buka puasa was a successful event..” hmmmm how could you quantify the success or even justify such a statement…

By virtue of attendance? 29 attended!

6 x Alpha: Amril, Bandit, Mat Gan, Bear, Ison + wife, Ala Usat

2 x Bravo: Budin, Jason

4 x Charlie: Acun + Amir, Gegek, Yusmal + date, Nazril + wife

4 x Delta: Faiz, Kerbau, Bean, Jakpo + anak

2 x Eagle: Mandela, Ohm

4 x Foxtrot: Kam, Mat Yep + wife, Katun, Kappy

4 x Golf: Mat Kong, Joejo, Achot, Mat Ten

3 x Hotel: Boot, Upiq, Kebu

So, was 29 enough to cause havoc at Shoru.. unfortunately not.. being the fasting month, the guys were reserved.. that was until Budin arrived.. yup, Budin came wearing a jacket.. QUESTION: WHY? Pasal dia pakai uniform AirAsia kat dalam jacket tu.. nothing wrong with AirAsia’s uniform, the only thing wrong was Budin, being a senior engineer had more stripes on his appalet then an admiral! Malu nak tujuk rank atas bahu dia.. when Ison and Mat Kong saw this, that was the end of Budin.. habis satu malam kena kutuk.. and bila Mat Kong start mengutuk, maka hilanglah kedamaian/ketenangan senja Ramadhan..

Personally, I was happy to see Kebu… “Mr Loan Approver of Maybank Finance”.. been quite some time since I’ve seen him.. Nampak sihat/tegap lagi-lah.. masih tak boroi.. on the subject of boroi, basically, everone as grown a tummy.. yang masih maintain- Amril Azuan, Ala Usat, Nazril, Kerbau, Ohm, Joejo, Kappy, Kebu and me.. (yeah right.. but what the hell, I’m the one spending his lunch time writing this- so I can write whatever I want!!)

OK.. fictional BS aside, and talking about boroi, glad to see that the guys were still talking about running, cycling, futsal and badminton…(in short, a sign that we would still be having the same number attending in 30 years time).. Upiq just did his walk up Goh Thong Jaya- We're proud of you dude!! Gegek wants to start cycling (on-life lah, sejak tahun lepas kecoh nak start kayuh, sampai sekarang bontot keding dia tu tak pernah merasa duduk atas saddle!) And Mat Gan had a great time describing Budin’s jump smash during their weekly badminton session..

Glad to also see that the girls were busy chatting..

By virtue of collection? We collected almost Rm1,000..

We have ordered food for 23pax, and actual attendance was 33.. so, we paid the RM 575 to Ison and agreed that the remainder of the collection would go to our donation drive for under privileged children. But then again, some did not pay the RM 25 charged, they paid more.

Bottomline- RM 1695 was collected, RM575 was paid to Ison’s staff for the wonderful food prepared (also TQ Ison for partially sponsoring the grub).. RM1120 balance will be distributed accordingly to the children. There were also donations coming in earlier from batchmates who are out of KL.. to date, total collection is:

T’fered trust account 650

Collection semalam 1120

Collection Joejo 350

TOTAL 2120

Note: collection semalam banyak pasal ada diantara kita yang buat collection kat office masing-masing for this donation drive.. To those who have gone above and beyond, may the kindness shown and effort put into our cause be rewarded, if not to you, then, may it be on your family..

I know that Low wont be too happy with me mentioning this in public, but FYI, everytime we do this donation drive, LT Loong would always be the first to donate! Low, if you are reading this, the organizers of the drive would like to salute you, not only for your generosity, but also for your quick response… TQ Bro..

OK, back to the donation drive.. how will the money be spent? We have identified 5 houses(orphanages). 2 x Gombak, 1 x Setapak, 1 x Rawang and 1 x Puchong. A few of us will coordinate the drive for the Rawang and Puchong houses. And the rest of us will sort out the houses in Gombak and Setapak.

We will contact the Pengetua Rumah and seek their advice of what provision is needed. Provisions may range from sugar, milk, sardines, milo etc.. we will do our best, with the amount collected, to buy the goods requested to the houses. Note that there maybe some limitations: e.g. no storage space in the premises (overload from donations received) or some items may expire quickly.

Faced with these problems, we MAY, simply give cash donations or use the money collected to do a berbuka puasa for the kids. Based on our outing in Negeri Sembilan last year, these kids love KFC.. so, if we do have a berbuka puasa, it would be KFC again.. at the end of the day, we want to put smiles on those faces!

OK.. itu saja report untuk sekarang.. sesiapa yang berminat nak join the donation drive or berbuka puasa at the Gombak/Setapak houses, please let us know.. it’ll be good if you could join us.. spend some time with the children.. share experiences, offer advice, be a friend… or what we could learn from them..
(reported by Bandit)

Buka Puasa Batch

2007-09-25T03:50:00.000-07:00

Menjemput semua rakan-rakan ke majlis buka puasa batch:

Tarikh: 30 September 2007 (Ahad)
Jam: Waktu buka puasa 7.10 ptg
Tempat: Restoran Ison aka Shoroo (Dekat dgn Kelana Business Center & MAS training center)

Sebarang pertanyaan, sila ajukan kepada saudara Bandit ataupun saudara Mat Gan.

Terima Kasih

Yg menurut perintah

Genting secret weapon

2007-09-23T23:42:00.000-07:00

These are some of the 'Power 12' food which i had prior to the Genting climb.

Baked Salmon... high in Omega-3 and protein..

Roast lamb.... or anak unta? the Ribs were superb...

Yeahhh... that's my share... lamb leg protein rich lean meat...