Yes, I've migrated. I won't be updating this blog anymore I guess ... read me at http://winnieyong.wordpress.com
(has a nicer ring to it, don't you think?)
(has a nicer ring to it, don't you think?)
Friday, October 17, 2008
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Remembering FRIM
Yes, I'm revisiting FRIM. In pictures. The last time I was there was four years ago. Was frequenting it for a while before I dropped it all together. It's not to say it isn't a nice place. It is. It's just that I didn't find it much of a challenge (cheh wah, like real).
The pic above shows the 'staircase' you need to climb in the early part of the hike. It's a short climb and not very steep.
The trail after the 'staircase' is pretty level, so no great exertion of energy there. While it's best to go in the mornings, I don't think it's a good idea to start too early. Apparently, the wife of a friend of a friend of mine came to FRIM to jog in the wee hours of the morning and was attacked by a babi hutan (!!!). Good lord. Talk about a bad way to start the day.
After the winding trail, we used to turn off into the left, down this route pictured above. You make your way through this rocky bit (just follow the pipes) all the way down. It can get a little damp but there's no river-crossing required, so your shoes will stay dry and intact.
You'll soon come to a little stream, which leads to a pond of sorts. Here's where you'll see a bunch of families picnicking away with about a zillion kids (a particularly popular pastime over the weekends). So if you don't fancy families/kids/people in general, don't come here. I do have pics of them but since I don't fancy families/kids/people myself, I decided not to post them here.
It's safe to say that the entire hike is about 1.5 to 2km. It's an okay place but personally, I'm not itching to go back there. There are just too many people there and parking is a bitch on the weekends. I'll stick to Kiara, I guess.
[All pictures by Adrian Tee]
FRIM - for those of you who don't know - is a forest research institute somewhere in Kepong (don't ask me where; I only know that you need to pass 1U along the way). They do many things there like forestry and biotech and R&D and et cetera but I don't understand any of that stuff, so I'm not going to talk about it. What I am going to talk about is trekking at FRIM.
First of all, you need to pay RM5 per car to get in. There are four nature trails for walkers, joggers, runners, bikers and picnickers. The trail I used to take is called ... um, I have no idea what it's called. All I know is that there were steps, winding paths, large rocks, a mini 'waterfall' and you wind up walking alongside passing cars on the way out. Go figure.
First of all, you need to pay RM5 per car to get in. There are four nature trails for walkers, joggers, runners, bikers and picnickers. The trail I used to take is called ... um, I have no idea what it's called. All I know is that there were steps, winding paths, large rocks, a mini 'waterfall' and you wind up walking alongside passing cars on the way out. Go figure.
The pic above shows the 'staircase' you need to climb in the early part of the hike. It's a short climb and not very steep.
The trail after the 'staircase' is pretty level, so no great exertion of energy there. While it's best to go in the mornings, I don't think it's a good idea to start too early. Apparently, the wife of a friend of a friend of mine came to FRIM to jog in the wee hours of the morning and was attacked by a babi hutan (!!!). Good lord. Talk about a bad way to start the day.
After the winding trail, we used to turn off into the left, down this route pictured above. You make your way through this rocky bit (just follow the pipes) all the way down. It can get a little damp but there's no river-crossing required, so your shoes will stay dry and intact.
You'll soon come to a little stream, which leads to a pond of sorts. Here's where you'll see a bunch of families picnicking away with about a zillion kids (a particularly popular pastime over the weekends). So if you don't fancy families/kids/people in general, don't come here. I do have pics of them but since I don't fancy families/kids/people myself, I decided not to post them here.
It's safe to say that the entire hike is about 1.5 to 2km. It's an okay place but personally, I'm not itching to go back there. There are just too many people there and parking is a bitch on the weekends. I'll stick to Kiara, I guess.[All pictures by Adrian Tee]
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Bukit Gasing (Thru a Better Lens)
I always admire people who take better pictures than I do and I'm reminded once again how sad I am after I saw pics taken by a friend of mine of Bukit Gasing and I'm wondering how come my pics don't look like that one?? Then I made two decisions: first, learn how to use my camera properly and two, post his pics on my blog.
The start of the trek. You climb up steps for quite a few minutes - a great workout for those glutes and gets you sufficiently warmed up.
The trail is quite narrow so when there's oncoming traffic, you have to step aside to make way. I can understand why some people might find the place a little claustrophobic.
Ah, one of my favourite bits where the ground is crawling with sturdy tree roots that form a staircase of sorts.
There are bits where tree trunks have fallen so you have to go over or under.
And again, my least favourite bit: rickety old suspension bridge. See what I mean? Compare his shot with mine from a previous post in September. Mine doesn't look half as scary!
And this is precisely why I hate the bridge: it's narrow (which means you have to wait until the person coming in the opposite direction is finished before you can get on) and you can see right through the ropes (!!!). It's not that high la but still!!!
I took one pic of this same spot but mine doesn't display the drama of the place the way this pic above does. Looks grand huh?
Sigh. Makes me wanna strap on my shoes and go climbing again.
[All pictures by Adrian Tee]
The start of the trek. You climb up steps for quite a few minutes - a great workout for those glutes and gets you sufficiently warmed up.
The trail is quite narrow so when there's oncoming traffic, you have to step aside to make way. I can understand why some people might find the place a little claustrophobic.
Ah, one of my favourite bits where the ground is crawling with sturdy tree roots that form a staircase of sorts.
There are bits where tree trunks have fallen so you have to go over or under.
And again, my least favourite bit: rickety old suspension bridge. See what I mean? Compare his shot with mine from a previous post in September. Mine doesn't look half as scary!
And this is precisely why I hate the bridge: it's narrow (which means you have to wait until the person coming in the opposite direction is finished before you can get on) and you can see right through the ropes (!!!). It's not that high la but still!!!
I took one pic of this same spot but mine doesn't display the drama of the place the way this pic above does. Looks grand huh?
Sigh. Makes me wanna strap on my shoes and go climbing again.[All pictures by Adrian Tee]
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
15 Things That Make Me Happy
1 Morning time … especially Friday, Saturday and Sunday mornings! Sunlight streaming through the windows, air of silence underlined by the whirring fan above, birds chirping. I live for the mornings!
2 An upcoming holiday … need I say more?
3 My laptop ... I swear I don’t know how I existed before my laptop came along. It is one of my most prized possessions – right up there with my car, my camera and robust pair of lungs.
4 Being busy … I love being busy but the good kind of busy, of course. Not the running-around-like-a-headless-chicken doing a lot of stuff but achieving nothing. Purposeful running around I love! I call it being in The Zone. I love The Zone. It’s my place.
5 Mika and Jason Mraz … I just love Mika’s Big Girl (You Are Beautiful) and Love Today; and Mraz’s Butterfly and Make It Mine. I have many other happy songs, of course, but for some reason, these few never fail to cheer me up. Especially when things suck.
6 Post-exercise … ah, there’s nothing like that euphoric feeling you get after exercising. That layer of perspiration; that happy sense of satisfaction that once again you’ve defeated the demons of procrastination; that unbearable lightness of being (hi, Milan). Nothing feels better.
7 Simple food … forget fancy meals. Know what foods make me insanely happy? Bagel and cream cheese, chunks of juicy chilled watermelon, teochew porridge, baked beans and egg, sausages and ketchup. No I’m not kidding.
8 A great book … I’ve read many good books but what truly thrills me is the discovery of one that can keep me so engrossed that I forget time and place. One from which I need to literally tear myself away just to eat or sleep. One I can’t stop thinking about long after I’ve finished it. One that I can’t help but rave about to anyone who will listen. One where I get sucked into their world, am emotionally invested in the characters, love whom the author intends for me to love and hate whom the author intends for me to hate. One that makes me think and see things in ways I never have before. One that, hopefully, makes me a little smarter after having read it.
9 Camwhoring ... I can’t remember life pre-digital camera. Oh yes I do. It was boring as hell. Though I don’t go around with my camera surgically attached to my colon (like some people), my beloved Canon is a must on important occasions.
10 Rain … especially late at night when I’m tucked in bed (not when I’m stuck in a jam on the way home from work - %$#@^#$@#!!).
11 The Office … watching The Office makes me happy. Even if I’ve had a sucky day, just watching an episode or two can easily cheer me up. Makes me forget how sucky things are. I love it.
12 Youtube.com … it’s almost a religion with me. Every night, I’m on it. I can’t go to sleep otherwise. If youtube were a man, I’d get married like right now. That’s how strongly I feel about youtube.
13 Facebook.com … ditto.
14 SMS … I adore SMSes. I don’t know how I ever lived before SMSes came along. Oh ya, now I remember: I talked on the phone. Yuk. I hate talking on the phone. Truth be told, I don’t even like getting calls. My phone rings and I shudder. I hear that delightful ‘ding’ that signals a new message and I feel … happy.
15 Emails … maybe it’s this whole writer thing: I love writing so I take to email like duck to water. I love the whole thought process that goes into an email. A well-crafted email is a thing of beauty to me. It’s … literature. Unlike talking when things just come spilling out of your mouth and you have no record of whatever you’ve said, an email is a black-and-white record. It’s also a very accurate display of how things work in your mind. A sloppy email is the sign of a sloppy thinker.
Funnily enough, none of the things that make me happy include spending money on things. Who would’ve thunk.
2 An upcoming holiday … need I say more?
3 My laptop ... I swear I don’t know how I existed before my laptop came along. It is one of my most prized possessions – right up there with my car, my camera and robust pair of lungs.
4 Being busy … I love being busy but the good kind of busy, of course. Not the running-around-like-a-headless-chicken doing a lot of stuff but achieving nothing. Purposeful running around I love! I call it being in The Zone. I love The Zone. It’s my place.
5 Mika and Jason Mraz … I just love Mika’s Big Girl (You Are Beautiful) and Love Today; and Mraz’s Butterfly and Make It Mine. I have many other happy songs, of course, but for some reason, these few never fail to cheer me up. Especially when things suck.6 Post-exercise … ah, there’s nothing like that euphoric feeling you get after exercising. That layer of perspiration; that happy sense of satisfaction that once again you’ve defeated the demons of procrastination; that unbearable lightness of being (hi, Milan). Nothing feels better.
7 Simple food … forget fancy meals. Know what foods make me insanely happy? Bagel and cream cheese, chunks of juicy chilled watermelon, teochew porridge, baked beans and egg, sausages and ketchup. No I’m not kidding.
8 A great book … I’ve read many good books but what truly thrills me is the discovery of one that can keep me so engrossed that I forget time and place. One from which I need to literally tear myself away just to eat or sleep. One I can’t stop thinking about long after I’ve finished it. One that I can’t help but rave about to anyone who will listen. One where I get sucked into their world, am emotionally invested in the characters, love whom the author intends for me to love and hate whom the author intends for me to hate. One that makes me think and see things in ways I never have before. One that, hopefully, makes me a little smarter after having read it.9 Camwhoring ... I can’t remember life pre-digital camera. Oh yes I do. It was boring as hell. Though I don’t go around with my camera surgically attached to my colon (like some people), my beloved Canon is a must on important occasions.
10 Rain … especially late at night when I’m tucked in bed (not when I’m stuck in a jam on the way home from work - %$#@^#$@#!!).
11 The Office … watching The Office makes me happy. Even if I’ve had a sucky day, just watching an episode or two can easily cheer me up. Makes me forget how sucky things are. I love it.12 Youtube.com … it’s almost a religion with me. Every night, I’m on it. I can’t go to sleep otherwise. If youtube were a man, I’d get married like right now. That’s how strongly I feel about youtube.
13 Facebook.com … ditto.
14 SMS … I adore SMSes. I don’t know how I ever lived before SMSes came along. Oh ya, now I remember: I talked on the phone. Yuk. I hate talking on the phone. Truth be told, I don’t even like getting calls. My phone rings and I shudder. I hear that delightful ‘ding’ that signals a new message and I feel … happy.
15 Emails … maybe it’s this whole writer thing: I love writing so I take to email like duck to water. I love the whole thought process that goes into an email. A well-crafted email is a thing of beauty to me. It’s … literature. Unlike talking when things just come spilling out of your mouth and you have no record of whatever you’ve said, an email is a black-and-white record. It’s also a very accurate display of how things work in your mind. A sloppy email is the sign of a sloppy thinker.
Funnily enough, none of the things that make me happy include spending money on things. Who would’ve thunk.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
A Quick Update
Yes, that's right. I've been busy. No wait. That's an understatement. My calendar looks like the aftermath of a Stabilo highlighter bloodbath. I'm practically using the photographer's studio as my personal office (I should reimburse him for using his phone so much - urk). I have half a dozen people climbing all over my head at any given time. I haven't eaten a decent lunch in days and I have dark circles under my eyes. Oh yes. And I'm on the verge of possibly popping a blood vessel.And you know the worst part of it all? I've not gotten to Move. My. Ass. In days!!! In 10 whole days, in fact. It's horrible. I feel horrible. I look horrible. And the more busy I am, the harder it is for me to wake up early to exercise. And by the time I get home, I just want to ... sleep. I really hope there's a happy ending to this story.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
