Mixed Crumbs

I would salute/respect/appreciate the police force if they storm into suspense-bullet-hailing-high-profile-bank-robbery scenes to neutralize the robbers. Or climbing onto their car roof’s during high speed car chase downtown while trying to shoot the wheels off the bad guys getaway vehicle. Or jumping off bridges and landing and rolling on top of buses in their pursuit of thieves alike. They could even offer themselves up for hostage during tense situation. I don’t care really as long as they don’t come and bother us with their little slip of white trash… tucked nicely under our wipers.

I wish I was caught speeding instead. At least I could help their family buy some fish or new school bag for their kids after they had their “minum teh” rounds. My key was not even in the ignition. You dicks. Go sit on a wheelchair man. Don’t go driving around wasting petrol and let the ink bleed on pulp. Jerk offs. Yes I share a common interest with a lot of people.

Tomorrow I will have to park legally. The LRT station’s parking space has been reduced tremendously. The previous plot of land has been reclaimed and that means that the station parking lots has gone down and this makes the mad rush worse and the kind management sees this as a prefect reason to hike the price up by another ringgit to RM3 since their profit has been slashed. Duffy should scream her latest tune deafening them in process… and everybody goes:

You got me begging you for mercy
I’m begging you for mercy
I’m begging you for mercy
I’m begging you for mercy
I’m begging you for mercy

Why wont you release me yeah yeah

(continue till you lose your voice with your middle finger in the air)

Tried driving over to my relative’s workshop in KL but unfortunately the meter veers to H faster than I can pronounce  Makunouchi Ippo.  It stuck on H when the distance covered was only 2km.  Hesitated whether to  turn back… or soldier on…  alas I decided to hell with it. There is no way I was going to make the 25 minutes journey. I felt like a fatten chicken awaiting slaughter. Was prepared to get my car’s problem seen at a nearby workshop. Mind you… for the whole time I got behind the wheels… I always, always had my car looked at by my relative. I prep myself for some bad news. Bad news would mean a hole in the pocket.

To my relief, the problem was with the rubber T hoses. The rubbers were all hard and crumbling. The mechanic suggested replacing them with metal T hoses. Twist, pull, poke, turn, squeeze and shake… tadaa… it’s done. It set me back at RM50. Grin.

Ha… got back home after that and the clock was showing 1230pm. Phone rang and surprisingly my climbing buddy was wondering if I wanted to check out some climbing shoes. Mmm… since I was home why not. I have been thinking of getting a new pair of climbing shoes anyway. Looked at 5.10 and Evolve. Was considering these two brands. I already have Mad Rock Flash and an EB lace shoe. Wanted to try a slip on too. After much deliberation and pondering, I got my rough hands on a pair of Evolve Defy from Camp5. The shoe is pure torture as would all new shoes. My right feet is half a size bigger than my left… and argh… I expect at least 2-3 months to break into the Defy. Won’t be able to slip on the new shoes in time for Summit Roxx competition which is going to take place on the 10th August 2008. A month left for training for it. The format this year would be different again. There would be a 3 person team… a female presence is compulsory. Or go solo.

Ops… time to hit the sack. A busy day for tomorrow too. Brunch with SC. Suggested ba kut teh. Then get a hair cut. Followed by a late afternoon pie making session with Qiqi and Jo while being watched on by Cicak, Evil and me. Yum. And a dinner with a long time no see friend. Lots to do. Enjoy your weekend people.

I am sitting in front of my computer and typing this when I am supposed to be waiting in line on the LRT platform.

The reason why is because my car is having some problems. I discovered it last night and the thing is that my temperature meter shoots up from C to H in under 10 minutes. The humming sound of the propelling fan beneath the hood just gets louder… my heart sinks lower to my stomach by millimeters with every turns. Was hoping that everything will return to normal this morning but as I drove out of my house with my eyes fixated on the meter… the orange needle decides to pretend that it’s an arm on a clock. Bloody cock. It does not move like the hour hand nor the minute hand. More like a bastard son of the minute and seconds hand.

My first housemate has awoken and her sleepy looks seemed surprised to see me tapping softly away. Nah… I am not mad at the situation I am in now… so there is no need for me to thump away cursing and swearing in the cold and grey morning. Things like these happen to people everyday and it’s my turn today. Plus it’s drizzling a little. But I do not want to apply for an emergency leave but it seems that I have no choice. Another day wasted or is it? Let me see what I could be doing today. There are several things that I could do. No. Climbing is not one of them. Some work and errands to run after I get my car to my aunt’s workshop in KL area. Will add in more water in the radiator and with my fingers crossed, hopefully, I can make it through the 25 minutes journey. Let the traffic subside first. I do not want to be the one who screws up thousands of people’s morning on the Federal Highway and be the anonymous one hogging up traffic reports on the radio stations. It’s a Friday and Happy 4th of July to those who celebrate! Yeah!

Bon voyage to my buddy heading back to Shanghai. Had a great time talking to you but time is not on our side nowadays. All the best in your ventures and hopefully we get more time to share the things that has been happening soon. Cheers.

Time is 8.20am. I am planning to head out at 10 am. Think I will go finish up my muesli and yoghurt and also The Little Prince (have been putting it on hold). Smile.

So Ms. Rose has spoken and a few before her too… my uncle and some silent readers.
Updates ya… I seem to talk about my climbs and not much about others lately. I have materials that I want to post about reusable shopping bags that I would like to purchase probably this month.

For now, it would still be climbing related. 4-5 posts related to climbing… is it irking any of you yet? It sure does make me smile if a frown appears between your brow and you bellowing, Oh no not again… not another crappy climb story that I don’t understand! Any of you? Please grace me with your frustration towards my posts. No? None… then here comes another.

Got confirmation that the Summit Roxx will be held on Sunday August 10th… an annual indoor rock climbing competition that I would participate… with a few things in mind. To gauge whether I have improved my climbing, get to climb with a big group of friends or would be friends and also making a fool of myself under the needle stares of the public. I could still feel the flutters of butterflies in my stomach when I first joined the competition. I roped along ML… who recently got married, congratulations again… and we called our team SlowMo, it was a MSN nick I used a few years back. Short of slow motion and I am proud to say that we live up to our name. ML has vowed to never again participate. Though, I do think that she did pretty well… gritting her teeth and trying as hard as she could to complete her routes. It was a mixed team event. Nice…

On the other hand, I shall disclose one little tiny weeny detail. Because that we had to be in the complex very early to register and for briefing of the competition, the toilets were not open. And I have this condition/disease/infection that happens everytime without fail. After the butterflies mighty flapping has died down, my bowels seems to get extra hardworking. The nervousness that had built up in my throat and stomach has now decided to head down south. I feel like taking a bloody dump… either a dump or let the trouser snake spits its venom. I frantically searched high and low for an available washroom. And the horror that strikes me… none was available. All was padlocked. The event was about to start. I ushered ML along and assured her I will join her in a moment. Among the chaos, I managed to slip away… into the much abandoned staircase area. Went up a floor and found those large green dumping containers and I let it rip. Stopped once to check for footsteps. This is where I stained my pants a little. Lucky the material dries up fast. That is my first time and hopefully my last. Hey, I was desperate all right… and I forgot whose hand I shook right after my business.

The coming competition would be my third one and hope that I would do better than the year before. But most of all, is that I have loads of fun. One more month to go and it’s time to do some training. I have been doing so in the park opposite of my house when I felt like it. And also doing some harder climbs in the gym or outdoor. My haste has caused me considerable pain since Monday night… I did not do a proper warm up on my neck and shoulder area… and I think I have hurt the nerves connecting to my head… it hurts like a bitch headache if I tried doing chin ups. The agony. I feel it even if I don’t do chin ups. It comes and goes when least expected. Have to lay off for a while.

I am planning to redpoint a 6B climb on Nanyang wall in Batu Caves. The route is called Indecision. That’s my current project. Will look for a few more 6B routes to try. That’s my current standard. And crap… thinking about the route has got my palms all sweaty again. It’s the little dose of adrenalin that shots through my arteries when images of climbing flashes on by. Have you got your shots of adrenalin today?

Aaa… I can hear the echoes of ale ale in the distant. Sweet.

Just a post to remind me of my first big fall. My first fall means falling far down when climbing. Lead climbing. Fell 4 bolts. About 8 meters while 20 meters above solid ground. No I was not scared. I felt nothing. No fear. Nah, this does not mean that I am a daredevil or crazy it’s just might be the fact that I had no time for fear to sink in and tie a knot in my gut. I was going to share a shall foothold while caressing the limestone for a hold when all of the sudden,… zip… F… A… L… L…………. no one was expecting it to happen, they were all chatting below and my belayer was not aware too and gave quite an amount of slack. That was because I just clipped the second last bolt and trying to feel for a nice hold… a side pull and a sloper while changing feet… searching for a good foothold. It was a clean fall… and I remembered kicking the wall once before landing nicely with balls intact. I was actually happy for that fall and no shivers or trembles at all. I smiled waved and showed a good sign to the people below before having my daisy chain hooked on for safety. Everyone laughed. Belayer said sorry. I said don’t sweat it and don’t worry. It was a good fall and I feel liberated. I was no longer the boy who had never fell. Haha… shit. That sound’s wrong to my own ears now.

Location : White Wall, Batu Caves
Route : Kick A Cloud
Belayer : Nas
Witness : Ah Hon, Sherry, Adrian, Thomas and Sunny.

And I celebrated it with having a good time. The first was down the drain. My stupid look says it for me and I admitted that I had no idea. Took a deeper one next. Finish it with another short catch of breath. Keep it in. 1…2…3…4…5… Exhale. Aaa… c’est bonne La

Early dinner… think I am going to have packet of instant noodles. Am tired and hungry.

Bonne nuit. Pop gun my kap.

Tossed, rocked and rolled till 3 in the morning. It was like I was placed on a grill and I was the fish. A fish with more bones than meat. And this particular fish tonight damned wished it was deep fried and get it over with instead of being char grilled. Slow painful death. My cotton bedsheets was getting hotter as the seconds passed. Yeah… it felt like a banana leaf on heat layered with some lousy graded cooking oil.

My breathing seemed to amplify in the silence of my room. The little people in my head was all hyper… working the machines… sending messages here and there… and I could see messages fleeting by my eyes. The vast black blank screen. I am not sure, but I supposed my body denied my mind or rather delayed the bloody process of waking up and flicking the bloody pendaflour lights on. Of course when I did, I did not feel any better… my body was starting to heat up and I gave the blanket a taste of my horizontal shadow kick. If Jet Li was there… he would have personally handed me a flyer for his family-oriented Shaolin Kungfu Martial Arts Center Sdn. Bhd. “Now everyone can KungFu”

Grabbed a book. Read 2 chapters. Bloody late already. Only a few more hours before I would be sitting in front of my computer and blogging about it… with weak attempts on delivering a watered down sleep deprive version - a night wrecked by caffeine.

Damn those beans. Air suam is always the safest. Lesson learned, yet again.

Starting tomorrow everything will be going up.
It’s going to burn holes in lots of pocket.
Bloody hell. Prices for everything will be up up and up.

A 40% hike in petrol which is 78 cents will now bring our oil price up to RM2.70. Yes, it’s still cheapest in Asia but konek other people get to buy car at cheaper price and all. I am an unhappy citizen now. Bloody fools better fill the void with something good.

I do not understand why we shall be shouldering so much for these fuckers. If any smartass from up there tells us to spend less and be a smart consumer or get a motorbike or get a bicycle, there will certainly be a riot. Heads will roll.

I want to go on but work beckons. I am still unhappy. Disgusted. Am anticipating the second hike in August. Last year went well without any hike, gone happy days gone.
Why can’t we stop subsidizing “you shitheads” and use the money on more pressing matters?

These are not my two cents, they don’t even want to use it anymore… closest will be my five fucking cents. Pundek.

News from NST Online

Updates:
Some say increase Rm0.28, which will be RM2.20 tonight but hell it would still goes up and knowing that, it’s really fucked up. Whose birthday tomorrow? Surprise!!!

Was trawling through my archives and I stumbled on some drawings done by my friend. She was the only one who used MSN’s drawing function at the time and I thought her drawings are nice and I had no idea that she drew. Mmm… and if she did, she never showed me any. So I just did screen captures of her drawings and the one I am showing dates back to 12th August 2005. The day she drew the most. I like the chick, the prawn and her kicking my head in.

Wonder if she can tell it by first glance it’s her doing… mmm…

Finished burrowing in the world Tony Parsons drew up in Stories We Could Tell. Not an easy book for me though. It drew plenty of references from the music world. I know only a handful and that was just only recognizing their name. Not the music they play. A lot of words to pick up. Which I did not. Was keeping it for my second read. All in all an interesting read. Never knew I would be hooked on them, books… like Terry on speed and music.

Two more books left. Loaned them from Food4Thot last Saturday. They should be easier to digest. Thinner too. Read a few pages of The Little Prince but decided to hop on the Stories We Could Tell.

How coincidental for the Little Prince to walk into my life. I was excited when Food4Thot fingered through the spines of her book collection and handing me a translated French classic by Antoine De Saint-Exupery. For she had helped me solve the mystery of the weird looking permanent skin accessory on JH… a Arnie looking climber I met in Tonsai. First noticed JH and his friends sitting at one of the local restaurant having lunch and having a good time. SF and me just got down from a climb on ‘The Nest’ and we were both thirsty and hungry for some local food. Stripped off the harness and back from washing the calloused chalked up hands I noticed somewhat on first glance… a weird badly drawn figure on a small planet with a big tree ( a few pages into Le Petit Prince, told me the tree is a Baobab tree ) … out of shaped stars on the back of JH the French climber… who did a funny sexy body song number while kissing his biceps. A white kitten was napping on his backpack while he was doing his dance. It made me wonder why would someone have such a thing permanently drawn on them?

I would know the answer by next week. It’s supposed to be a touching story and quite famous too. Any of you read it before?

Marched to work on Monday while greeting those in sight with an uplifting mood. A week off to an island with beautiful sun, sand, sea and magnificent limestone formation littered with colorful people, swinging melodies, grubs that carve a curve and little mammals from lazy dogs to hyperactive squirrels, have this effect on me. Sorry that I drifted away.

*Rewind*

Yes… as I was taking the third last step through the glass door my receptionist stopped me. I think I saw a twinkle in her eyes. She heaved and quite effortlessly produced an oblong package handsomely double wrapped in white plastic. It took me a second to register the object placed before me. It’s the redemption gift. According to her, it had been waiting obediently for me since Wednesday… Wednesday afternoon… while I was away sweating in a harness doing a 6A+ climb, maybe. Enough of that. Am doing my detour from my post again. I think I need some extra weight to hold me down. So that roots can once again wrestles the loose earth beneath my feet and struggles to grapple anything to pull me back down… or at least keep me down.

Redemption gift. A nylon tent. A 2 men tent. A blue nylon 2 men tent. Was not expecting it to reach my office that soon. It had been only a week the most… according to the website it was due only in around 30-40 days… ha… could not care less… it’s finally here. I left it in the office yesterday night… I had to do some shopping after work so it was a bit crazy to waddle through racks of clothing and stationeries while lugging a bag and tent.
Finally brought it back just now and here are some mindless photos. Visuals.

The mess that came before a camp. I was having some trouble setting it up. This was the time I was looking for the manual. Where is the fucking manual when one needs it? Guess the picture on the carrier bag was worth a thousand words or the assumption that everyone who gets a tent knows how to set it up. The survival skill. The flakes of Rambo in me was trying to hide the laughter. I was a little frustrated figuring where the fibre poles are supposed to go. Finally I spread it flat on the floor and yeah… I can see where each of the skeletal frame should go. I started pitching at 9.50pm and completed it at 10.15pm. Not bad for my own standard. I half expected to complete it with disgust written on my face while droplets of water+ammonia+urea+ sugar+salt form above the brow. Bet I could do it faster the next time. Taking it down and packing it back was easy, just like folding my blanket, a thing I do every morning. Practice. Perfect.
Now, to wait for the weather to take a turn for the better. My last camping… if one could call it that, was back in primary school, on school compound, sleeping on stretcher beds along with 50 plus boys I think, while the girls get to use the classrooms. For me, getting a piss and dump outdoors is good. It beats having to haul your ass to the school toilet. The primary school toilet in the Standard One and Standard Two area creeps me out. Certain school toilets does that to me. They have that haunting feeling… I can still feel it if I dwell deep enough. I think I only did my big business in school toilets especially primary ones, less than 10 times. That’s what I can remember. Actually I can only remember only once. Yes, we went in pairs, sometimes even more than that and we usually ran back to join the crowds without looking back. The little girls back then always manage to flood the boys toilets with their tissues and pads. Guess they took the opportunity of camping to wreak havoc in the boys urinal territory. Tip toeing in for a piss still get your canvas shoes wet. Wonder if I ever heard Moaning Martyle giggling behind closed doors. Geez.

Alas, my RM50 voucher is missing. Have to give the credit card company a call again.