Mixed Crumbs

The Double Spicy Chicken McDeluxe caught my eye. So did the 7 piece Onion Rings. Thought that I give it a try. Changed my mind and stood by the regular Spicy Chicken McDeluxe as the bloody new limited time only offer cost RM16 plus. Nothing to shout about when it’s only an extra piece of a same tasting piece of thigh meat. So I decided to forgo that. No reviews on how a fast food produce taste from me. Let others have the pleasure.

Anyway this Spicy Chicken McDeluxe ain’t something new. Many years back, KFC had this Double Blazing Burger which I loved dearly. Well, if put them side by side to compare of course. Am not a big fan of fast food ya. The smart people at KFC decided to scrap the Double Blazing and replaced it with a Hawaiian taste… giving the bloody burger a slice of pineapple. Had my bites of disappointment on that one. Their hula hula version with a wicked twist.

Here is something I did while sipping on my large coke.

Dark Knight. Joker. Clown. Ronald. It made sense to me. The corporate figure, the commercial freak that feeds on us or vice versa. It’s all part of the plan.

I filled myself to the brim last Saturday. Well nearly.

Met up with Food4Thot for some Ah Sang Ba Kut Teh around Kelana Jaya area. Let’s wait for her review on this place. Will linked it up if she does. I find it to be nice… with heavy herbs taste and Food4Thot liked the pig’s tummy most and her well trained buds tells her that those delicious slices of meat has gone through some pepper bath before ending up in a nicely simmered pot of claypot ba kut teh. I had two bowls of rice for my breakfast and a full tummy on a grey bleak morning does wonders. As we were enjoying this, a freak accident happened to an eight legged creature. Bless its soul.

Then hung around NZX for a while, checking the newly opened outlets… most of it being eateries. The Holly Coffee place seems decent. I could go there for my morning cuppa tea and hooked on to some Wifi and read a book. 2 hours should suffice and put me in a good mood for the day. It’s already in my coming to-do-list. SC insisted that I give Big Apple’s Durian infused donut a try. Since she is buying… naturally I did. I never reject free food. If I was a mouse, my life span would be so short. Managed to borrow 2 new books from her, Along Came A Spider by James Patterson and Socrates In Love by Kyoichi Katayama, my first Japanese translated book. Prepare for some different style of story telling, I was told. Oh and I finally finished The Little Prince. Go get it and read. It’s quite a read though it’s short. I mean the story not the prince with golden wheat hair. I left the place after gobbling the spiky doughnut. My burp smells of durian.

And the event of the day was the baking session once again after such a long interval. I was late so I was not eligible for any poser photos during the process. Hence I skipped all the photos of all of them and decided to post only what comes out of the oven. Ha… ha… ha…

First one to pop fresh out of the oven.

The Bread Butter Pudding. The crust is goooooooood. I only have a few bites. Was bullied into submission… had to eat a lot of the squishy part. Never let them serve me again. Hahaha…

The layered Shepherd Pie. Topped with cheese on top of an inch of mashed potato+onion+cheese on mixed vegetable and minced beef. Pardon the photo. It got attacked before they got a nice shot of it.

Made me skipped dinner. But had supper instead with my brother and friends. Slept early because the next day is a Sunday. And instead of joining the protest in red tshirts I went for the rocks. I had to officiate my new Evolve Defy. My third pair of climbing shoes.

Driven to climb more by the new acquisition, I did 6 routes at Nanyang Wall, Batu Caves. I led a 6A+ and did the Indecision 6B again but failed to redpoint it. It was good though. I only stopped to rest at the second last bolt. At the crux. Jammed my fingers till I tore my skin. No bloody scene, no worries. The other 4 routes was all top rope. A 6A, Lost Monkey 6C+, Old Shoes Beware 6C+ and Go To Hell 7A. Lost Monkey is considerably easy with loads of juggy handholds, the crux is the 3rd - 2nd last bolt area… a roof. With proper footwork and enough power and endurance it will be easy peasy. I think I will fall on that when I lead it. No doubt about it. Deep breath. It should be hell of a rush. The only climb that has been haunting me for the last 2 days is the Old Shoe Beware. I got my new shoes strapped on so I had won a quarter of the battle right? Fat hope. Anyway I kind of figured the move at the crux part. Left crimp, right hand over head crimp with a high step and a hard hard push on the right. Jam the fingers in the hole and go up… while stabilizing myself. Clip and exhale. That scene has been playing several times a day now and I am aching to get it over with. But alas, I would have to wait for 10 more days or so for I won’t be going outdoors this week. It’s resting time.

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.

This is definitely a very different concept of playground to have around our neighborhood. Which I deem impossible, with all the numbers of vandals present. Everything would be gone.

Anyway that aside, am here to show you the Mobius® Climber, one of the product conceived by Landscape Structures. As the name implies, it has a lot do with climbing, yet again. Hyper kids would enjoy themselves on these. Before anyone says “So dangerous”, I beg to differ. Don’t be overprotective, for this case. I don’t think falling and knocking and getting scrapes and burns will leave a huge physical or psychological scar on them, kids. It’s part of growing up. Younger years spending running around, wading in thigh deep deserted lake, going into rubber estates and oil palm estates, abandoned fields or climbing and jumping off waterfalls and slides have proven to be a fun experience for me. Sad that I can’t climb trees, jump into rivers or any other things with my friends like my dad and his friends did. But I do think I am still doing better than kids who spend hours in front of video games and computers refusing to budge and get some evening sun. Am wishing that I could get my daily dose of evening sun… for when we get off work it would be 630pm.

Ain’t it cool.

12-Panel and a 7-Panel

6-Panel and 3-Panel

Here’s what Landscape Structures have to say for themselves.

A wonderfully wavy way to set your playground apart

There’s nothing else quite like our wonderfully wavy Mobius® climbers. Kids love climbing up, down, over and under as they test their strength and agility, and invent limitness new games. And our artful, anodized aluminum panels bring a unique asthestic to any play area. Easy to install and virtually maintenance free, there’s squiggly configuration options to fit every site and age group.

Mobius handholds are easy to grip at all angles for added safety

The Mobius climber is so much fun, we couldn’t design just one. We offer four models to fit your budget and site: three-panel, six-panel (shown left), seven-panel and an eye-popping twelve-panel that will amaze adults and kids alike. These climbers provide a wide variety for everyone!

This exciting new climber celebrates the art of play. It helps kids:
• Build gross motor skills
• Build upper-body strength
• Increase hand-eye coordination
• Improve balance
• Develop thinking skills
• Give their imagination a workout

Sweet.

Check out their website and you will find many other playground system and ideas.
Visit Landscape Structures

On one of my trips back home, the playground I spent many hours when I was a kid looks like a war field to me. It was the invasion of (illegal) immigrants. Huge groups. Playing the world’s famous game. Marbles. Haha… hell no… football la… what else. No blood was spilt. Just sweat and saliva. I don’t go there anymore.

This has got to be the single post with the most shots of me in it.
The poser. It’s great to be able to put my photoshop knowledge to good use.

Tonsai Beach.
Eat when you are hungry.
Sleep when you are tired.
Climb when you want to.
No one wears a watch here except one of our friend in our group. Duh.


Dead pufferfish. Did not dare go up close. Afraid that it will pop.
Grigri on me.

Grigri on table.




On our way for breakfast.

Watching JH climb. The one with the Le Petit Prince tattoo.

Top rope on Lion King

This should be Luke doing bouldering on the beach.
Silhouette of Grigri.

Third pitch. Waiting to going over to rappelling station.

View from third pitch.

Rappelling down… think it was about 60-70 meters
SC… familiar pose?

Mingling at Freedom Bar, Tonsai Beach.
Favorite pastime. Lie down and watch.



Taro is nice.

Home made ice cream. It has barley and some other nuts buried underneath.
Local breakfast. Very nice.

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.

Been on my “To Blog List” for a long time now. I got myself one last two months ago. Love to have one more though. A Roo Shopper to be precise… to answer the call for the eradication or at least to minimize the plastic plague. Love the colors and design so I plastered them all in a single post… just enjoy it as you scroll down.
A little information about them before I let the bags talk for themselves.

What’s “TOTE AS CANVAS”

The idea for “TOTE AS CANVAS” originated when we thought that it would be a great idea to use Tote bag canvas for creating art. We want people to enjoy drawing and for adults to appreciate the enjoyment they can get from this just like when children find a white surface and some crayons and quickly start scribbling. Wouldn’t it be great if people walking in the streets carried these bags and turned the cities into what seems like a gallery? After a simple flash of inspiration we found the opportunity and created “Tote AS CANVAS” and organized the design award.

It has loads of compartments here and there. And a secret one out front.

The Campbell series shown here are what they call Roo Shopper.




The Artists Who Love Mickey & Minnie is damn cool. Artists/designers are approached to play on empty canvas Roototes and the result is bliss. Check out the Rootote Mickey gallery

There are more. Go check them out here. Visit Rootote