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July 28, 2011

Outfit for Today

For the sake of HARIMAU MALAYA!

Tengok-tengok lah. Mana tau saya termasuk TV malam ni. First time i YEARS im watching a football match at the stadium.

Let's win this!

Sent from my iPhone

Best Photo of The Fieldtrip

Taken at Telaga Tujuh, Burau, Langkawi.
Western Belt Malaysia Geological Fieldwork.
July 11-15, 2011.


It was one of the best fieldworks i went to. Simply because:

1) Guided by Prof. H. D Tjia, the legendary geologist who defines Peninsula Malaysia's geology. At almost 80 years old, he still rocks it!
2) Sepanjang fieldwork asek makan, sedap-sedap pulak tu (nasik kandaq, makanan Siam mahal, durian, mata kucing). Now you know why i'm fat..
3) i spent 4 days in Langkawi. Outcrops kat air terjun lah pantai-pantai lah. It feels more like a holiday. Hotel semua kompeni bayar. Nak shopping cokelat, pinggan mangkok and gi spa je bayar sdiri. Mau kau tak holiday.
4) Became closer to my friends (i love you Yoga, Fizzy, Zarith and As!), made new friends with new people.

At times like this, i love my job.

p/s: it was a little nostalgic for Yoga and i. During the fieldwork we felt as if we're back in Uni days. The bus trips, the junk foods, the rocks, the jokes.. All that's missing were our coursemates and the Crocker Formation. "Some things never change" "WE never change" :)



July 18, 2011

What Bootcamp Taught Me

Since i went for the ass surgery, i couldn't go to Original Bootcamp (OBC) sessions. Doctor's advice; no high intensity activities for at least a month.

Fearing for my just-cut ass, i obeyed. No jogging, no bootcamping, no gymming. It's been exactly 25 days since my last OBC session.

i feel terrible. i miss the muscle aches. i miss the instructor's shouting. i miss seeing Hamim sweat like a pig. i miss wondering "what's next?". i miss OBC.

People ask "So what did you get from OBC?"

Here's my point-of-view on OBC..

1) i didn't shed any kgs. My weight is still the same.
   - i'm not gonna lie to you. i thought i'd lose weight by joining, but NO. My weight's still the same. i'm still fat.

2) But i lose a few cm..
   - not much la.. But a few cm on my belly and thigh are gone.. Sikiiiiittttttt je.. A lot more to lose!

3) My fitness level increase
   - Prove: my time was 10 minutes 39 seconds on the first fitness test. On my second one, i managed to finish at 10 minutes! Hooyah!
   - i can run 5km in 34 minutes at Ekiden Run. My usual time was 30 minutes for 3.9km run.
   - During my recent geological fieldwork, we had to hike uphill. i didn't feel tired during or after the hike. Heck, i don't even feel the muscle pain afterwards!
   - Do i need to brag more? :p

4) i became more careful of what i eat
   - i'm not the dieting type. i eat whatever i want. But after joining OBC, the thought of eating nasik lemak for dinner after 100 push-ups makes me lose my appetite. Ko dah penat-penat burn calorie, apsal nak tambah lagi?

5) i became a little bit more muscle-y
  - Otot di peha dan betis sudah memejal. Tak se-flabby dulu. Perot je susah benor nak memejal. Hadoiii..

6) i challenge myself more
  - i found that when i'm tired of running or doing the squats, my inner voice would say "Come on, bitch! Just a bit more. That girl dah buat 20 kali takkan ko nak buat 17 kali je?"

7) i made friends.. Lots of them.
  - People from all kinds of age groups, professions and companies join OBC. So i made friends. When you feel like dying doing the burpees, a stranger's motivating words somehow motivates you to try harder.

Errr.. Yeah, that's all the points that i can think of right now. My only regret is that i didn't join sooner. i'm gonna start a new OBC session right after Ramadhan. Gotta work these muscles. Wish me luck!

p/s: Memang tak la berehat sebulan after surgery. During my fieldwork i hiked uphill, i swam, i ran, i jumped around.. Alhamdulilah ass is still intact. Takde jahitan tercabut :p
July 10, 2011

Removal of Left Lateral Gluteal Mass

Last week i was admitted to Prince Court Medical Center.

i was diagnosed with left lateral gluteal mass. Fuhhh.. macam hebat je bunyinya kan? Nak tau apa itu left lateral gluteal mass? Ia adalah ketulan di bahagian atas bontot belah kiri. Yes i said it. i had some sort of a lump on my upper left ass.

Go on. Laugh all you want. It's rather funny. A lump in the ass.

Now before any of you start picturing funny images, bende alah tu bukan lah directly on my butt cheek. Dia kat bahagian atas. Dekat ngan pinggang.

Mula-mula memang lah segan nak bagitahu orang i had a surgery on my ass. Kang orang ingat aku nak pi besarkan bontot yang sedia besar. Tapi setelah beberapa orang tahu, and orang-orang ni pulak dok bagitahu orang-orang yang lain yang tade kene-mengena (mulut manusia kan.. ko boleh tutup?) so i think tiada gunanya segan-segan sorok-sorok bagai.


The Story

Begini ceritanya.. Late May 2011, i discovered this lump while in the shower. Makin lama, makin besar lak aku rasa lump ni. Mulanya tak la risau sangat coz as far as i know, lumps are normal in fatty parts (e.g breast, butt). But what makes me nervous it the condition of the skin on the surface. Kulit jadi putih setompok and dier kedalam, macam lump tu tarik kulit tu kedalam.

Worried, i went to a clinic, just to get doctor's opinion. To my surprise, she said "This is not normal. I don't know what this is. I'll refer you to a hospital to get it checked properly". My first thought was "Yeayyy gi spital!!" Don't blame me, this is the first time ever i get to go to a hospital for a checkup.

So off i went to see a Breast and Endocrine Specialist at PCMC. She examined it. Scanned it through the ultrasound machine. She said "Err.. i'm not sure what this is. A radiologist downstairs will take a look on this. Maybe she'll know what this is. What concerns me is the skin. I'm just afraid it's a melanoma.." terkejut aku disitu. i know what melanoma is. It's the most dangerous type of skin cancer! Berderau darah.

Seeing the Radiologist

Dengan pasrahnya pegi lah jumpa radiologist. She examined me for quite some time. Pakai tools itu, tools ini. Pastu muka kerut-kerut. Tak sabar, aku pon tanya "Err.. What is that?". masih berkerut pandang skrin ultrasound tu, dia kata "To be honest, Siti, i don't know what this is. i suggest you get it removed." Agak serius bunyinya.

i was scheduled for a surgery the next 2 weeks.

Day of Surgery

Came Thursday, June 30, 2011. Hairannya aku tak risau langsung. malam sebelum pembedahan boleh lagi jalan-jalan amek Mr. Chenta di airport. Pagi pembedahan boleh lagi gelak-gelak. Even 5 minutes before pembedahan sempat tertido sebab boring menunggu.

Anyway, it was supposed to be a day care surgery. Maksudnya lepas surgery boleh balik. So i came dengan hati yang tenang bersama Mr. Chenta. Directly i was brought to the day care unit. Mr. Chenta di halau pulang. Terus tukar baju pakai baju camni:

Hehe. Dah macam tukang bedah, bukan orang nak dibedah.

Kat day care center ni ade banyak katil and a few operation theater. Kat katil aku ni siap ade massage chair lagi. i had 1 and a half hour to kill before the surgery. Kalo tau boleh je soh Mr. Chenta teman sambil dia dok berurut di massage chair.

 Massage chair sebelah katil.

At 1.45pm. They brought me into the waiting area, near the operation theater. Time ni la aku tertido 5 minit tunggu operation theater ready. At 1.50pm, an anaesthetist (doktor bius) came to see me. Friendly je borak-borak. i was brought into the operation theater. Man, it was cold in there! They had to change my blanket to a warm blanket. Diorang borak-borak lagi while the anaesthetist injek tangan aku masukkan bius tu. pastu ade pulak corong oksigen tu letak kat mulut. Then i was gone.

After Surgery

Tersedar around 4pm, sebab nurse kejutkan. Sangat pening and sangat ngantok. She handed me a case with that 'lump thing' in it. All i saw was blood. Aku ngangguk je and sambung tido balik.

Kol 5.30pm tersedar lagi. Kepala pening yang amat. tekak sakit. i requested to be admitted to the ward. Pening+ngantok tak kuasa aku nak bangun tukar baju, call Mr. Chenta segala nak mengarungi traffic jam balik umah. Tido balik.

At 6.30pm, dah selamat berada di ward. To my delight, my bestie Shaq was there! Weeee.. 

Borak-borak. But i couldn't concentrate coz i was hungry!! Berpuasa dari malam sebelum kot for the surgery. Nurse bagi egg sandwiches as a light snack habis aku bedal. At around 7.30pm my dinner arrived! Sedap yawww!
Beef lasagna with garden salad and fruits for dessert.

Muka toya tapi lapar tapi nak senyum.

i shooed Shaq out at about 8.30pm sebab dier nampak cam penat sangat. Ye la weekdays kan. Balik keje. At 9pm Mr. Chenta arrived with Wan. Merajuk ngan Mr. Chenta sebab tak datang awal-awal. Sobs. Tapi kejap je rajuknya :p 

The next morning i woke up feeling sakit-sakit di bahagian dibedah. Bius dah hilang sepenuhnya agaknya. Breakfast was not yummy sebab makan pancake je. i wanted the egg breakfast tapi semalam Wan pesan kene berpantang, takleh makan telur. So makan pancake je.

At arround 1.30pm i was discharged. Went home happily. 

 Sempat camwhore dalam toilet. Muahaha.

Oh, not before i had PCMC's Grilled Salmon with Sauteed Mushroom, mushroom soup, and mashed potatoes. *grin*

 My last lunch at PCMC. It may not look yummy but the salmon is yummehhh..


Seriously makanan PCMC sedap dowh.

On Monday, i went for a follow-up checkup with the doctor. Test result is ready. Ko tahu tak the size of the lump adalah sebesar bola golf? Argghhh trauma aku dengar! It turns out the lump in my ass was a hematoma or bak kata Melayu nya, darah beku. It grows larger sebab tu la makin lama makin rasa. Nasib baik keluarkan. Kalo tak lama-lama bontot besar sebelah haha. i'm just thankful it's not cancer. 

Alhamdulillah.

Post Surgery Experience 
  
The surgery area is not much of a problem. Biasa lah sakit macam luka dan denyut-denyut lepas surgery. i try not to wear tight pants. i mostly wore maxi dresses and long skirts for a week after the surgery.Longgar-longgar berangin-angin gitewww...

Apa yang sangat sakit adalah tekak dan mulut. Apparently during a surgery which involve a general anasthesia, a tube is inserted into your mouth all the way down to your throat to help you breathe during the surgery. So memang nak dekat dua minggu tekak sangat sakit yang sampai telan air liuyr pon susah. Not only that, maybe because i was dehydrated sebab tak banyak minom (sebab sakit tekak), ulcer tumbuh dengan pesat nya beberapa bijik dalam mulut. Memang dugaan sangat. i couldn't eat, and it hurts even in my sleep. Alhamdulillah hari ni after 10 days, baru surut segala sakit tekak and ulcer.

Sebab duduk dengan Wan, makan memang agak berpantang la. Tak makan telur, tak makan seafood. Takot gatal luka katanya. Cuma ada sekali je termakan butter prawn tapi Wan buat-buat tak nampak lalalala.. hasil nasihat keluarga dan kawan-kawan juga saya makan pati mikan haruan. Sangat tak sedap. Takkan makan dah smpai mase dalam pantang beranak nanti. Bluwekkkk!!

 Pati ikan haruan Polleney.
The most disgusting thing i've ever let into my mouth.
*pic credit to Mr. Google*


Okay that's the story of my ass. i gotta go now. A hectic week ahead!


p/s: i'm going on a 5-days geological fieldtrip across West Peninsula Malaysia starting tomorrow. Harap-harap luka surgery ok. Takot jugak kalo terkoyak or terbelah. Erk!
July 8, 2011

Do You Know..

that sea otters sleep holding hands, so that they won't drift away from each other?

i find it rather romantic.


July 3, 2011

MSIG Ekiden Run 2011 : The Sweet Taste of Our Sweat

Last weekend i made history.

Well, my life history. For the first time ever in the entire almost-26 years of my life, i ran a marathon!

A few weeks back, Chuna ajak join this Ekiden Run. As always, without thinking long and hard, i said yes on the spot. Typical bimbo me.

For Ekiden Run, participants have to form a group of 5 people (mandatory to have 2 women in the group). Instantly Chuna, Mariah, Puvee and i formed a group. Disebabkan tak cukup orang, i forced my brother, Redha to join. Seperti selalu, Redha pon dengan rela hati mengikut perintah. Hehe.

As days go by, i forgot that i signed up for this. Sampai lah hari Rabu lepas, i just hit me that i have to run on Sunday. Tak sempat nak training apa sangat. i only managed to jog once at KLCC Park. 3 rounds for 30 minutes. Itu pon dah semput cam orang gila.

We don't put high hope in this competition. Not there to compete, completing the run is our goal.

Ekiden Run is not like any other marathon. It's a relay race where we have to complete 21km run. There are 5 runners; runner A and C have to run 3km while runner B, D, and E have to run 5km. We were given a sach instead of baton to pass to our teammate once we finish our runs.

Runner A started their run at Dataran Merdeka. Runners B, C, D and E were taken by the respective buses to the respective checkpoints to wait for their teammates to finish their leg and pass the sach to them.

Ekiden Run is also a charity event. MSIG Insurance Company will donate RM100 per Ekiden participant to Japan tsunami victims. Click here to know more.

i was runner D. i was taken to my waiting point which is in front of Stadium Badminton Bandar Tun Razak. i had to run 5km all the way to Pavillion, Star Hill. Never in my life would i imagine walking/running all the way to Pavillion!

Ini lah keadaan di check point Zone D where i waited for Puvee (Runner C) to come and pass me the sach.
Time ni kol 6am camtuh.
Yang tengah lari tu adalah mereka yang lari for Standard Chartered Full Marathon. 42km hokay. Kau ado?


Puvee passed the sach to me at precisely 7.56am. i ran as fast as i could to finish my leg and pass the sach to my brother, Redha. Tapi tak lah fast sangat aku lari pon. Mula-mula je semangat. Pastu slow jog berselang-seli fast run dan berjalan. Penat tahu tak. i passed through Maluri, naik Jalan Tun Razak, passed RHB HQ, lalu depan Prince Court, passed Audi and Porsche showrooms and tamat di hadapan Pavillion. Passed the sach to Redha at precisely 8.30am. My time was 34 minutes. 

5km run in 34 minutes is an achievement for me!

For me, the moments leading up to me passing the sach to Redha is a little bit emotional. During the 5km run, i almost give up. Ye lah whaddehell ko lari tanpa arah tuju sejauh 5km? Kalau ikot hati, malas dah nak lari. Nak jalan je lenggang kangkung. But the thoughts of my team mates kept me going. Ye lah, tanak la sebab aku, all their efforts wasted. Tanak sebab aku, kitorang jadi the last one finish. Tanak sebab aku, team mates kecewa. Memang tanak. So i kept running. Walopon otot betis rasa nak tercabut dan tekak rasa tandus macam padang pasir Sahara. i kept on running. Bila sampai depan Audi showroom, i saw Redha. Nuuuuunnnn dia jauh di sana, di belakang garisan penamat. He saw me and he smiled. He looked so excited to see me. Agaknya dia heran camne kakak dia yang gemok tak pernah merentas desa ni boleh lari camni. He was my motivation at that moment. In that last 100meters, i sprinted. It was an uphill run but i sprinted. i passed the sach to my waiting brother, smiling, and i managed to shout "Good Luck!!"

As a result of commitment and team spirit (haaa.. patriotik sangat ayat ini kannn?), we finished at 11th place. We couldn't be more happier. 11th out of 30 teams is not bad at all. At least we're within the top 15.

  Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2011 : MSIG Ekiden Run 2011 Results.

It's not the placing that makes it sweet. It's the fact that i ran with my girls from work, Chuna and Mariah. It's the fact that i made friends with Puvee, Mariah's housemate. It's the fact that i did this with my brother, Redha. They make this sweet.

Oleh kerana bas yang membawa saya ke Dataran Merdeka (from my finishing point at Pavillion) terkandas dalam kesesakan lalu lintas, saya sampai lambat di Dataran Merdeka. Tak dapat tengok Redha amek medal. Dah la tak bawak phone, saya sesat tak dapat jumpa team mates. Nasib baik ingat parking kete katne, so cari mereka disitu. Tak sempat pon amek gamba team di finishing line. last-last kitorang amek gamba kat depan umah Mariah je. Hehe.

Ini adalah gambar kegembiraan just after i finished my 5km run. Diambil di check point E, depan Pavillion.
The only photos of myself that i have during the run.
Photo credit to Mohd Reduan, the official photographer of SCKLM.

My team mates, of whom i ran for.
From left; my brother Redha, Puvee, Mariah and Chuna.
Depan rumah Mariah pon bolehhh..

Sweet fruits of our sweat and muscle ache: Ekiden Medals.

The Story of Us.
:')

Sweet momentos that will remind me of my first ever marathon; Ekiden medal, Standard Chartered KL Marathon medal and my Ekiden run bib.


Harap tahun depan ada lagi. Harap di-invite lagi.

p/s: Now i can cross off one of the thing in my "30 Things to Do Before i Turn 30" list :D
July 1, 2011

A Post From a Hospital

Hey all..

Currently i'm on a hospital bed at Prince Court Medical Center.

Bored out of my mind.

But i felt like i'm in a movie semasa diusung masuk operation theater semalam. Haha.

Till i can write again..