Off to Melbourne...

Yeah, it was such a last minute thing. My office wanted to sent 4 people (2 seniors including myself, a manager and a partner) to Melbourne for a conference on superannuation funds (in Malaysia, it's EPF). One person couldn't make it. So I was asked to go, since I do a fair bit of super fund audits. Get to stay two nights at The Westin. Individual rooms.

Knowing me... the first thing I thought about was how this would affect my training... and those sweet stuff they serve at conferences plus the grand dinners and late night drinks. So I checked the hotel website and found under 'activities' there was a runner's map, recommended by Runner's World magazine. The route is 3.8k. Hope I won't be too wasted at night to wake up the next morning for a run (I intend to do the loop twice). The weather is forecasted to rain this week. But it seems warmer than Perth, minimum of 15 degrees while we're having 7 degrees over here!

Okay, leaving for airport in a few minutes time. Just found out I didn't bring enough formal wear as I didn't expect us to have a dinner (I guess I just have to improvise) and I forgotten my phone charger. Hope I can still contact Li-Ann when I arrive back at Perth.

Oh yeah, my high school friend Su En was here for visit. She had a birthday yesterday (another May baby). Sang birthday song with sparklers and an awesome cake by the lake at East Perth condominiums. Have a safe trip back this Thursday, Su En!

FREE-REN(DOM)!!!

Quote Mel Gibson in Braveheart... Yesterday marks my lil' sis 21st birthday. They say that on your 21st birthday, you receive the golden key to freedom. I can't exactly speak for myself because my own 21st wasn't very extragavant compared to my other birthdays.

Anyway, here's to wishing my Ms Metro/Powergal sister a very happy birthday and may you find the freedom that you have DESPERATELY been looking for =P

My powerbar supplier

Keith's sister figure and brother figure as well (she plays it quite well... hmm) while I'm away in Perth

Taking on my hand-me-downs (i.e. the bike)

My partner-in-crime during big dinners

But now so ai-swee already... won't even take a picture with a silly pose

Wish I was there too...

Free n fun

The previous post highlighted my freedom from my CA exam yesterday. Jessica Simpson and Colin Powell were certainly NOT what I expected. Nicholas Tse actually has the same chinese name as I.

The CA exam was alright. I think because they have stuffed up the module so badly, they made the exam easier than everyone expected. This means most people should be able to pass but it may be harder to get a merit (top 5%).

Tried Domino's meat pie pizza for lunch to celebrate (I consider eating a whole pizza on my own celebrating hahhah). Verdict: NOT NICE. Pies and pizzas just don't go together. It had the pastry of the pie on top. The minced meat and green peas were in between the pastry and the pizza crust. It could be because mine wasn't done properly... as the onions were raw. Otherwise, would taste okay but still a bit weird.

My friend Marc treated us to Spiderman 3 yesterday... La Premiere (something like our Gold Class in Malaysia). The experience was indeed something different... having the lounge outside with free soft drink/coffee and pop corn refills. The seats were BIG... not very intimate for the couples *wink*.

The movie itself was... fun. It was entertaining but a bit predictable ala comic book style. Some parts were a bit draggy. I personally liked the 1st one best. But thanks, Marc! I really enjoyed the movie and I hope you would enjoy your Eye Toy!

Back to work today after 7 day break. This would be hard...

When I have nothing to do...

It's Keith day, whether you like it or not!

That's just my lame attempt for trying make my brother's 13th birthday sounding as cool as possible. Yeah, I have to accept it... I'm OLD. No longer hip or in the scene anymore. Anyway, here's to wishing my younger brother a very happy birthday and welcome to the teenage years... actually I have left my teens so long time ago, I can't remember what's it like anymore. So I don't have much words of wisdom to pass on, hahhah.

When they were still cute and adorable...

The prefect boy...

They grow up so fast...Then...

Now...

Don't you think he's like a MINI-me?

Two and a half men...

Let's paint the town red!

I tend to get bored quite often during study breaks. My study plan is to do one chapter per day. So after finishing one chapter, I don't move on to the others even though I have free time. Call me rigid, but I'd like to think that I'm giving my brain time to absorb =P

Anyway, I decided to take a drive to look at some tri-suits that I've been wanting to get. My current one is still fairly new, but it's starting to loosen. I've been eyeing this red one by 2xu. Was a bit sceptical about the pockets... thought they might add more drag. But the colour was just TO DIE FOR... it matches my bike. And I guess, the pockets would come in handy when (or if) I attempt a Half Ironman next year.

My first stop was BikeForce Subiaco. It's not my usual store but decided to have a look. My usual store, TotalTriathlon mentioned they were only having sales after the Busselton Half Ironman, which was this weekend.

BikeForce was selling garments for 50% off! But there weren't any of my S sizes left. There was one S size, which is the 2xu elite suit that was going for AUD100 but it was black... so boring. It wouldn't be half as bad if it was blue. Should have visited this store so much earlier.

So I went to next shop nearby, Sports Fever, which had plenty of sizes left but they were going for only 25% off.

I crossed my fingers and sped all the way to TotalTriathlon, hoping that their sales were on and there were sizes left. The store owner mentioned that their sales would only start on Monday. I saw that my red suit in S size going for AUD140 was the only one left... I told him my concerns about it being taken by someone else.

And the nice guy said he'll give me the discount there and then. So I got it for AUD99. It is the same price as the elite one in BikeForce but with a colour like that... I can't complain.

Front

Back

Camwhoring

Camwhoring with RED bike and RED helmet

My state of mind is... NOT VERY HAPPY!

We just bought our flight tickets to Melbourne for 8 July to 15 July. I was very upset that the price went up in just a few days. Paid AUD260 for each way to fly with JetStar. When Li-Ann and I were searching around for prices, it was about AUD240. I also recalled seeing it as AUD200 a few months back. We delayed buying because we thought that there would be some offers coming up.

The price increase is really ridiculous! We tried buying for 2 people but realised that it's AUD10 more per person than buying for individual. So I paid first, but immediately after I paid, the price had gone up by AUD20 already... so Li-Ann had to pay more.

I'm not exactly in the best of moods at the moment. Thinking that I could have saved AUD50 per trip if I had booked much earlier makes me feel VERY agitated.

Currently on study leave until my CA exam next Tuesday. The CA really screwed up this module. With too many errors, they re-issued the candidate learning pack (which is 500 pages long) just few weeks ago when we, the candidates, have read... and referenced through the original copy for the past few months!

The weather has also been flip-flopping. I missed out on my 17k run this morning due to the rain. Intend to run this evening. Hope it clears by then. In the past 30 minutes, it has changed from rain... to clear sky... to rain... to clear sky... and to rain again!

Yeah, did I mention again I'm not in the best of moods?