some alone time

Time spent alone... Is a time well spent. That's what i keep telling myself. But is it really nice to be alone ? Just a bit of a dilemma period i guess... Right now, i'm sitting at The Bakers, just finish my sandwich dinner. Enjoying this horrible coffee-waiting for Keat. We are supposed to go ikea shopping. Our hse project is taking a bit of a delay :(

Back to the dilemma... The past long Christmas weekend, been going out, with this girl from Salsa class. More like she teman me out, coz we go out with my friends... Out in groups, not like a 1-to-1 date la. To me, it is like out with a normal friends mar...

But... I think she is taking it the wrong way. I mean, there is nothing wrong with her... Nice lady (cause she is elder than me), kind of a simple girl next door type of girl. How should i put it ? To me, it was just normal going out with friend. I think she takes it as if we are dating. Cause her words and actions clearly shows it...

So..... Then i'm now asking myself, am i not wanting a relationship or am i just not wanting a relationship with her ? Still can't really answer tau question. Probably i've been bit too comfortable being single ? What's wrong with going out and have no strings attached...

Her signs are strong... But i control myself and not being too physical with her. Not saying that i wanna sleep with her la. But i draw a border, dun get too overly physical, respect mar... No guys... She is not throwing herself onto me. Don't think she's like those cheap type of girl...

Confusing huh... I enjoy her company, out for dinner and movie. Believe, it has been te longest time since i last went to the cinema. Now... How am i to put it to her in the nicest most gentlemen way that i'm not looking for a relationship just yet... Pros and cons aside, still don't feel like commiting myself. So much more for me to do and think about...

Alrite... Keat is here... Time to finish up this horrible coffee and start shopping. Think bout this dilemma later. Meeting my dear Kenix later for a cuppa at Starbucks...

Sofea @ Sekinchan

IMG_8292_Sofea, originally uploaded by ::N.Keong::.

Many many many moons ago... made this photo shoot trip to Sekinchan, as I always been wanting to know what it is like there. There have been so many photo shoots done. Vast greens of paddy fields, that should provide a background for a portraiture shoot.

Didn't really helped that the nite before the shoot, I had a all niter with 3 other photogs. It was a chill out relaxing lepak TCSS. Yeah I think I remember now... Went down to Low Yat to buy myself a new CF card.. SanDisk Extreme 60MB/s - 8GB. Then Alvin brought us (Jayhan and me), for some real authentic Thai food. Where the waitress tried to take our order in Thai. Good shitz... HOT and sa-picy as hell ! Then the whole TCSS lepaking session lasted till like 4am.

Anyhow... totally stoned for the photo shoot... we did managed to make our way to Sekinchan. As expected... paddy fields, as far as the eyes can see. But really really really... lack of toilet facilities.

Photo shoot went on well... with Sofea as the model. She as always able to BRING IT for every photo shoot. This is the best shot I got from that day's outing...

Anyhow... Hope that this work... Adding a short clip of what was done by Jay & Jian @ Sekinchan.


Just as an end note....

All these while that I've been blogging, never expect to have any followers. Not that I am an avid blogger. Just on and off... It is really great to know that there are a small few ppl who are following this blog. Well, I do see the hit counter running up every time. But anyhow... Probably could add me up on Facebook : nkeong@gmail.com
Do mention that you found me from this Hardtail'ers Blog.

Thanks...

Chantelle Chuah

IMG_3208_Chantelle, originally uploaded by ::N.Keong::.

Quite honestly... I don't really wanna flood this blog with photos of models. I mean after all this was created from mountain biking rides. That should still be the essence of the blog... Then again, not like anyone of us been biking...

Anyhow I don't want to miss the chance to blog this shot. She is Miss Chantelle Chuah... Also, Miss Malaysia Model of the World 2007 - Crowned Winner and Miss Malaysia Universe 2009 - Finalist. Those are just the 2 main pageant titles.

Can always follow her on her blog : http://chantellechuah.blogspot.com/

Of my other Labour of Love...

Not sure if I've mentioned of blogged about this before... But along with weekend rides, my weekends are filled up with Taekwondo - every Saturday morning. It is really nice to be with my students, which I usually refer to as my kids... Shorter name to call them and a more personal and confusing at times to friends..

In August, there was a small tournament that a small few of my kids joined. Well... managed to get a good Silver. But a waste, it should have been a Gold... Motivation...
Already starting to train the potential ones for 2010... At least convert the Silver medals this year, to GOLD ! It is not really as bad... cause the few good ones are listening to me, the worst is when you get those smart-ass kids. Who thinks they are all that damn good... Those... oh well... just let them be...

So... here are some pics... but not of my kids.. when I am coaching them, how to shoot le.. Can't be cam whoring as the side of the ring. Malu woii... and disrespectful.

Preparation


Battle of the lil ones


Clash of the Titans


Shot of The Day

Qing : Evening photo shoot @ Putrajaya

IMG_2158, originally uploaded by ::N.Keong::.

Woofer rides again... road only...

Guess who's back... I mean either than that I'm back into riding. So far twice liow, both also on road... Cause in my previous trip back to Penang, both 2 pairs for Kenda 1.5inch semi slicks. Supposed Keat also start back riding road, at nite after work. But hasn't happen yet...

On who's back... Kit... The previous owner / mechanic / rider of The Bike Shop in SS15 Subang Jaya. Sifu to CS and Jackson... Well it was an impromptu meet up with him. I was supposed to have lunch with CS and his wifey - Cherry. Then CS called to say that Kit is joining us... It was quite a surprised. Thought that he already gone back oversea...

Anyway.... just our simple lunch session @ TTDI - claypot loh si funn. Talks of our riding days... We then proceeded to play pool. Rusty as I was, still managed to win a few racks.

Now now... I then went home a tad earlier, bout 5pm. Changed... and then started to change them tyres on my Tank bike. This and that... took me quite long to prep the bike ready. But yeah... I managed to get the bike going... And started to ride on them Kenda semi slicks. Was a bit scared on the corners, mana tau got sand ke... sure slip rite. But surprisingly... Not bad wor... Good grip !Tried to go a lil "off-road", not too bad... Gotto give it a try in the sands. I doubt that it will perform well in the mud... or wet trails.

But anyway... I stopped after like 5 or 10 minutes of riding. The air pollutant was bad ! My throat was so damn dry. Also I received a sms... Stopped to read and reply... Important sms from an important person. Which... gives me a chance to capture this...

Then hor... mana tau... My shoe rosak ! Stupid tapak tercabut, open croc mouth !


That kind of ended my short evening ride...

WHICH !!!! THIS MORNING... I woke up at 530am, and went for an early morning ride. Started bout 6+ am till 7am... Even then traffic was quite heavy in Subang, the sending kids to school traffic. I have to respect those roadies, I was bit scared looking at the traffice actually. So I just ride on the residential roads...

So now... the next question is... When will my next ride be ? Wonder how long can I maintain the early morning rides ? Think I should TRY to drag Keat along for morning rides... Like that is gonna be possible la. Oh well.... lets see what happens...

Ann Na

Ann Na, originally uploaded by ::N.Keong::.

Sexy Office Lady theme....

carace

carace, originally uploaded by ::N.Keong::.

Just another reason why I am still not riding on a Sunday morning...

I'm somehow determined to ride this coming Friday morning, May 1st ! Being a public holiday, there shouldn't be a reason why I can't. Just a short ride in the morning, then head to 1U to shoot Fashion on 1.
Even just a short simple get-to-know-u ride in FRIM also will be satisfied liow...

Hey... I have got my Camelbak zip repaired... Now have to see how the gears run. I think my disc brake pads needs to be changed as well.

Wish me luck...

Extra Motivation

Facebook... Who is not on Facebook ? Well I know of 2 person, Keat and CS.. Both of them are not on Facebook. But I'm not here this morning to talk about who's on and who's off Facebook. Or am I to start on the secret plot the Facebook is being monitored by the CIA or whatever secret intelligent organization.. Hey.. Osama might even have a Facebook account and use it to start recruiting "members"...

Still on Facebook, my dear friend, WLM bought himself a new Hardtail... Saw it on Facebook. He is now working in Korea, somewhere near / South of Seoul. A real sweet bike... Considering the parts and the price to it. This was extracted from his Facebook comment,

it was a korean brand 18.5" frame, Black Cat, deore xt groupset, xtr rear derailleur, shimano hydraulic discs, rock shox tora....was for about RM2k...total weight 12+..nearing 13kg



The only thing that needs to be upgraded is a FOX fork... Nothing better than a spring coil. I'm still sticking to my trusty sweet FOX Vanilla ! Cause those air forks are just too hard to tune...

So it is time for me to get my bike back in running condition ! I should start... At least get the tubes in and have a small ride around the housing area. See what else needs to be fixed, tuned or repaired...

TANK Bikes Update

I just did a simple Google search... And to my surprise, I see that Tank Bikes is entering into the UK market ! Then again, I am sure there have been a few Tank MTBs here and there. Cause I remember getting a message on my Flickr, after posting up shots of my Tank frame.

So anyhow... Just wanna share with those that are still visiting this blog... There are a few interesting sites that are worth checking out.

Looks like the official site for the UK market. Just look at the Creamy White Tank Race Elite full bike. But I don't understand why the Magura fork ??? Then again, people may also ask, WHY the Tank bike ?I think... the frame is exported to UK and then parts are added and built by the local distributor. So do check out the site... I don't know how to paste a proper link, anyhow... Here is the link : http://www.tankbikes.co.uk/

Cause from the official website in Taiwan... Even the color scheme is different. Anyhow...I really love the color scheme for this.. The RED with the gun-metal grey base color, simply eye catching and stunning ! Even look at the RED handle bar ends... Of course, EASTON tubing frame.


In fact, to those Tank Light hubs users / lovers... There are now 3 range of hubs to choose from. 1 that really caught my eye, is Tank Sup Light. I mean I am not a weight weenie to begin with, but then... Rear = 278g and Front = 154g. Not sure how light that is..




To actually find out more, check out the official Taiwan site : http://www.tankcycle.com.tw/product_27.asp

To end this posting... BikeRadar did a review on the Tank Race Elite - UK version. I would like to paste here the 1 and only comment, from another owner.

I decided to purchase the tank after toying between a maxlight XC2 as this seems similar. I previously owned a rockhopper 07 which I love to bits. However I am slowly starting to love how the tank handles over technical sections in comparison to my rockhopper. It also climbs very quickly for a mid range hardtail. The chainstay area is particularly nice with a generous yoke and tyre clearance room. The toptube could do with being a tad longer as the 100mm stem can feel a little tight at times, although this was sorted with a new hope 120mm.

The magura menja 100mm fork is amazing considering what other kit comes with the tank for the price. My rockhopper cost £1100 which has a fox fork that handles no where near as well as the menja, i have been won over by how plush the magura fork is (although it does leak a little).

The bike seems very good value although I was a little disapointed that the price stated on bike radar is different to that of the suppliers website "rolling resistance" I ended paying just short of £1200, although I still consider this great value as the bike came with FSA carbon seat post, bars, saddle & shimano XT cranks. They didn't have the £930 option available which may put some people off, however I wouldn't rule the bike out for the extra £270 as kit choice still represents great value.

For the full bike review.. A good review at that.. Please scroll over to : http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/mountain/product/race-elite-31857

Valentine Day Aftermath

Hello all... Still getting some hits on this site. So lets just keep this going... Although this is a joint blog, which started with the few of us Hardtail riders (CS, Jackson, Keat and myself). Since all of us have been doing almost ZERO rides. Guess it'll soon be taken over by me... Actually I have never like blogging. Wonder how there are so many celebrity blogger ! Got so many things to write about meh ? At nite cannot sleep also wanna blog... WAH LAU wei ! Some more can make money by internet advertistment.

Yeah yeah... I know... Jealousy will get me nowhere... WHATEVER ! ! !

This morning on my drive to work, was listening to mix.fm as usual. It is already 2 FULL days after V'day, so they think it is now safe to discuss on the bad side of Valentine's Day. Listeners were calling in telling their good and bad "experience"... Well (apparently) Serena C and Pietro spent their Valentine's Day being SINGLE. So leaving it as that, I managed to listen to 2 callers. Almost 2 extreme ends, 1 good and 1 ugly !

The GOOD

This lady called up... Saying that she had the best Valentine's Day. Woke up to a Breakfast-In-Bed, got up from bed... Only to be surprised with a new shinny anklet, secretly put on by her better half while she was asleep. Then a quiet romantic dinner for two, hand cooked by her guy. And the nite day ended, I would imagine with passionate love making... Only at the end she revealed that they are married.

I think I should ask my married colleague... See what they did for their Valentine's Day. Wonder if any of them guys will reveal their romantic side of them. Then again, why wanna probe into colleagues' personal life rite ???

The UGLY

She called to tell of her traumatic expereince. Things with her (now) ex-bf, went ugly. And he got physical on her, not sexual but the abusive type... She just stayed home and was still scared to go out. Of course not much details were revealed over the airwaves of course. Then again, lately domestic violence have been getting much attention, thanks to the Chris Brown and Rihanna...

How is it that some ladies can stay and stand with an abusive partner ? Like the caller said, she knows that he is going through some stress from work le... Things have happened... This and that, giving him leverage and thinking that things will change ! Sometimes love can make us so damn blind... But I think more of she is just being STUPID ! Got me thinking, cause in Uni time, there was another girl friend with the same problem. Physically abusive boyfriend...

Actually... come to think of it... If you are not in their shoes, we won't know what it feels like. Won't know what to do. Berat mati memandang, berat lagi bahu memikul, pedih lagi hati merana... Bottomline is, I'm totally against all this violence.. What more for myself, who is really a short tempered guy. But I have never (this far) have had the urge or thought of hitting my girl. Pray that I'll not be the beast like those bastards have become..

What a twist of blog... I actually wanna heheehehe... SHOW OFF my new watch..

It has been the longest time that I have been looking for a new watch for myself. Looking at those normal cheaper ones, like GUESS and Fossil or even Seiko. Secretly I think I memang wanted a Swiss Made watch. TISSOT is of course is 1 of the cheaper SWISS watch available in the market.

So... I first saw this watch in Mid Valley actually.. Which actually was picked up by Norraine. Hmmm... I'm thinking now, what were we doing in Mid Valley that nite ? Kind of many things happened during that particular day...

There after... the following weekend, I was at Chili's BSC. From the outside, can see memang the shop is high class... Saw a couple looking at the Bretling display. Oh well, just go in lor... Cause saw got TISSOT there... Also OMEGA, TAG, Mont Blanc, BALL, ORIS... among others.

Went in only.. Was attended by an elder lady, only then realised that the model, TISSOT RACING was not there on display. So she took out the catalogue book, asked me to find.. I pulak no idea what the name of the model that time. Called over to a younger guy, explained to him vaguely. He knew it straight away ! And the best thing was... he was serving a couple looking at BRETLING watches... Wa... small fry like me, looking at TISSOT also he come over. Hehehehe...

Ok lor... Was told to come back on Wednesday, cause that is when they'll be getting new TISSOT stock. As I was walking around moving over to Bretling, he softly told me... "give me 30..." I reached out for the calculator... Keyed in the figures, and he said YES. Wah.. Happiness... Never thought that a high end shop like this gave such good service and good price ! I scout around in other shops, WATA Time especially... Damn the lan si. Never even bother to greet. Just like pretend don't see you walking around in the shop. Memang double standard...

So then... come Valentine's Day... Despite a very rough start, there were some small small issues that we didn't agree on. Became quite a tension between us. Nearing to dinner time, we decided to go back to the shop to have a look. I have been thinking about that watch ever since anyway... Like poison, and the watch was the antidote.

The moment walked in only... The guy recognized me, and straight away told the sales girl, what I came for... A BINGO ! It was there... with my name written all over it. Not literally of course... Well, so that was SET !

At the same time... since we were there and I have not bought her anything for Valentine.. I asked her to picked 1 watch for herself. Seeing the price of TISSOT for ladies are not that expensive. The cheapest was going for RM590, add in with the 30% discount. She took a very very very long time to finally decide on the model that she wanted. So much so... that I had time to go toilet, tummy upset. STUPID prawns from Bubba Gump @ The Curve. Went down to the car, to get my 2 GUESS watches - dropping them in for repairs.

Oh well... She decided... I was ok... Though it was a lil on the high side. But nevermind le... Still can cover. RM970 for another TISSOT PRC100 - woman's chronography watch. Not a bad price for a Swiss Made watch.

The nite... nicely and quietly ended without any drama. We decided to ta pou back fried noodles as our dinner. Initially planned to go Sri Ayuttha, but with the big spending. Don't think it is possible.. Save up as much I guess.
At least... watch is more useful. Tell time... and date. Makes more sense than buying diamonds ? Of course we should only buy diamonds for the right reasons. The right reason for me, has not come yet.

I am happy that I finally got a new watch... Come to think of it, the GUESS watch I have been wearing, has been following for like 10 years now. Hope that it can be repaired, and at an economical price also. If not no point rite ? Better go buy another new one... As for her, she is happy with the new watch. And an expensive one at that... But moeny well spent. Both of us left the shop happily smiling...

Of course can't beat another rich couple who came in to the shop.. Talking all loud but not too rudely. Can tell, these are from the Mile High Club type. Asked the sales girl what watch were they buying, cause I saw the red box... so nice mar. She told it was a OMEGA... Nevermind... was told that they are regulars... Always come and buy watches for friends ! DAMN ! ! ! I also wanna be their friend ! No need much, just 1 OMEGA watch is enough liow...

That is that... And it was a very very memorable Valentine's Day for me. Which I think is my 1st time to actually celebrating Valentine's Day...

TANK rims

2009 ! 2009 ! 2009 ! This will be the year that I start back my weekend rides. Have been neglecting my bike for ages liow, so much so that I can't remember when was the last ride... I know I have bought 2 or 3 extra spare tubes. Had a puncture... and then it was an excuse not to ride.

Need to kill off all excuses not to ride... Looking at the mirror, don't really like what I see. Getting way and above the heavy weight liow, HAPPY weight !

So so... few things that I wanna do to my bike TANK Fobia (if can still remember it is called).

1. Rims... As hell I still want back my RED rims. It is just for the bling bling factor.. Which was why Keat showed me on bbs (www.bicyclebuysell.com), Tank wheelsets for sale. In fact there are two for sale,1 set in white and 1 in red.















I wonder why are there so many TANK products for sale. Is there a sudden demand for it ? I thought that there is a stigma of riders with TAIWAN products ???

Ok... back to the topic of my rims...

Which would look better ? The white rims are really so damn tempting... Both going for the same price of RM480, from a guy in Penang.

The thing is that I need to rebuilt the whole wheelset again. Cause I realised my Tank frame, the rear triangle is not really that "straight". So the rims need to aligned a lil to 1-side, can't remember which le...

2. Need to do some minor tuning to the gears... A lil jumpy...

3. Front disc pads needs replacement, which I have already bought. I wonder if KSH still carry them replacement pads or not. Since these MAGURA Julie are quite old liow... And entry level only. Maybe I need to consider Hayes ???

4. Gotto repair the zip for my Camelbak ! Don't really wanna change my Camelbak... Cause no need le. Spend the cash on rims... hehehehe... =P Too bad le, I am just a sucker for RED color !

Hmmm... Looking a the shot of my bike... This was taken quite long ago liow.

I think the RED rims might look best... Since the frame color scheme doesn't have any white..

Oh well... It has been all talk... Actually... the 1st step, I have gotto get the Thule rack back onto my car !

Awana Kijal

My 1st time to Awana Kijal... Had high expectation of this trip, was gonna be my getaway trip. But then mana tau, my mom was tagging along for this. But luckily she was enjoying herself, in her own time.. Without having to nag me...

Well... I was actually there for WLM's wedding. He is having his dinner ceremony in 2 places, here and in Shah Alam. By right Shah Alam is the actual wedding / actual date... Rather than ferrying family members from Kuantan area to KL. Better have another separate wedding dinner in the areas of Kuantan.

The whole event went on smoothly in the morning. Just the simple tea ceremony for the bride's side. Preparation for the nite's dinner was also ok...

The best thing from that nite was the customary table-to-table yum seeeennggg session ! Since I was the weddubg wetness and the best man... Either than having to have spare ticlets, wiping his sweat.. Best part was being scolded y Loke Meng ! I walked him and See Yin back to the room. he steady only, say can still walk straight. No need my help.. Since he was fondling with the hotel room keys, it keeps dropping. So much so that he can really see how to put the key into the keyhole... Went into the room., suddenly he pop his head out and start scolding me... Damn funny...

The next morning all of us were still there. Supposed to wake up for breakfast, but didn't have the mood...

When I finally did get up... Had breakfast, didn't eat much. Was surprised and disgusted by the amount of flies !
So here are the few shots that I managed to get...

Starbucks @ KKIA - Nov 2008

I had to go back to Lahad Datu for I think it was a 1 week trip.. The best thing is that, this time around, I brought my DSLR along. Accompanied by the trusty 400D... The shot was taken during my transit time back to KLIA. The usual coffee joint... Have a cuppa before boarding. I was editing that time, and online talking to CS.

It was actually his idea to get this shot... I wanted to get my ass up and shoot the sunset from the window. But then CS gave a better idea. That's how I managed to get the shot...

Hmmm... Let me just include this 1 more shot. This shot was taken at a location in POIC. A major Palm Oil company in Sabah. The whole area is built on reclaimed land... Then again, most of Sabah is built on reclaimed land. Cheaper... and more environmentally friendly.

My Best Friend's Wedding

Wong Loke Meng... or Meng.. or WLM... A dear friend from uni. Think it was the 3rd year or the 4th year.. Can't really remember, just seems like a very long time that we stayed / shared a uni apartment. The 4 bedroom apartment was shared together with Lin Kheng and Jeffrey. This brought the 4 of us closer... Those were the days of CNY steamboat and gambling in the apartment. But that's another long story...

Sadly (or otherwise rather), I was the only one around... Kheng is working in Liverpool, and Jeffrey is doing his PhD. in Japan. So for this, his wedding registration.. I had the honour of being the witness. Hehehehehe... Don't know how much weight does that carry.

Just went there... took photos for him, and sign the paper... Bearing witness to his legal marriage.

Oh well... the wait was quite ok. Since they have already located a time slot. So just have to reach there at the designated time... The whole process is quite fast. Within minutes, a whole new life starts..

Obviously it was at Thien Hou Temple...

Mean Machine 2008 @ Juru, Penang

Happened to be in Penang, can't really remember for what reason... I think it was just a normal trip back, since my Uncle was there with the whole family. Kind of like a family gathering. Not many chances where we all get to be home in Penang together.. Sadly not even during CNY..

Now now... back to the Mean Machine event... Went there in the afternoon, was shooting under the hot harsh sun ! Don't know why did the organizer made them girls to do their rounds during such times, then again... If not how to attract crowds.

We (Keat and myself) did went back there again at nite... But there wasn't much to shoot. The cars were too ah beng-ish for our liking, sorry... But just the mod were a lil over done. Keat was shooting most of the time at nite...

Oh well... at least we had a taste of what such event was like, in Penang...

GO Celebrate Unity Concert

The finale to GOSSIP, held in Subang Jaya. The concert event was held at Asia Cafe, SS15, Subang Jaya... Nice small area, closed up to run this small scale concert. Which received much support from our local artist.

Got myself all access pass... thanks to Bernard Hor (the brain behind it all) & Zen...

Can't really remember the names of the local artist... oh well, that's just us Malaysian...
Nama artis artis tempatan pun tak ingat, dari mana pun tak tau. Manakan yg artis International, sampai nama bapak pun kenal.. Hahaahaha... Don't know why that single line in Malay.

winner of Avril Lavinge look-alike contest




make that guitar cry...

POLE DANCING... for MEN...

This was an event that I covered back in Sept 08. Oh well... after a long absent from blogging. Thank God that this is still alive. Not really too sure if they are anyone still reading wat's happening here...

Anyway.... the main event was GOSSIP, but that's another blog...

This was a side event, Pole Dancing workshop by vivavertical (www.vivavertical.com)

Towards the end... the guys gave their demo. I was shocked... Champion le... then again, they are.. Apparently they won some pole dancing competition. Something like that le... memory not serving me too well. Old liow...


=)

Now now... of course... we can't leave out the girls rite ? We won't wanna be gender biased.. Forget what is written as the title. Nothing wrong with having 1 or 2 eye candy. Bottomline, sex sells...

The aim here... is to show that Pole Dancing is another form of exercise / sport. Not the stigma of it being an erotic dance routine. So if you were thinking of checking out the classes, DON'T bother bringing any small changes...