Zachary, I am sorry, I am such a bad father. Papa Jahat

We missed our flight during our last trip to Dubai. We were supposed to fly Emirates at 10.15pm but only reached Terminal 3 of Dubai Airport around 9.15, 15 minutes after the check in closed. Not only we missed the flight, we were also not allowed to change our ticket for the next flight back to Doha at 2.15am because they were non-refundable and non-changeable promotion tickets. I bought the ticket for 700 riyal return per person and the new one way ticket would cost me around 1250 riyal each. So my only viable option is 2.30am flight on FlyDubai (a low cost carrier). But the thing is I left all my cards at home and I dont have any money left as that was supposed to be a budget trip. To make it worse, my Malaysian debit card was blocked because I did not informed the bank that I will be out of the country. I was panicked and frustrated. To cut the long story short. I lost my cool and vented out on Zachary who did not stop running, screaming and being cranky all evening. He was a total opposite from an angel like he was on the first day of the trip. He was so cranky, it took hours for us to get ready. We only left Haziran's house for the airport at 8.40pm. I blamed him for missing the flight. I know I should not have done that. I yelled 'Kau diam, Aku lempang kau kang. Sebab kau lah jadi semua ni'. (you shut up or I'll slap you. All these happened because of you). Hani, who was feeding Cinta at the time looked really dejected. I only realised how awful it was soon after that. I picked him up. Held him to close to me. Kissed his cheek and said 'Zachary Papa sorry Ok. I love you' again and again hoping he would understand.

From Terminal 3 we took a taxi to Terminal 2, but I cant afford new tickets. Thank GOD Haziran came to the rescue. He had to come to the airport and buy the tickets personally. He does not have UAE driving licence and Mel has to drive, so they had to drag their whole family along. He cannot use his credit card and buy them online because the card holder must also be one of the passengers. What a stupid rule. I was so embarrass I had to swallow my pride and buried them deep in my gut. 

To add to the drama, there was only one seat left on the 2.30am flight. The next flight at 7am will cost 1500 riyal one way per person. How can they call themself an LCC with that price. It was even more expensive than Emirates. So we checked with Emirates if the 2.15am flights still available, but the only seats left were in Business class. I have a very important meeting and really need to be back at work tomorrow. So I ended up flying back to Doha with Zachary on 2.30am flight, while Hani and Cinta stayed in Dubai and flew the 2.00pm flight the next day.

Alhamdullillah, Zachary was just quiet and fell asleep while waiting for the flight. Maybe he knew I was angry at him. Or maybe he thought Mama and Cinta had to stay in Dubai because he was so naughty and this may be the punishment he is getting.
  
So Zachary, I am so sorry son. I am not supposed to yell at you like that. It is not fair. You were not the one to be blamed. You are just a baby. If anyone should've been blame then, it was me. I am sorry again. You know I love you so much and I would not want to hurt your feeling.

To Haziran and Mel. Thank you so much. Allah saja yang membalas budi baik kalian.

Kesiannya anak papa. I still feel the guilt and regret every time he wears this sleep suit.

I bumped into Fandi and Fanor family while waiting for the flight. It cannot be more perfect as I was struggling travelling alone with Zachary with the hand carry luggage and all. Thank you guys so much

Zach was seen so sad, and wondering where is Mama and Cinta

Finger Licking Good, By Cinta Amani

Fingers are so addictive, I cant get enough of them. Unlike my big brother Zach, I prefer fingers than soothers.

I love sucking on my fingers. It is really soothing, if you have not tried it. I can spen the whole day just sucking on my fingers. I just can't help it.

The middle and ring fingers are especially addictive. Plus I will look cool, with a "Rock On" sign.

Oopps someone is coming. Potong stim betul lah.

Oh busted. Papa.. what are you doing? No picture please. Its embarassing.

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RAK Half Marathon 2012

I was in Ras Al-Khaimah, UAE  last weekend to participate in the RAK Half Marathon 2012. It is one of the most prestigious Half Marathon events in the world by being one of the 12 half marathon races with IAAF Gold Label.

This was my second ever half marathon after the disasterous 1st half marathon at PBIM. This time I came with a little bit more trainings, and it really helps. I can actually finish the 21.1km without a feeling like my knees would fall out of their patellas. My pace was still very very slow (I was about 8 km behind most seasoned runners) but the fact that my legs held on to their places for the whole duration of the race was something that I am grateful for. I had shin splints at kilometre 6 but it went away very quickly. 

My only problem was stamina. I felt like I had consumed all my energy upon completing 10 kilometers. My original plan was to complete the race in 2hour 30 Min., and I was still within the target at KM 10. But it getting harder after that. I walked for about 200 - 400 meters after every kilometer and totally abandon my 2:30 target. It was especially harder from KM 12-18. I felt like quitting or just walk all the way to the finish line. The weather condition was not helping either. It was windy and dusty. At some point I had to cover my nose and mouth with my shirt. It was that bad that I can literally taste grit in my teeth. I tried to keep my motivation by running behind some, for a lack of better word, 'overweight' runners and the makciks, but they too were hard to keep up with. After KM 18, I got my motivation back and kept telling myself that if I can do this, I can do anything but the last 2 km was like a never ending journey. It seemed so far, but I just kept on going and used whatever spare energy I had left to sprint the last home stretch to the finishing line.

I completed the race in 2:45:56. Sixteen minutes off from my original target and ranked 1476 from the total of 1616 finishers, almost at the tail end of the running pack. Mind you this race has many elites and very high propotion of quality runners which is appropriate for an IAAF Gold Label race. 40% of the finishers completed the race under 2 hours and the average finishing time was 2:08:00. My 2:45:56 could very well put me in the top half of PBIM. However, it was still a massive improvement from my laughable PBIM time of 3:19:59.75.

Though I was satisfied and grateful to be able to complete the race. My heart goes to the 25 runners who did not. I saw one incident near KM 6 where a male runner, who looks very athletic was given an emergency chest compression by an emergency response team in the middle of the road. He was unconscious and the situation looked frantic. I wanted to stop and join several other onlookers, but decided not to and kept running. I did not want to crowd the area and disturb the resuscitation effort. I hope he is alright and pray to ALLAH for his safety. That is why it is very important to listen to your body when running and know your limit.

Apart from the weather, which is beyond the organiser's control, the event was actually very well organised. Well the race village was quiet dead when I collected my race kit and lacking the atmosphere of a big race but they make it up during the race day. There were more spectators in this race than the Dubai Marathon. The city dwellers including South Asian labours in their kain pelikats were lining up the street giving support to the runners. The many runners in Team Relay competition placed at various point along the route also provided us half marathoners with fantastic support. Every aspect of the race from water stations, inflatable arch mileage marker, toilets, showers, finishers medals, printing of certificate, race photographs, bananas etc. was very well organised. I am sure this is good enough reason for me to come back to RAK next year. Until we meet again, thank you RAK for the great memories.

In the mean time I have to keep practicing and hope I can break that 2:30 barrier in the upcoming Brooks Half Marathon in Kuala Lumpur in March and 2:15 in Gold Coast in July. I have to be able to run the half comfortably sub 2:15 before I can even think of running a full marathon. Terus lagu Kau Boleh bermain dalam telinga. 

Race Pack Collection 

Love the bib no.

Timing chip from Premier Marathon

In action

Sprinting towards the finishing line

I wish I could finish a full marathon in that time

I Love Apipin (Aeroplane) by Zachary Andika

I love apipin (aeroplane). Last Thursday I flew Emirates airlines for the first time with Papa, Mama and Baby Cinta to Dubai. Usually will be sitting on Mamas', Papas' or Makyam's lap, but this time it was special. I had a seat all for myself. I feel like a big boy already. Mama said I was such a good boy and Papa rated my behaviour throughout the flight A+. I was a little nervous during the take off so I held the arm rest tightly, and Papa was holding me from across the seat. But all the nervousness gone after the plane reached its cruising altitude. I love the seat. Its economy but to me it feels rather like sitting in business. I kept myself occupied by reading the in flight magazines and watching Happy Feet 2 from the In flight Entertainment unit. But if you ask me what I like the most about flying with Emirates, the straight answer would be their in flight meal. They provided us with cake, croissant, fruits, yogurt, juices and milk for the short flight from Doha, not just sandwich and orange juice like other airlines.

Papa said I have a thing for aeroplanes and could see me as a pilot when I grow up. Well for me I just cannot wait for my next flight.

I love the megazines

I make sure that I have my seat belt securely fasten at all time when Im sitting.

I love the IFE

Thank you Emirates, I really enjoyed my flight. My sister Cinta surely felt the same.

Yaum Al-Riyadhi Ad-Dawlah (Qatar National Sports Day)

Do you know that 14 of February 2012 was a public holiday in Qatar? No its not because this state celebrates Valentines Day as one of its national holidays but the Qatar government has gazetted every 2nd Tuesday of February as the National Sports Day starting from this year. There was plenty of sporting and recreational activities going on that day around the state. The Doha based Qatargas employees had their chance to burn those extra calories at Al-Gharafa Sports Club.

The day started with a 2km walkathon around the field before other events took place. We also had a designated play area for kids. Zachary was at first reluctant to play in the bouncing castles, but then cannot get enough of it once he knew how fun it is to jump up and down and get thrown over in the inflatable castles.

It was a great day out especially when we had free flow of snacks and drinks and offcourse free t-shirts for the whole family. Bukan sebab nak bersukan sangat pun. Thank you Qatargas.

Ci Minah yang excited nak bersukan

Zachary had to be forced to play in the bouncing castles at first

Zach's favourite 

Muka budak tak puas main dah kena paksa balik

The kids section



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10KM @ Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon 2012

Race pack collection

I have set my goal to run a full marathon this year. Completing the 42KM marathon is near impossible but definitely doable with trainings and determination. So as a first step, I took part in the 10KM road race during the last Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon 2012.

I was excited knowing that I came to Dubai with a little bit of training and confident that I can better my Personal Best time of 1 hr 09 Min. I spent the day before the race at Downtown Dubai, collecting race kit at Palace Hotel and some shopping at Dubai Mall. I planned to retire the night early so I can wake up fresh and energetic tomorrow. I guess someone learned something from the last PBIM 2011.I placed a wake up call request at 5 am and ready to bed. Oh yes I need to sort my gear first, so I will be ready to go tomorrow. As I was going through the race kit and arranging my running gear, something unthinkable happened. I realised that I left my running shoe in Doha. It was 12.15 am. I was panicked. All shopping centres close at 12 midnight during Dubai Sale Festival. So nothing opens at this time except restaurants, pharmacies and some shops selling knockoff clothings. Luckily I found one shop selling imitation items and bought myself a pair of fake Adidas. They are not cheap by the way. I paid AED 98 for them, what a rip off.

The Race day

Baggage keeping

It was a cold morning. The temperature was around 10deg celcius. I found myself among 11 thousands something of participants in the 10KM event. It was a great atmosphere, so cosmopolitan, so international (I feel like im an international athlete already). I was careful for not taking too much fluid before the race, but I have this problem which nags me all this while. I tend to urinate more frequently when its cold. Mind you I was in this skimpy running attire. I cannot find any toilets near the starting line and had to endure the agony of holding my dam. The race started, I still cannot find any public toilets. I was not alone though. I saw many runners went answering their nature calls when they find secluded places along the route. But not me. I was too classy for that uncivilised act. It was kilometer 4 and still no signs of toilets. My dam starts to leak with each stride I made. I gave up. I found a bush by the road side and went off. At that time I thought it was the greatest feeling of all. I felt light and ready to sprint and break my PB.

Halfway along the course, another disaster happen. My brand new fake Adidas shoe was literally eating my feet and I was too painful to run so I ended up walking most of the second half of the race. I finished the race in 1hr 13min and was placed at 4244 out of 5330 runners who completed the race (in Men's Category) and 6000++ from 11000++ overall. It really was not my day and my boss keep picking up on me for finishing Six thousand something but in the end I did enjoyed the race and glad I joined.   

I dont know why I look so fat in this picture.

Queen bee

The running chefs

I will be back 

Sunrise over Doha

Sticking to my new year's resolutions which include to reclaim my ideal weight, and live a healthy lifestyle, I have taken running quite seriously lately. So today I went to Doha Corniche for a jog after fajr prayer.  I was supposed to run with the guys from Doha Bay Running Club (which I just join yesterday), but I was 10 minutes late and they had already left. I ended up running by myself along the promenade and was mesmerised by the sunrise casting its golden rays over Doha city. It is a good enough reason to wake up this early on Friday morning.