Back Alley

A back alley in Bukit Sekilau, Kuantan. When I go running I glance down each back alley and notice cats hanging out. I gaze at the hill and admire the scenery. Though not as beautiful, the back alleys do provide perspective!

It is so hot!

Kuantan was so hot today. Really hot. The house was full of warm air, and even with the air-conditioning on in the English room, the rest of the house was still so warm. It's hard to be comfortable when the weather is like this, but I'll take it over the monsoon rains any day!

Hope you're having a pleasant day wherever you are.

Keep Calm and Run On

I spent a couple of days in hospital last year with severe dehydration, and I realised that I'm but a shadow of my old fit and healthy self. Despite suffering from asthma since young, I was a top cross-country runner throughout primary school and could run all day long.

I kept myself fit and healthy throughout my childhood and teenage years by playing football and tennis with PASSION. 

The problem is that since I got married, and particularly since we bought our new car in June 2012, I have been having no exercise at all. And even though I'm lean, it doesn't mean I'm healthy.

So I've had an awakening of late, and I'm now getting healthy again. I am reigniting my former passion of running.

Nike has some really good motivational posters in addition to these famous "Keep Calm" ones. I also bought myself a new pair of Nike sports shoes (or as we say in England, trainers).

I've been running on three consecutive mornings now, after taking Lauren to school. Feels great!

How do you keep fit and healthy?

News from Kuantan

I bought myself an ipad4 and I've been neglecting the laptop ever since. Poor laptop. As a result, it's been a while since I posted. So it's time for some updates.

• We are watching with interest the war that is being played out in Lahad Datu, East Malaysia, between Malaysia and the invading Sulus. The Sultanate of Sulu is a long and historical saga of an island of the Philippines and their sultan who was given the land of Sabah long ago from the then-ruling Sultan of Brunei as a gift for helping him in war. Despite Malaysia's independence, which includes Sabah, the sovereignty of this portion of land has now been brought back into the spotlight by these invading Sulus who claim it still belongs to them. Whether it's all a political ploy with the Malaysian general election coming in a month's time, is debatable, but nevertheless, we are keeping updated with the latest news as Malaysia has rejected the Sulus proposal of a ceasefire and are now on the attack.

• The rainy season seems to have finally gone for good. Yay! But now we are facing the familiar hot and humid afternoons as life beside the equator heats up once more!

• Lauren is enjoying kindergarten. She wakes up with a smile, goes to school with a smile, and comes back home with a smile and many stories to tell. So that makes us happy :)

• I got myself a 4-year visit pass from the Kuantan Immigration! That is amazing news for us! Once those 4 years are up, I can apply for PR (Permanent Residency). It means I no longer have to worry about making those frequent trips to Singapore and back just to get my passport stamped. I can't begin to tell you the degree of freedom I feel now that this is all sorted out. Living and working in Malaysia for our own business is the best possible life I could have dreamed of and I feel thankful to God each and every day for this life He has given me.

• I'm feverishly working on the A-Z April blogging challenge. With under a month to go, I'm busy preparing two separate A-Zs. One is for this blog and the other is for our Horne Learning Services blog. I decided to do the second A-Z as it will help attract more visitors to our business, via both our blog and our facebook page. I'll be taking you through the alphabet including some of my favourite words, English language grievances and other associated thoughts.

Well, you are all updated. Sorry that there are so many words to read, and so little photos! Here is one recent picture showing the lovely weather we are enjoying right now. Have a great day, and thanks for reading!

Preparing for the April A-Z challenge

This week I decided to get cracking on my A-Z topic for 2013. If you are not aware, during the month of April each year, I participate in a blog challenge with thousands of other blogs. Each day, we compose a post centred on each letter of the alphabet.