city2surf

when there's a will, there's a way

After living in Sydney for almost 10 years, I finally became one of the 80,000 citysurfers this year. 

Running has never been on my tick-off list, what more a 14 km run.

When our company decided to sponsor the run this year, I thought if I don't do it now, I don't know when's the next time I'd come this close to being part of this event.

I signed up without hesitation, and thought I'll worry about the training later. Lol.

Everything has to start somewhere else it will never happen isn't it?

While most people at work were already 'secretly' training during lunch, I was falling behind.

Blame it on winter. Haha.

It involves a lot of mental and psychological strengths to just get myself to change into sports attire and go for a run.  

Since it requires so much 'mental and psychological' efforts from my side, it makes more sense if I'm doing it for a cause than to be training and running blindly.

Perhaps, I'll be more disciplined with the training if it's for a cause? Hehe.

I decided to raise fund for CanTeen - to help teenagers who have been affected by cancer in one way or another. 

Thanks to my fellow supporters, I managed to raise $612.25 on the night before the run!

It did make a difference.

On the day of the run, I arrived 15 mins before the start time. 

Had to use the toilet before the run.

With an event of 80,000 participants, I was 'surprised and not surprised' by the fact that the queue for the toilet was less than 10 mins, there was no queue-cutting scene, there was sufficient toilet paper and water in the portable toilet unit, and it didn't stink as I thought it would.

I was 'surprised' because the organiser and 80,000 participants managed and behaved well above expectations.

'Not surprised' because this is what you can expect from the people here.

The crowd was at a standstill before the start.

At 9.05 am, it started moving slowly towards the starting line. 

Along the way leading to the starting line, there were jumpers and sweaters laying around on the ground.

I thought what's wrong with these people.

Did they all forget their jumpers?

Did they leave their jumpers behind and were gonna come back to pick them up after the race?

It's not one or two, it was more than 20!

Up to a point, there were a couple of huge plastic bags filled with clothing.

Massive task for the lost-and-found crew - I thought. Lol.

After moving slowly with the crowd for at least 15 mins, there's finally enough room for people to start jogging. 

But it was still pretty tight. You could easily trip on someone's long legs from behind.

The crowd dispersed after about 1 km into the run.
That's when I started noticing people in costumes.
There were superheroes, frogs, bees, bunnies, people who dress like old grannies, people in tutu dress, etc.
They were having so much fun dancing and jumping around with music blasting in the background.

Wonderwomen!

Couldn't help but to stop and take photos of these Wonderwomen. 

Couple in mix-match stoking and a daddy taking his toddler for a fun-stroll.

This guy in football jersey, with handbag and umbrella. 

Apart from cool and funny people, there were also weird people.
Like this guy with handbag and umbrella.
Looks like he's on his way to get some groceries.

Nova FM cheer zone

There were live bands and music stations scattered throughout the 14 km.
People blasting music from the balcony of their home.
Kids setting up mini fundraising stalls outside of their homes - selling cupcakes, energy drinks, and bottled water.
People helping to spray water on runners, from a hose outside of their home.
People from around the neighbourhood bring their kids to be part of the supporting-crowd.
People having BBQ in the lawn of their house with beers while cheering on the runners.

one of the last photos taken before finishing the run - reluctantly

14 km was over in a blink of an eye. 

I wished it was longer. Haha.

my 1st ever medal from running.

My target was to complete the 14 km in under 2 hours.
Clocked in at 1 hr 48 mins - including 118 mins of running, time spent taking photos, grabbing and gulping litres of drinks, applying sunblock (4 times), distributing sunblock, etc etc.
Most of my colleagues did it within 90 mins.

I later found out that it's common for people to donate their unwanted clothing at the starting line.
The jumpers on the road were 'act of charity'. Not that people were forgetful. Haha.
My colleague donated a bag of clothing too.

These are some of the thoughtful plans/services provided:

Free public transport for the day for all City2surf participants to ease traffic congestion.

Free sunblock and vaseline at the emergency booths throughout the run.

Sufficient toilets - cleaned and replenished frequently.

Gear drop service which transports participants' belongings to the finish village.

All you need to carry with you are mobile phone, an ATM card, and house key.

Don't even need earphones for music as there were music and live bands in the background throughout the run.

Something they should improve on is to come up with ways to minimise the number of cups used.

If each participant used 10 cups, there'll be 800,000 paper cups disposed in one event. 

Feel like crying for the earth. :(

Nevertheless, kudos and many thanks to the organisers, sponsors, volunteers, supporters, and relevant authorities for the success of this event.

City2surf is not just a mini-marathon. 

It encourages people to run for a cause.
It brings people together - runners, families, supporters, volunteers, party-goers.
It turns the otherwise busy and congested streets into a party zone.

It makes an ordinary Sunday healthy and meaningful.

I got home with a medal, jelly legs, sore muscles, blisters under my feet, and blood stain on my sock.

The S Health app shows 31,746 steps, 26.04 km, and 1265 kcal burnt.

Was expecting sunburn but I wasn't even tanned. The free woolies sunblock at the emergency booths work wonders!

I kinda understood now, the true purpose of marathon.

Not much for the medal and social media attention.

It's more about the satisfaction and sense of achievement at the end of the run.

The feeling of completing an impossible task. 

Of breaking and pushing through the limits.

at a random gallery

friends you can be silly with

We stumbled across this gallery while on our way to Central Park. 

From outside the glass door,

Me: What's this about? Oh no, the 6th guy has a broken penis!

L: Omg...eww....

Me: Let's go in and have a look.

L: Ok.

After a close look,

Me: Ok. It's not just the 6th guy, they all seem to have broken penis for some reasons. Lol!
L: Haha.

After a closer look,

Me: Oh no, actually they broke their own penis. What the hell...
L: Huh?!
Me: See the 2nd guy...he's holding the broken part. It seems like it fits just right.
L: ..........

L: Eh, nola. The 6th guy's is not broken, it's just short. Haha.
Me: Not broken? Hahaha. Oh ya...how come so short? Ok. Only the 2nd one is broken.

We were too carried away by the 'short' stuff and forgot to behave.
We also spoke at very audible volume. Woops...

Luckily, it was almost closing time so there weren't many people around.

If the statues were real, the guys must be real sad and embarrassed. Lol.

always bring id

only the photo id matters on a night out (for girls)

everything else is not important

Just days after I mentioned that I haven't been on site since February, I received email at 11.17pm asking me to go on site. Kinda jinxed myself this time. 

Site work right before the start of a long weekend and a night out. 

Tell me about right timing. Gahhhhhhhhh.

Knowing that it's gonna be rainy, I had to dress 'properly' for the weather. 

So I put on my site pants and shirt in the morning. 

Such UNGLAMOROUS outfit.

For the first time I doubted my decision of becoming an engineer - because 'gorgeous' and 'site engineer' don't come in parallel. Hahaha.

Engineer's outfit is shabby, ugly, waterproof, and comes in only 3 colours: navy, florescent yellow, and florescent orange. 

Mine are already in ladies' cutting and I still look like a rapper in baggy clothes. 

The footwear is black, heavy, bulky, and hard as anything. Even double-socks won't help in comforting my poor feet.

The hat is ugly too!

The only thing that looks 'cool' is perhaps the protective sunglasses. At least one thing. Hehe.

Because I can't stand looking so unglamorous, I decided to heck the weather and change into my skinny pants and smart-looking shirt - for site. 

Sacrifices are required in order to look good. Lol.

View like this is the cause for my love-hate relationship with this profession.
There are always two sides to everything isn't it?

The weather was kind for most of the day. 

It only rained after 85% of the work was completed. 

Thankfully I didn't come in full-on engineer gears, I'd be so depressed looking ugly for nothing. Lol.

Bad news is we have to return to complete the remaining 15%. Bummer.

Got back to the office, washed and changed, then went to the city.

Only realised at 9pm that I left my photo ID in the site bag, in the office. 

And the office swipe card has gone travelling in the housemate's car for the weekend. 

Great.

From the unexpected site work to how the swipe card got carried away for the weekend, it's telling me that I should stay sober over the weekends. Lol.

Unless I carry my passport around but I'm not that desperate yet.

I transferred 2 credit cards, 2 debit cards, and 2 medical cards from the site bag. But not the ID. 

Like seriously? 

Could of leave all the money cards behind and still be able to get (free) drinks with just an ID.

No ID = no drinks.

Went home and started the weekend with toilet-cleaning. Lol.

The rest of the weekend went like any ordinary weekend. 

Spent 200 bucks eating out (even without alcohol), unbelievable. 

As usual, the first question you get at work on the morning after a weekend is How was your weekend?

My reply was Great. And sober. 

Haha. Lesson learnt. 

be nice. be considerate.

it's the thought that matters

Went to The Missing Piece at Macquarie Centre for the second time.

The first time I had the Hashtag, it was juicy.

This time around, it was dry.

Overall, the food's okay.

Their cronuts were good.

Love the mocha!

$7 cronut

The table next to ours happened to order the same food as us.

The waiter mixed up the orders and sent our food to the next table so we had to wait longer to get served.

Though we didn't make a fuss out of it, when we were paying at the counter, the lady gave us a little token of apology.

Very sweet of them :)

Thanks for the free cronut, we certainly didn't expect it.

Little gesture like this tells us that nice people will be surrounded by even nicer people. So we should always be nice. Haha. 

Perhaps our willingness to forgive makes them feel more apologetic and all the more to be nice to us.

sweet apology

the free-of-charge cronut

On the other hand, at the carpark, someone decided to be a d**khead.
Car too posh that it needs more than a metre space from other cars?
This is as bad as when an 'able' passenger parks on a disabled parking spot.
He was lucky that there are less uncivilised people in this suburb that his car would be left unharmed.

the yellow writing says: you're a f**king tosser

This is when it's handy to have pen and paper in the bag. Hahaha.

Hope he improves his parking skills next time around.

1 extra spot in the carpark does make a lot of difference, dude!

strange fate

something more than stranger

For 3 Mondays in a row...

Same time.

Same train line.

Same 4th upper carriage from the front.

Same 3 grannies.

Different starting point.

Different destination.

Different reasons for being in the 4th carriage.

Different concerns for choosing the upper carriage.

Funny how little things like these, could make people cross paths.

This scene is a kind of comfort which reminds me of popo at home.

They've unintentionally become my 'companions' to start off the week. 

Hope to see them for as many Mondays to come, in healthy shape and size.

1st day of summer 2015

 summer, please be kind and mild

Summer. You're too hot!!
Not sexy hot.
Not spicy hot.
I mean temperature hot!

Freaking 30deg at 9pm?!

This is the second time in my 8.5 years in Sydney that I'm 'enjoying' the luxury of aircond in my room.

The first was 36deg 2 weeks ago.

The aircond is too luxurious but my flatmate needs it cos she's fainting.
Now I'm wrapped up in my winter blanket on the first night of summer - like I got the seasons mixed up.
Poklangggg!

I start to doubt the usefulness of having centralised aircond.
People survived without it anyway.
If only I could dismantle it. Hehe.
Just bear with the fan will do.

I'm not very pleased with your hotness, summer.
Please don't go overboard, else my electricity bill's gonna sky-rocket!!!

weekend in a flash

random as can be

Saturday

Woke up thinking what should I do today?
What's after yumcha with Ching?
Decided to check out 'What's happening in Sydney?'
So there was an Etsy market in Chippendale.
Christmas' coming, all the headache shoppings...maybe I should go for a browse at the market.

Grabbed coffee on the way to the market

SYDNEY made Etsy

card makers 

baby diaper pants, head accessories

customised pillows

some kind of pillow case or bag or whatever

porcelain maybe? sorry, not good with artsy materials

jewellery and blablabla...

Pretty much an upscale of Glebe Market.
It was a quick browse.
There were TOO MANY people.
Overcrowded.
The items were pricey if not overpriced.
Not complaining, cos that's how they sustain themselves.
Didn't have time to stop and fall in love with anything because of the ever-moving crowd.

Headed back north to Macquarie Centre for some Christmas shopping.
Spotted a girl in furry home slippers on the train station escalator.
Did she forget to change shoes on her way out?
Is this some kind of latest fashion which I'm not aware of?
The socks were weird enough, and then plus the shoes.....far out...haha.
Let's assume she's here for shoe-shopping.

Spotted a lovely white cake. Must take a photo of it cos it's too beautiful. 

Danger of not having a specific Christmas shopping list beforehand - bought a couple of books for 'anyone'.
No idea who to give to.
Decided to go home and read them, if they're no good I'll return them tomorrow.

Few important points to note:

#1 

#2

So far so good.

As usual, fell asleep with the book in my hands. Lol.

Sunday

Brunch date with Mega, Charlie, and Vv.

Brought the books with me so I can read them on the train (and return them today if they suck).

Finished reading the first book from yesterday. 

Not my kind of book.

Couldn't think of anyone to give it too. 

Started on the second book.

A very good one I'd say.

I have the urge to give this to everyone on my Christmas list. Haha.

Random pages:

#1

#2

 Sorry for the bad quality phone camera and those freaking permanent grey spots which just won't go away.

Xmas tree in Central Station
and a boy whose mum's took soooooooo long to take a shot,
he could pose there for an hour.

UTS building

Spotted a quirky car while waiting for a table at the cafe.

moooochaaaaaaa

coffee-fix for the addicts

uekkk. too much food 

After brunch...
Randomly ended up in Kinokuniya.

Found a bright corner and started reading my own book.

#3

Decided that this is THE BOOK for this season.
Went to the shop to return the first book, and bought two more of the second book.
Walked too much.
Decided to rest on the benches for a bit while I figure out where's next.

Chilling at the bench with the senior citizens, aunties, uncles, and bloody smokers,
while enjoying the music from buskers.

Smokers should all smoke in a room, smell their own smoke, and kill each others lungs.

Winterbourne busking at Pitt Street Mall

Made up my mind for a cup of Boost.
Wanted to try their new Black Label series but damn....$9 for an original Boost?
You're so kidding me!
Wonder if they did a market survey on these prices. Ridiculous.
Plus all of the choices have pineapple in them. zzZZzz. Forget about it.

Headed to the station for home.
Got out of the station, bus was coming in 11mins.
Decided to run to Coles on the next street to grab some Connoisseur ice-creams.
Got a couple of tubs.
Ran back to the bus-stop - 2mins till the bus comes.
It only came 12mins later - M54 you're never ever ever punctual!
Poor Connoisseurs melted under the 26deg sun...
Finally home - 5pm.

Recorded 75,000 steps for the week on my pedometer.
Should aim for 100,000 next. 

no rush

stand still, once awhile

Everything was fine with the transport this morning.
No missed buses.
No missed train.
No long waiting time.
Except, I missed the stop.
Lol.
Didn't even realise it until 5 mins later.
Hopped off at the next stop, Chatswood.

While everyone's hurrying through the hustle and bustle at the platform to get to the escalator, one very 'calm' soul got onto it first.
Completely blocked out the human traffic on the escalator.
Ahhhhhh to cry or to laugh?? Omg...

Hello, Buddy. Are you a human-traffic controller on escalators?

Oh well... I guess I could wait.

What's 20 secs compared to the 10 mins for missing the stop?

This is the most unexpected 'delay' ever.

Thanks Buddy, for slowing my momentum down.

It's the first time I actually stood still on an escalator during the morning peak. Lol.

A simple act of showing all of us how to take it easy, don't rush, stay calm, and be patient. Haha.

tranquil moment

 external factors are just perceptions

Tried so hard to fall asleep at an awkward hour of 5.30pm, for the sake of tonight's site work.
I'm so not an afternoon nap person. Bahhhhh~

When I'm almost entering my dreamland, the flatmate came home with her bf and there went all the yelling, knocking, banging, tv... She obviously didn't think that I'd be home.

Omgoshhhhhh!!!

Gave up! Let's just be a zombie tonight.

On the side note...

I stumbled upon the St John's Anglican Church while wandering alone in Glebe today. Not sure what brought me into the church, maybe my heart wanted my mind to shut down for a bit. Haha.

No doubt, it is one of the places to be if you're after some tranquil moments. 

Even if the old benches stink,

Even if there was rock band playing right outside,

The mind was able to ignore the stinky air and loud band, completely shut itself down  - just what I needed.

You showed me that external factors are just perceptions.

Thank you, Church.

impromptu 526 km Part #2

happiness out of little things

Day 2 of the impromptu 526 km.

The morning started off with Reggie watching the Wallabies vs England in the rugby world cup at 6am, in the dark and with a muted tv. I wouldn't have mind the tv noise, really.

Occasionally in my dreams I could hear a female shouting Bummer!, Good Job!, some random cursings, and some wicked laughters. Haha. Reggie being reggie. 

The Wallabies won the game. Yay! Though I know nuts about rugby. Aussie Aussie Aussie!

And then at 8am she got out of her bed and started chanting "Wakey wakey"... such a familiar wake-up call. Lol. 

She then went to make simple lunch of bread+tuna - the usual hiking food.

Looks pathetic but couldn't have asked for more. 

And then she excitedly told me, 'Look what I bought! Crunchy peanut butter! When i saw it I was like "it's Clarisse's favourite, I have to get this".'

My favourite?? Okayyy.

It's not my favourite actually. Hahaha. Just that I can't think of what else to go with the pathetic strawberry jam toast other than peanut butter - it's a supplement, not a favourite. Nevertheless, being a careless person she is - someone who can misplace 3 earphones in one month, I appreciate the fact that she noticed the peanut butter after seated next to me in the office for the last 1.5 years. 

Whether it's garlic butter, peanut butter or almond butter, it doesn't matter. Just by knowing that someone remembers little things about you, that is a kind of happiness.

peanut butter, with love

Being engineers, we were taught to always travel with a first aid kit whenever out and about.

So before we left, she asked if I've got a first aid kit.

I said Err...no? I only have band-aids. That's my first aid kit. Haha.

She said Oh ya same...Hahaha. I have band-aids and wet tissue. 

Two hopeless ladies. Lol.

And then, off we go to face the day's challenges.

On our way to the Green Camp

The said "hard" walk

Hot hot hot. 35 degrees.

Even sunblock melts under the sun. 

It was a steep hike.
It was tough going up due to the lack of stamina and hard going down due to the slippery loose stones.

Seconds before/after I fell into the gap
 right next to my left foot.
Obstacles on my left, right, down, and above.

Everytime I go on a hike, I either faint, dehydrate or fall. It's a curse. Haha.

This time, it was a fall.

It was so painful that I thought I've sprained my ankle or fractured some bones.

And Miss Reggie was just sitting on some high rocks recording my fall while saying, 'Hahaha. Clarisse is struggling to get herself up, and still holding on to her fan.' 

Zzz.

Thankfully, the ankle was tough and the bones were strong. Just some bruises and scratches.

So much for joking about the first aid kit right.

Some random bugs also stung my ass while I was resting. Bugger.

First, I thought it's just this...

Then, there was more intense pain elsewhere...
And I found this.

Also on the hand...

We went on to do a few minor hikes.
And a medium difficulty - Governor's Walk.

View from the summit of the Governor's Walk

On the way out, the engineer has to stop for a photo of this rail overbridge with some 'impressive' crash beams/columns. Ahhhh.....give me a break.

The hopeless co-driver taking a selfie.

Random shot of me.

  

The Sawn Rocks

Final spot of the day - Sawn Rocks.

Amazing rock formation.

Baa baa white sheep crossing the road.

We drove for at least 160 km (return) today.
Bumped into kangaroos, sheep, and lizard along the way. 

Gotta depart early tomorrow and get into Sydney before the traffic builds up on Pacific Highway.

That's all from Mount Kaputar National Park for now.

There are camp sites around the national park with hot shower, drinking water, and bbq facilities. If I could find some camping companions, I shall be back.

All in all, it's a beautiful place with half the crowd you'll see in Blue Mountains and the Royal National Park. 

The plain fields are so huge, it seems boundary-less which reminds me of Tibet. 

Travelling with random people isn't all that bad. Perhaps because our personalities kinda compliment each other?

It all started with me trying to keep her companied. But I guess in the end, we were each other's company in the otherwise lonely long weekend.

More than 1200 km covered in 3D2N.
Thanks for the impromptu 526 km.