All Work And No Fun Makes A Dull Life

My life has been fairly hectic and a bit “cacamerba” for the past few months. I had not much choice but to ride it through and face up to whatever the challenges that came my way. Obviously my rugby commitment was the underlying reason, but once the secondary effects spawned from that were taken into account, I had very little breathing space. Just throw in some unexpected turn of events and unnecessary but unavoidable distractions, I was in a “near crisis” or “real crisis” mode on a daily basis. I choose this life, so I know that should not go around bitching when I can do something about it.

I always believe in life’s little marvels that if we don’t pay attention to, they will likely go unnoticed. However, if we take time to look for them, embrace them and enjoy them, we might just be surprise by the reward we get to reap at the end. In my case, looking back at that frenzy phase, I’m glad I took detours from time to time to ease my mind off the pressure. Most were nothing spectacular actually as they were just your typical activities, but when I took them as timely scheduled little “escapades”, they turned out to be the much needed antidote, and sometimes did me good beyond I could imagine.

These were some of the activities I perceived as my life savers these past two months ........

Watching movies

I watched 4 movies during this period, how I found the time to do it with the family....don't ask. Prince of Persia, Shrek Forever After, Toy Story 3 and Karate Kid. Prince of Persia and Shrek were only so so in my opinion, and I even doze off for a short span during Shrek as the story line was exceptionally....flat. I really enjoyed the other two though. Toy Story had many hilarious moments that got my whole family laughing (Buzz in Spanish mode, Ken and Barbie “cheesy” moments, and Mr Potatohead clumsy misadventures just to name a few).  And Karate Kid was a fresh re-make of the original. It was not over the top, it was not trying to compete with the original, but in a discreet way, it stood on its own with Dre Parker/Mr Han at the centre of the student/kungfu master relationship as opposed to the Daniel LaRusso/Mr Miyagi in the original version. Karate Kid movies were part of my youngster years memories and being able to watch a commendable attempt to relive the legendary classic was really refreshing.

Food…food…food

Good food is probably the most convenient sanctuary for human being in time of distress. In my case, discovering new food havens ranks very high in my list of stress busters. I tried a nasi lemak place called Nasi Lemak Ayam Kampung at Jalan Ali Pitchay, Ipoh. We stumbled upon the place by luck and what a treat it was. The ayam kampung was crispy and we even gave the fried eel there a try. Definitely a must try for Ipoh eateries.

The stack you see in front of the girl is actually all the friend Kampung Chicken...yuummm

As Seksyen 11 Shah Alam, nestled in the crowded shoplots is a place called Night Circle (FB link). It had all sort of food; western, satay, tauhu bakar, char kue teow, tomyam and seafood, all the fried rice and noodle varieties, and the gem of the place – bubur nasi (rice porridge). Rice porridge is rice porridge, but I really liked the side dishes that went along with it. Choices were abundant, from beef and chicken that could be cooked to your liking to fried anchovies and salty fish, and to vegetables and telur masin (salted egg)....yum....yum. I went there twice within about a week, although I knew there were hundreds of other alternatives in Shah Alam. That sums up how much I like the place.

The side dishes for the porridge

Along the way, my mother in law cooked scrumptious dishes throughout my 10-day stay at her place and her treats included sambal kerang, asam pedas, masak lemak pisang muda, masak tempoyak (tempoyak cooked with all sorts of ulam) etc. My mom also cooked me her out of this world “goreng bercili” which I devoured to my heart desire. Ohhh....bless these two wonderful ladies.

I-City Shah Alam

I discovered this place through Facebook. Little did I know that the place was only a stone throw away from my in-laws' house and I actually passed by it many times as I drove through my Shah Alam-Lumut route. It is part of a master plan for a digital commercial estates where “the whole city is a plug and play network”, but for now it is the “i-City, City of Digital Lights” where you can find hundreds of glittering artificial trees illuminated by LED lights. It was truly an awesome experience. Difficult to explain, the photos below depict some of its aura but you just have to go there yourselves to experience what it’s all about. Highly recommended!!!!!

Muzik Muzik 25

I tagged along for one of the recording sessions for the Muzik Muzik 25. This year is its 25th anniversary and my wife’s niece was in the production team for the show, so it was a good excuse to get a glimpse of the celebrities through her connections. My twins were over excited to meet Adira, the runner-up of Akademi Fantasia 8. Yeah…I know. As I said....I was dragged against my will:). It wasn’t half bad actually although the crowd was exceptionally small as it was a Wednesday nite. We were escorted to meet Adira and Marsha as they were getting their make-up done backstage. We also met Tomok and Ayu OIAM as they were waiting for the recording to begin. And eventually as the night progressed, we were treated to 11 different songs by.... (trying to remember....having trouble, difficult!!!) Adira, Marsha, Tomok, Ayu, Ezad (Exist), Daly (Ahli Fiqir) & Wana, Mirwana & Fiq, Mimie, Nabil (Mentor) etc. Hmmmm....not my cup of tea but then again, I still enjoyed it as it was an activity with my family but don’t think I could brave myself to go on my own (I remember feeling so out of place and “very alone” when Lin and the twins were whisked away to meet Adira and Marsha....for the second time).

Yes....I was there (photo with the host Faiz) and Adira was the only one that mattered for the twins

Adira on stage (left) and Shera, Lin's nice cum Floor Manager for the show (right)

Mimie and Mirwana & Fiq

Tomok & Marsha

Books

Now....this is my cup of tea though I don’t always have the time to really indulge in this self-fulfilling interest. Despite the hectic schedules, I started reading a book called East Asia Dynamism just to get into the groove again as a student as I am scheduled to become one next year (InsyaAllah). Expectedly, the pace has been very slow but I found the topic about Japan, Korea and China, and their economic progress very fascinating. I also decided to try reading a detective novel called 9 Dragons. This is quite a stray from my usual spy and thriller books by the likes of Tom Clancy and Dan Brown where “he must do this or it’s gonna be the end of the world” was normally at the centre of the plot. This book by Michael Connelly started with a simple story of a murder at a liquor store in south LA, then a link was made to the Chinese triads, which then subsequently led to the abduction of the hero’s daughter who lived in Hong Kong by the Chinese mob. I am at where he made his way to Kowloon (it is also known as 9 Dragons, hence the title of the book) to find clues on where his daughter was held captive. I love it....so far.

Jogging

I jogged twice at Shah Alam Lake. Correction....I jogged once, and the other time I brisk-walked my way through the lake as my knees were too sore for me to jog. The lake is my favourite jogging place when I’m in Shah Alam. I normally complete the whole perimeter of the lake within 30+ minutes. Oblivious of the people around me, the quality time I spend there is really for me and my close encounter with the park. The spectacular view of Shah Alam Mosque from across the lake is something I always look forward to at the end of my run. The views below represent only a small portion of my jogging route at the lake, while the complete scenery has been permanently sketched in every detail in my mind, enough to entice me to make my pilgrimage there time and again.

The wooden bridge at the beginning of my track

Snapshots of my jogging route

My reward at the end of the jogging route....well worth it

Apart from those activities I’ve mentioned above, I also treated myself to other little diversions in order to give me the feeling that there’s more to life than just work. My family has also been a pillar of strength in helping me through, and during the challenging period I felt blessed to have them around me. The warmth I feel in their arms is a definite comfort in my time of need, and I am absolutely confident that with them as my corner, I could face up to anything that life throws at me in the future. And the little treats similar to what I’ve earlier described will continue to be my easy and convenient outlets to ease away the stress and pain. Alhamdulillah.

It’s Stressful Alright!!!!

The big Inter Services Rugby Tournament is less than 2 weeks away. The spirit among the players is at all time high and rising. I get goose bumps (meremang bulu roma) on numerous occasions; sometimes when I see the players executing their tactics to perfection, sometimes when I give them ‘pep’ talk and sometimes simply when the conversation about the upcoming tournament crops up. The players are progressing well in training, while at the same time accomplishing their intermediate milestones such as winning the state tournament and playing well in test matches. Everything is on track as far as I’m concerned.

Our recent success in the state championships - a stepping stone to the big one

The players have been spending long hour on training. The morning sessions are normally spent on small unit skills. The morning periods have also been spent at the gym for weight training or at the stadium for running and sprinting. The early part of the afternoon sessions are spent in the scorching heat for a little bit of fitness and followed by drills on Game Plan and tactical development. The players have been pushed to the limit in their fitness and conditioning training, and I intend to push them some more. They’ve had some tough matches recently and a couple more are coming up soon. Apart from physical training, the players are also being prepared mentally. They had recently attended a course specifically designed to strengthen their mental state, and I can sense positive signs resulting from it. I have also started to write the narrative to assist players with their “visualization” sessions. Together, we’ve analysed videos of their previous games. We’ve also engaged a special coach to twig and fine tune various aspects of our game.

A good way to ease the players' stress

It’s been a few months since we started and we’ve done a lot of things. It’s stressful alright but I’m glad to see that my players are taking it in stride. They know exactly what’s at stake here. They know they are up against the odds in trying to win the tournament for the first time EVER. They know their opponents well enough to know it’s going to be an excruciating battle. Being an underdog is never an easy task. However, they also know this. They stand a good change to stage a surprise. They also know that teamwork, fitness and desire to win (mental strength) are equally important to skills. And these three factors may just propel them to victories. Ohh…it’s stressful alright. But I have also just learned that there is a direct relationship between stress and performance. The key is to drive the stress high enough to arrive at optimum performance. Overdoing it will kill performance, and not exerting enough will deplete performance.

Two similar graphs representing the relationship of Performance vs Stress

We still have two more weeks of this highly stressful environment to go through. I know apart from seeing my skin getting overly tanned, my hair is also turning grey exponentially. I love it, I love what I’m doing and I’m proud to see how the boys have progressed. I pray for the best, I know my boys will give their best………and all this stress is definitely worth it.

GO NAVY ORCA!!!!!

Rumah Ku Tak Terurus

Kali terakhir saya menulis ke dalam blog ini adalah 2 minggu lepas dan sebelum itu hampir sebulan tiada sebarang entry baru. Ya, rumah saya di Suhaimi Says What.....??? amat tidak terurus sejak dua menjak ini. Keinginan tu ada tapi kudrat pula yang selalu tak kesampaian. Saya mengambil kesempatan ini untuk menulis didorong guilty conscience di atas kealpaan sendiri. Waktu telah berlalu terlalu pantas sehingga dalam tak sedar terlalu lama rumah saya ini sunyi sepi.

Aktiviti utama saya yang paling banyak mengisi ruang ketika ini adalah penglibatan saya sebagai jurulatih pasukan Navy ORCA dalam melaksanakan latihan pusat bagi menghadapi kejohanan tahunan terbesar dalam kalender pasukan dijadualkan pada penghujung Jun. Saya di padang ragbi setiap hari mengikut jadual 8.00am-10.00am dan 4pm-6.30pm sejak lebih sebulan yang lepas. Di antara kedua-dua jadual latihan pula, saya terpaksa terkejar-kejar di pejabat melakukan ‘apa yang patut’ dalam waktu yang terhad. Dengan badan yang penat dan diselangi pelbagai ‘dugaan’ yang kekadang betul-betul mencabar minda, saya akui keterujaan untuk menulis cerita baru di dalam blog ini tersasar daripada senarai keutamaan harian saya. Warna kulit yang semulajadinya memang sedikit kelam, sekarang ni semakin bertambah ‘tinted’ lanjutan pendedahan terlampau kepada sinaran matahari. Status FB saya terkini turut menceritakan perihal situasi yang saya alami; “......Catching lots of rays....but it has nothing to do with getting a tan”.

Di hujung minggu pula kekadang saya ke luar daerah kerana ada perlawanan ragbi. Dalam masa terdekat ini sudah 3 kali ke Ipoh dan 2 kali ke utara (Kedah & Perlis) bagi membawa pasukan Navy ORCA menghadapi perlawanan di sana. Kalaupun tak ada apa-apa aktiviti ragbi, pastinya waktu yang terluang di hujung minggu diisi bagi membelai isteri dan anak-anak selain merehatkan badan yang sebenarnya dah tak dayoooo........

Sepanjang tempoh hibernasi di blog ini, sebenarnya terdapat beberapa pengalaman di mana saya ada terlihat pelbagai kerenah dan perangai manusia yang amat hodoh, namun tak kurang juga yang menyentuh hati dan menginsafkan. Yang tidak baik dan hodoh biarlah menjadi sempadan dan pengajaran buat diri saya. Apa yang saya ingin kongsikan sedikit di sini adalah pengalaman yang telah memberi kesan positif pada prespektif saya terhadap kehidupan.

Saya melihat bagaimana seorang penjaja hanya memperolehi jualan kasar RM24 ringgit apabila kesemua bihun, mee dan kue teownya terjual (saya beli pada harga ‘singgit’ sebungkus dengan kuantiti setiap bungkus mencukupi untuk pemain saya yang rata-rata tajam seleranya). Pada pada masa yang sama penjaja tersebut turut menjual kuih-muih pada harga ‘singgit’ untuk empat kuih. Berapa sangat untungnya, namun masih amat berbesar hati untuk memberi saya kuih percuma apabila saya membuat tempahan lagi untuk keesokan harinya. Siap dua tiga kali melambai sambil menguntum senyum apabila saya meninggalkan gerainya. Isteri saya yang sempat interview penjaja tersebut juga mendapat tahu beliau turut membawa teksi sebagai sumber rezeki selain menjual di gerai. Hmmmm......saya amat mensyukuri nikmat dan rezeki yang Tuhan kurniakan pada saya.

Saya juga kagum dan berasa amat bertuah berpeluang melihat sendiri keperibadian Raja Muda Perlis DYTM Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra Jamalullail yang amat mesra rakyat serta ultra sporting semasa mencemar duli menghadiri majlis makan malam Kejohanan Ragbi Laksamana 10’s di Arau. Dirgahayu Tuanku!!!!

Sebelum terlupa......saya nak bagi peringatan kepada abang-abang dan adik-adik yang menjual burger di luar sana. Kalau saya order ‘burger ayam satu, jangan letak apa-apa kecuali mayonis’, tolonglah jangan ambil inisiatif sendiri dan letak sos cili pada burger tersebut. Mayonis sahaja!!!!! Tolonglah...... kerana daripada tiga kali yang saya beli, dua kali burger tu ada sos cili. Memang sedap ada sos cili tu, tapi yang nak makan bukan saya tapi anak saya. Sapa yang kena habiskan burger tu bila dah jadi cam ni.....saya jugakkkk!!!

Dah termula cerita pasal makan, kalau ke Perlis jangan lupa cuba makan tengahari di sebuah restoran di Kampung Kersik, Mata Ayer dikenali Warung Pokok Sawa. Masakan lauk-lauk kampung yang teramat special terutamanya ikan keli. Favourite saya adalah ikan keli bakar yang telah menjalani proses pembakaran perlahan sehingga masak dengan sempurna dan terpelihara manisnya. Dipasangkan pula ikan keli tersebut dengan air asam yang lengkap serba serbi bahannya serta ditemani kerabu taugeh atau sayur lemak pucuk manis......need I say more? Dan jangan lupa mencuba jus pegaga yang cukup sejuk dan nyaman sebagai penutup tirai. Dua kali saya ke utara, tiga kali saya singgah di warung ini. Boleh check out FB warung tersebut di sini.

Anak-anak dara saya yang dua orang tu juga telah semakin besar sekarang ni. Perubahan amat jelas dari segi selera muziknya, program TVnya, pertuturan dan pilihan perkataannya dan macam-macamlah. Baru-baru ini semasa hari sukan Tadika Krista kedua-dua si kembar telah diberi kepercayaan untuk membaca Ikrar Sukan. Saya rasa amat bangga dengan kemampuan mereka walaupun malangnya pada hari sukan tersebut saya tak dapat hadir kerana menghadiri seminar. Rasa rugi dan amat bersalah, namun dengan bantuan teknologi saya dapat juga melihat aksi mereka melalui rakaman video semasa hari sukan tersebut. Anak-anak dara saya juga telah bertindik baru-baru ini. Zaman ni cara bertindik amat mudah dengan menggunakan ear piercing gun dan kedua-dua cik kembar kita telah menunjukkan semangat yang kuat dan komitmen untuk menjadi cantik yang begitu tinggi. Tak ada tangisan, cuma sedikit kekerutan di wajah yang cuba disembunyi sebaik mungkin. Well done girls!!!!

Farhana & Farzana membaca ikrar dengan penuh semangat

Juara-juara berposing sakan

Bertindik di Kedai Emas Poh Kong

Selain itu, saya juga berkesempatan membawa keluarga mononton filem Iron Man 2, Hooperz dan Furry Vengeance. Yang penting my girls dapat makan freshly made popcorn yang merupakan kemestian bagi mereka kalau ke cineplex. Iron Man 2 kira okay ler tapi tak sebagus yang pertama, Hooperz merupakan pleasant surprise kerana ada unsur-unsur kelakar yang fresh serta selamba, manakala Furry Vengeance bukan saya sahaja yang tertidur di tengah-tengah tayangan, anak-anakpun asyik tanya bila cerita ni nak habis.

Ya, saya akui rumah saya di Suhaimi Says What.....??? amat tidak terurus akhir-akhir ini. Namun saya masih gembira kerana hidup saya sendiri masih terurus dan masih dikurnia seribu kerahmatan Tuhan. Alhamdulillah.

PCL Recovery Exercises

This posting is my answer to Hamlet’s question in my previous entry. Since it’s longer than I’d expected (with pictures as well) and I’m now hoping that it could benefit other people as well, so I decided to put it as an entry on its own. Here it goes:

Hamlet said: .........do you mind sharing with me at least type of exercises u did during ur PT session? What did u do? Did u go to the gym? etc.

Hamlet (and other PCL survivors),

From your posting in Pam’s blog, I assume it’s been 6 months since your surgery. I hope you are progressing well. At this stage I was already mixing the Physiotherapy at the hospital with my own exercises at the rugby field.

Have you regained you full range of movement yet? Keep pushing, and ice it regularly especially after an exercise. I always knew my knee would not heal completely to its previous state prior to the incident, but one thing I really wanted was to regain full range of movement in my knee. I can’t imagine performing my prayers sitting down for the rest of my life. So despite the pain I kept pushing through till I finally regained full ROM, can’t remember when but after about 6 months I think I got enough bending in the knee to be able to perform my prayers sitting down (though not at full ROM but close enough, and with the associated pain that came while doing it).

As for doing the exercises, I was quite lazy to do it at home (with twins running around….very challenging). My therapy was mainly at the hospital twice a week and at the rugby field three to four times a week.

Exercises at the hospital (at about 5 month point) include:

~ Cycling. I gradually increased the resistance to develop my thigh and leg muscles which had shrunk significantly after the surgery. I normally cycled for about 30-45 minutes for each session.

~Steps. “Up & down” steps were very useful. How to describe this? It only has two levels of steps; let say you step up with your left, then up with you right and you are already on top of the stairs. Then you continue to step down. Repeat this for let say 5-10 minutes varying the way you step. It promotes bending of the knee and develops strength.

Steps similar to the ones I used

~Trampoline. I used to bounce on it with one leg on and the other leg off the trampoline.  I vary the bouncing going forward, side-ways and backward. I liked this exercise as it also made me sweat.

~Standing on a Half-ball. Standing on a flat surface suspended on top of a half ball helps especially to improve flexibility and balance.

~Standing on inclined surface. This is the easiest thing to do and you can vary the inclination based on your progress and tolerance to pain.

~Terra band. This rubber band may be used in various ways to provide resistance. I used it a lot. And they are colour-coded depending on their strength and elasticity. The strongest one is black, and I was taught to perform various exercises using them. You can do this at home as well, but unfortunately in my case, I didn’t do quite as often as I should (we are talking hundreds of reps for each type of exercise daily). I also bought a set of weights that can be wrapped around my ankle and I used it in similar manner as I would with terra bend.

The elastic terra rubber bands

~Water exercise. The hospital has a water therapy pool that generates waves at varying speed to provide resistance during the exercise. It was fun but I only managed to do it like 3 to 4 times.

~Gym sessions. I did a little bit of weight training, mostly doing “leg extension” (front and rear extension). Increase the weight gradually as your leg becomes stronger. I did this only for a short while (maybe up to 10 sessions) towards the end of my 9-month therapy at the hospital. Due to my work commitment, after 9 months I only did exercises at the rugby field while coaching my team. For exercises using weights, you’d better consult your PT staff as it involves a little risk depending on what exercise you perform. I think a gym rat like Pam may also give you some really good pointers on this one.

Leg extension machine

Exercise at the rugby field:

~Running. I ran circuits, varying the distance. Something like this: run 50m, walk 50m, run 50m and walk 50m. Increase the distance, the speed and the repetitions when you become more comfortable (never do sprint at this stage!! I have not done any sprint even today). I also ran sideways, zig-zag, backward, striding etc. I used to be a sprinter in secondary school and the knowledge did help me to be a bit more creative with the running exercises. I also used weights around my ankle and walk with them as I conducted rugby practice.  I eventually did hill exercises, climb a 1000ft+ hill and ran 5km with my players.

These exercises worked for me, but they are not the only ones.  Do consult the experts before attempting any of the exercises I mentioned.  You must know your body, your limit and your threshold for pain.

All the best to you Hamlet, and all you guys PCL survivors out there.