Come visit some time.

wow it’s been a while between adventures. Since my wings are clipped (for now) I signed up for something local involving lots of mud, barb wire, 10m high walls, fire and electric shocks – which was the easy part. The tough part was the 20km run. Hello Tough Mudder! http://toughmudder.com.au/ Headed down to Phillip Island Grand Prix, signed the death waiver, got my number written on my forehead – in theory so that your head can be identified in death or dismemberment? Not really.

I was worried before the event about my lack of stamina, also about getting cold so I definitely had to keep moving. I had mapped out the aerial photo of the course and figured out that the distance between each obstacle was at most 1.5km, shortening to 400m at the end, and I had a strategy – keep moving. Turns out I needn’t even have worried about the course length as the girls I was running with had to start walking after 1km of jogging. Yes, they really wanted to walk 20km. 4kmh pace = 5 hours. The suggested time to finish is 3 1/2 hours. Another girl and I jogged between obstacles and waited for them to catch up, but also because we had started later in the day there was a lot of waiting, especially at some obstacles like muddy hills, muddy trenches, where there was a lot of lining up.

The obstacles and running weren’t as tough as I expected them to be, the cold water and wind wasn’t too cold if you’ve been surfing before (heat sapping cold and bone chilling winds), the ice bath halfway turned out to be refreshing, the electric shock wasn’t as bad as getting static zapped everytime I get out of a car (static generates 12 000 volts apparently) and the mud wasn’t too bad if you’ve had to shit off a rock (Rinjani, Indonesia) or surf in sewerage (East Coast Malaysia). There wasn’t really a fear of being seriously hurt as a 4wd can just pick you up if you get injured – unlike if you go trekking in the Malaysian rainforest and realise that being helicoptered out isn’t an option with heavy rainforest canopy. So, queuing up and waiting aside, was it worth it?

Definitely yes. Although I would have like to push myself a bit harder, the silliness of being covered with mud, going through obstacles, helping each other out and just going through the whole experience together, was super memorable. Best bit was at the end downing a cold beer. I think I washed my stuff 4 times before most of the mud came off. I had mud under my nails and in my ears for days. That being said, I want to do TM again next year and this time do a proper flat out run. Let me know if you’re keen – pre-signing up for the Melbourne 2013 event has started!

http://toughmudder.com.au/events/australia-event-preregistration/

Big love,

Shi.

ps: A pic of me in the trenches – it was a 1km walk through muddy water, I was thinking of the Malaysian floods at this point. “What, you mean that I don’t have to worry about being slashed by submerged rusty corrugated iron, stung by stingrays or stepping into a submerged pothole? Wheee”

It’s been a long time since I last wrote, it was a crazy year in 2011 and I’m glad to say that I was putting in the hard yards for a (hopefully) great 2012.

The biggest thing about 2012 is that I’m a university student again! Yes! I am so excited. I am looking forward to flashing my uni card and getting student discounts. That will certainly offset the thousands of dollars in uni fees I will be paying, upfront, at the beginning of every semester. I shouldn’t really complain because I got a government subsidy for my uni degree and I wouldn’t be able to do it without. So thank you Australian government.

Went to Hanging Rock, which is this rocky outcrop with lots of spaces, cracks, gaps to play with In essence, just like a bunch of giant’s boulders sticking out of the ground. You can climb over (ignoring the signs all around telling you not to climb on the rocks) or under – which is a surprise on its own. Underneath there are some amazing mossy chambers, pierced by shafts of daylight, under the rocks. Climbing on the rocks are fun, but some rocks just become sheer drops down … and down and down… There were lots of families out today, a disproportionate number were extended Indian families – I noticed the same thing when I visited the waterfalls outside of Sydney, must be a cultural thing.

But even when it gets hectic, there are a lot of nice and high rocks to climb and sit on the top of, to enjoy the view and the sun. And between the climbing, a lot of silly moments, like when someone decided to test superglue on shoes still attached to their owners – you can see the results in the photo collage.

Big love x

Shi.

heya,

it’s been more than a month that I’ve been in melbourne and I still think that the weather in this city is crazy, it can be sunny in the morning, then suddenly misty and raining and grey… just like this Sunday :p

So this weekend was quite fun, actually it’s a long weekend because monday is the labor day holiday so the city of melbourne has a moomba festival! Basically shops, rides, and a parade on monday Also there was “affordable” trapeze lessons so I finally got to swing, grab the bars with my knees, swing back and catch on the other end! Soooo happy when I finally managed to do it! I was trying to go too quickly because I was worried I’d miss the bar – and instead this stuffed up the swing – so in trapeze it’s about the flow…. hm, there’s probably a life lesson in this

There was lots of live music also, some good indie/acoustic bands, silent disco, stuff for the young ones in the daytime, pet-a-reptile tent, waterski competition running all day, also one competition where people dress up as birds or flying machines to “fly” off a pier? ehhh I didn’t manage to wake up for that. I’m guessing that they flew (or fell with style) into the river.

We watched the festival fireworks on sunday night on the roof of some building – I’m reminiscing about the times watching fireworks with friends on the roof top, I wonder if everyone always sneaks up the fire escape to the water tank / flat roof of the building? I guess everyone has memories like that, which is why indie films try to duplicate those, haha.. But the fireworks were great, even more amazing view. And yes, some of us had a better view than most of us ( look at night view carefully :p )

And of course the monday parade! The only thing better than watching a parade is…. watching your friends, in funny costumes, doing funny things, on floats in the parade! Like wearing white shirts and trousers, pretending to chop a fake tree… HAHAHAHAHHAHAA

So, as I sit here feeling happy about making the trapeze catch.. I hope that you had a good weekend.

x

Shi.

Ok, so not everyone wears vintage “everything” in Melbourne, but one thing is for sure, Melbournians are immensely self-assured that in the national Australian stakes of “cultural coolness”, they rank up there. Culture is not the only thing cool about Melbourne, I’ve had the distinct displeasure of experiencing Melbourne’s infamous 4-seasons-in-a-day weather – on any given day it can be sunny in the morning, rain in the afternoon, windy in the evening… But of course anyone who’s lived in London can tell you it could be worse, because at least the sun comes out in Melbourne! If Australian cities were named by colors, then Perth would be a sun-bleached white, Sydney a glimmery sea blue and Melbourne a leafy green. It’s not just the domes and arches of the Victorian architecture, the abundant rolling lawns and old trees, but also, yes, its people – leggings are the order of the day, signature jewellery, hair piled in a loose buns high on women’s heads…can you tell that I’m intrigued by the je ne sais quoi of the Melbournians?

As for transport, Melbourne has a quaint tram system, which I think is great! Trams pass often with a happy ding dong ( not so good when I’m trying to sleep :p ) and through the main points in town, but a lot of locals cycle or skate (because they are cooler that way) I’m living on the edge of the CBD, Lygon Street (which is known as the main Italian cafes/restaurant street) and very close to the Melbourne cemetary – so, it’s work, eat, sleep…and then you’re dead? Or something like that.

So, I’m in Melbourne right now, job hunting and I’m hoping that this stay will be a little more permanent. 2011 will be an interesting year for sure. Big love to all of you who made 2010 bearable. My Australian number +6140XXXXXXX

Also happy chinese new year! I hope that this year of the rabbit finds you plenty of cash-filled red packets!

x

Shi