Sorry guys, it has been a lifetime since I have updated this blog. As some of you might know, my Dad is suffering some bad illness and hence I just tried to stay with my family as much as I can. Which mean I don't get home till quite late in the evening. I have only spend about 10 mins in front of this computer every night.
Setting the sorrow aside my recovery from adventure sports are more or less completed. As a consolation from lunch time bouldering in Kwun Tong, I have joined a fantastic gym 5 mins away from the office in Central. Its 20m swimming pool has served a monumental role in getting my left arm muscle back in swing. My default lunch time pass time has been running on the treadmill, cycling on the gym bike or crawling through the water with a vengence.
While on the gym bike I like listening to this podcast from TriTalk, it is a brilliant bi-weekly program on training tips for triathletes and I hope I discover this before Alex does! Coupled with much improved working hours, the condition is now perfect for me to embark on some proper triathlon training. And my first target is a the first ever Half Ironman in Asia, the SinaporeIronman703. I hope to get into the rythum of proper training soon, gonna tried out the Sonic Sports Club next week, which my mate Larry (Kin's partner in crime in Actiona Asia Macau) said it is a nice gang to be with.
Inevitably, I don't forsee climbing much this year but something had to give. I have finished reading "The Villian - The Life of Don Whillan". I recommend it in the same passion that I recommended "Leaving Microsoft to Change the World". Don is a genius in climbing and mountaineering, though unfortunately a tragic character that never realised his potential. He partnered with some of the best climbers in his generation first with Joe Brown and then Chris Bonnington. Though cause of his psychological flaw, he felt out with them and brought the most successful partnership in 1950's British rock climbing (with Brown) and a budding partnership in Alpine Climbing (with Bonnington) to a fruitless end. He went on a decade without major successful ascent until 1970, Bonnington saw the fire in him and took him to Annapurna to conquer the South Face of the mountain. He summited the face with Dougal Haston and the feat was a great national achievement at the time. Though even at Don's height he was on his way down, he was portraited as a calculating person who avoid load carrying on the mountain to preserve his fitness in order to get picked for the summit bid. Eventually such bad reputation drove him out of the top league of mountaineering and was never able to met his goal of conquering the North Face of Eiger and the South West Face of Everest. Go and read it, a sad tale of a nonetheless hero of his time.
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Year of Triathlon
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Faith in Friction
I started reading "The Villain - The Life of Don Whillans" by Jim Perin recently. Right now I am at the infant stage of Don's climbing career in Peak District. I used to lived an hour's away from the climbing outcrops of the "Peaks". Reading those few chapters which he gradually evolved from a hiker to a climber brings me back all those fond memories of my first year in climbing, it was also in the "Gritstone" crags in the Peaks which I got into the sport. It is a very special rock, big bulging round rocks that is highly fritional and abrasive. It is either loved or loathed by British climbers, though I don't know whether it was the history of Gritstones climbing or my personal happy times there, it occupies a special place for me. The following is an extract in the book on Gritstone:
Its holds for the most parts are sloping and indefinite, its bulging crack lacerate your hands. It demands a style based on confidence and agility, on both sophistication of technique and aggression in approach, on ingenuity and faith in friction."Faith in friction" what a nice saying, I love it, and I just checked that faithinfricition.com has not been registered yet, I can't believe no one has done it.
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Freeyasoul 2006 Review
This is the last day of 2006, just want to do my Freeyasoul Adventure Review of 2006. It has been the only year that I didn't manage to organise a freeyasoul adventure holiday with my friends but then when I review this blog which I really started writing from the beginning of the year, I can't really complain, it has been an amazingly colourful year. And to end the year with a little appreciation is something that we should all do. Read on to see my top moments in 2006.
#10 Fracturing My Left Arm - In just one split second, I felt off my mountain bike during a leisure day out in Tai Lam Reservoir, it shattered many other could be top moments contenders, like hiking in Japan, Trailwalker and Action Asia Hong Kong. Though may be it was time for a break and reflect, maybe I was having too much fun.
At the same time we learned about my father's illness, the injury was timed perfectly to focus my priority. Family and career may have been neglected in these times. Though 2 weeks after the injury I took up a new job which I have enjoyed so far, being happy 5 days a week at where you are was more important than finding a moment of euphoria on races during the weekend. What have I learned this year? Nothing that can be distilled into wisdom, but I felt striking a balance is important, I think the way I live my life is correct, exercising my body all the time and pushing it beyond limit. But I have to learn to let go sometime, to be able to say that, it is not important, there are more important things in life then maintaining an arbitary level of fitness and endurance. In 2007 I will continue to fill this blog with mini adventures but I hope to bring you equal dose of progress in my other projects in live, like career, family, goals and dreams.
Saturday, December 23, 2006
Saturday, December 09, 2006
Why are you getting more and more intellectual
In respond to Kin's comment, well as you can see I didn't find much that is adventurous to contribute to "Freeyasoul Adventure" due to my immobility and disability. So how have I been spending my time that I used to spend on rambling in the hills and picking up scars? I've been waiting to see the rise of Vietnam for ages, much just like supporting an underdog football team like Sheffield United. Sadly I have just been sitting at home reading. And my reading has never deviate so much from my course in life (which vaguely consist of solving world poverty issue, fighting capitalism, climbing mountains, yeah I know I never do any of them really) I actually started reading stuff about the Stock Market!!! Well it all began with a lunch with my friend Julius and his cousin, they were telling me that there is window of opportuniy to invest in Vietnam. It kind of strikes the bell, I love Vietnam, my 3 weeks backpacking trip there in 1999 was an amazing time. People I barely just met would invite me to go mountain biking with him in Dalat, then another stranger would take me on his scooter to join a post football match scooter parade in Ho Chi Min City. (For a more recent travelogue to Vietnam, read Kin's.) I've been waiting to see the rise of Vietnam for ages, much just like supporting an underdog football team like Sheffield United. Anyway that conversation inspired me to do some research of my own on the investment condition in Vietnam, and when you are new to a job, you just have the time to sneaky do that at your desk, one thing leads to another, I am now reading about ways to evaluate stocks and macro conditions, like equity analysts do. You know look at the PE ratio, assess the yoy sales growth, analyse the profit margin and operating margin bla bla bla. Well I hope to get this done with and build up my own H-Share portfolio before I can start doing sports again.
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Building Awareness for Dakshinayan
I hope those of you who has a blog can write a little post to divert your readers to those posts that I am about to write..... Let's see if we can create a snowball effect. Those who know me would probably know that on my big India trip in 2002, I volunteered for a Development NGO called Dakshinayan. I stayed in a village called Cheo among the tribal communities in Jarkhand and taught the kids some English with 5 other volunteers. It was a lifetime experience for me, I look at everything very differently since I was there. The organisation has been doing great work there, they aim to educate a generation of youngsters to take care of their tribes when they grow up. I have always been hoping to be able to help them somehow. A big contribution to their income has been the "fee" paid by the volunteers like me, though I know the number of volunteers has never been steady and recently they are struggling a bit. For the last month, I have been placing adwords on google on behalf of them. If you type "Volunteer India" on google you might be able to see my ads (if my daily budget has not ran out). I manage to direct 1-2 people to their website daily but it has not been translating into enquiries. The organisor has told me not to waste the money. Though I am not going to give up, I think building awareness takes time, apart from increasing my daily budget on google adwords, I am going to start an awareness campaign for them on this blog.
Once I found time, I will write a few posts about the organisation and the volunteering experience. I hope those of you who has a blog can write a little post to divert your readers to those posts that I am about to write. Please also invite your regular readers who also blogs to write a little divergence post. Let's see if we can create a snowball effect.
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Leaving My Old Job to Meet John Wood
and if even I did return with books to set up 9 libraries the next season, would this lead me to quit my job in the hope to make change to the world?I started on my new job this week, finally after 4 years back in Hong Kong, I now work in Central. Kind of childish to be pleased with take, I know most people at my age should have grown cynical about Central, but I found no better opportunity to expand my horizon after the groomy days of Kwun Tong. For example today, I went for a book talk at lunchtime with Martina, and the speaker was the inspiring John Wood of "Leaving Microsoft to Change the World". You may recall from my previous post how much I respect this guy.
Then he recounted his begining of this post-Microsoft life. "How many of you have been trekking in Nepal?" We stood our hands up proudly. Though if a Nepalese headmaster said "Perhaps one day sir, you will return with some books." I wondered if I would responded the way John did, and even if I did return with books to set up 9 libraries the next season, would this lead me to quit my job in the hope to make change to the world? That is what makes him so incredible. Room to Read now opens more library then the post-IPO Starbuck is opening coffee chains around the world at the same age.
there will be many people in this world to tell you not to take the risk, but they are not necessary the people that is worth listening to
Then he recounted some of his favourite stories in his books and finally left us with a picture that was taken last week, it was the once bookless libary that he first visted in Nepal, it is now a brightly decorated modern reading room, with books, magazines, maps and globes. One that is impossible for me to imagine the himalayan paddy rice fields were just beyond those windows.
Finally at the Q&A session he repeated those words in his books "If you have a passion, just get out and follow it.....there will be many people in this world to tell you not to take the risk, but they are not necessary the people that is worth listening to."
So once again, go and read this book, if you don't want to buy one, borrow one of the two copies that we now own.
P.S. If you want to get involved with Room to Read, read here.
Saturday, November 11, 2006
The Library Thing
Once I have done that, the site were able to recommend new books for me to read, tell me other users who shares similar reading interest, thus I can browse their library. The thing that I enjoyed the most was being able to see the front cover of the books lined up on the screen, especially on some of the topics that I enjoyed the most, like:
Mountaineering & Adventure
History
After looking at them again, I had the impulse to buy another mountain literature, just put in an order on The Villain: the Life of Don Whillans by Jim Perrin. It shared the 2006 Boardman Tasker Award.
Week 1 of Recovery
It has been more than a week since I was discharged from hospital, thankfully the new job don't start till next week, so I got plenty of break before having to fight my way through crowded bus to Central with a plaster hanging at my chest. Life as a single hand cripple has not been as bad as I have imagined, I can do most things with one hand as I have learned. Taking a shower was probably the worst, I have to held my injured arm up for as long as 10 mins, while the right arm was doing all the yoga movement, to get to every part of the body (just imagine cleaning your right arm pit with you right hand!).
I am a bit worried with the muscles on my left arm, they now cramped quite often due to lack of movement. Not much I can do until the plaster is off, of become smaller in my next checkup. By the I am fully recovered, I will give Outrigging a try, may rebulid my arm muscle quickly.
I was completely hooked to a Japanese comic called "Death Note" (死亡筆記). The second film based on the comic has just been released, but as always, the comic is much better. In case you didn't know the story is about a note book dropped by a Reapper to Earth, any person's name written on it will die within 40secs. The guy who picked it up started to use it to punish criminals in order to create a utopia. A top detective who is only known as "L" secretly investigate the series of crime. Both characters were highly intelligent and began a dog fight of mind games to fish each other out. I am down to the last volume today, can't wait.
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Disaster Struck Again
Just got back from a 3 days spell in the hospital with some steel plate and screws added to my body. It has happened again, I had another mountain bike accident but a more serious one this time. I won't even gonna put down any narratives to make it sound adventurous. It just went out of control, I fell and landed on my arm first. I broke one of the two bones in the forearm. The two ends of the fracture was completely separated and it needed an operation to patch them together with plates and screw.
It was plain stupid for me to mess up my body like this and caused so much trouble for my girlfriend and parents to spend their time taking care of me. Lucky for me they were there when I needed them, the 3 days passed very quickly. Every visiting time I can count on them being there to cheer me up, I was never too down.
Now I have 2-3 months of recovery period in which I won't be able to exercise, I have some time to think about what I really want. Doing all these adventurous sport is fun, but not for the price of losing a limp or two, I am not a thrill seeker, I just like overcoming my own limit. Clearly two major accidents in 5 months means that I should stay away from mountain biking, but if I do that, adventure racing is also out of the window. Something I am not willing to let go.
