Yay. Turning 51 in 4 months and can still do this kinda stuff. My Litespeed Bella still gorgeous. 

Bintan Triathlon @ Nirwana Beach Club

What animals have you had to entertain in your home? Not invited of course. The joys of living in the tropics and in a home that's level with the garden and pond. For a decade, it's just been a loyal loving dog. Then out of nowhere she is hosting dog ticks. Aardwolf Pestkare are now regular visitors to do the necessary for some semblance of control. Then the next door neighbour's home construction is complete, driving a clever rat to find an alternative hideout behind our kitchen cupboards. Clever because the little guy continues to elude the professional pest controller and his numerous traps, but at least now stays out of our way. Then since we've had the pond, with my beautiful red-tailed catfish, we get the occasional frog duet, trio, quartet or choir. Amazingly loud they are. We also have a high ceiling so more than once, we've had a small bird scoot in and out. Then there's the loft. The misguided squirrel that wanders down the stairs but back up again when the dog barks.
Years ago, we had a diverse animal family. It started with the gerbils, who were prolific multipliers. Then a few hamsters. The guinea pig from SPCA. Our 4 foot tank and multiple 2 foot tanks. Crayfish we caught with sausages from Upper Peirce Reservoir. Tilapia from some longkang. A few tanks of Luo Han that we fed bits of steak to. Cichlids. Then we converted the rowboat into a koi pond. But the egret found them, so we caught the egret too. Fortunately only once was there a snake...dangling from our letter box.
Few weeks back, I videoed a monitor lizard in my backyard. Just the other day, while laid up in bed sick as a dog, there's a lot of noise coming from the living room. About 5-6 long tail macaques in the loft ! Tinge of fear as I am out-numbered. But no Alpha Male amongst them, so loud shouting & noise from hitting 2 canes together shooed them away. 

Thursday. 9am meeting so did 30min run in gym beforehand. 6km/hr about 2.5km.
Friday. Ran around neighbourhood. Greenwood. Watten. Been a while but nice.
Saturday. In hotel gym in KL. Clocked 7km/hr about 3.2km.
Yeah. There is hope. 

Yes.....still doing Tri's

Except for 2015 where turning 50 I gave myself a break from any race. After Metaman Blitz in September 2014, I discovered the joys of Shbam, Bodyjam, Zumba and other Fitness First activities. Actually all those nonsensical dancing prepared me for Metaman ! Back to back classes. Strength training with an FF coach built my core muscles. Anyway, back to triathlons this year. Have just about 4 more weeks to Bintan Triathlon 2016. I am, as usual, not prepared. But it's a Sprint distance with a new race, the 1km swim and a no-pressure bike recce. Looking forward. This year I have been sick with cold twice. Just about back to 100%. Except for my shoulder that has not been the same since January. No thank you to badminton. Ah yes, that's new this year. Love it. Especially the sweat. 

Transition Year

A house is not a home. Life as we know it can change in a second. There's no turning back. No point looking back. Does one believe the best years are behind, or ahead? That makes life a world of a difference. Glimmer of hope. Things to look forward to. Is there really any difference whether one is 50, 60, 70, 80, 90...100? Change is happening all the time. Design our life? Are we possessed by our possessions? If we don't build our dream, someone else will hire us to build theirs. Do we sell our time to others to build their dreams? Or do we buy people's time and talent to build our dreams. Does it mean that if God hasn't taken people home to heaven, that their calling on earth is still not complete? So God in His mercy allows more time for us to 'get it'. This is four months into 2016. Nonagenarian golfing has been the mainstay. The rest has been networking galore, 'carouselling', South Africa, some freelance work (never enough), attending courses related to some of my responsibilities. 2015 was fantastic, by the way.