Amidala Rules!

I knew the costume had my name written on it when I saw the hair-piece. Ever since young, I've always had big hair, but having big hair, at a proper dinner function, eating a 9 course chinese dinner and taking photos with a DSLR with white make-up is something else!

Photo : Left, Queen Amidala of Naboo from Star Wars, right, me at my office's movie-themed dinner and dance I went to last Friday! (In the photo of me, the alien eye bits at the bottom of the dress and the white makeup is not evident, but it is there :-) ... )

Evidently Queen Amidala rules, and I won myself a prize for the effort ... evidently the lunch-time impromptu trip to a costume rental in town with some of my team-mates was worth it - and I continue to marvel at how fun the people I work with can be despite the age, diversity, background and characteristics - I'm proud to say all the ones I worked with closely took the effort to dress up to theme for the dinner!

Other than the big hair and fun dressing up, my photography effort turned out with 25% discarded shots, over-flashed, under-flashed, out of focus, too dark, etc. It was all the more difficult with the make-up, hair and difficulty to move around and the fact that I was "mobbed" by "paparazzi" all the time, resulting in people wanting to take photos with me, and me handing my beloved Nikon to those who can't focus and click, worse was that I could not even handle the SB-600 flash I borrowed for the occasion.

Next time - can only be either photographer or be photographed. Cannot be too greedy :-)

Impossible is Nothing? Nothing is Impossible?

Today whilst I was running in the 10km Power Run race, I was behind a guy who wore this Adidas t-shirt with the trademark Adidas slogan, "Impossible is Nothing". Adidas cleverly took the nothing is impossible phrase and twisted it around to become its campaign slogan which became popular amongst the runners. I also know this is a favorite shirt of a few runners I know.

It is not impossible to run a marathon. Hardly 6 months ago when I started competing in races again, my goal was to run a marathon in two years. My target is 2007. However, impossible is not nothing. It is not without effort. And I thank my friend, a runner who reminded me this. To train requires sacrifices to both personal life, work life, to instill some good habits and to get rid of some bad ones. Otherwise, like PCK says, "don't play play", it is not a case of "Just Do It" or "Impossible is Nothing". Being unprepared is worst than not competing. I cannot just go about the same way to prepare for a half marathon as compared to a marathon.


On a different note, today has been an absolute running day for me. Not only did I manage to induct another virgin 10km friend, I also was very inspired by the Commonwealth Games marathon on TV, a repeat telecast I saw later in the evening. In particular, the female gold-medalist, an Australian, did a fantastic time of 2hr 35min and she was 38 years old, and she outran a Kenyan runner on the stadium 400m convincingly to win the gold!

That was inspiring.

See the world differently

I have developed a strong love for photography recently. The passion for this art form had always been long dormant, but recently awaken.

I was never a professional photographer. My first strong contact with cameras came about from the manual Minolta my dad had for many years, which I used to carry to special events in secondary school to take pictures (and looking like a pro). That used to be quite tedious as you really need to turn and twist to focus, but the rewards was always good.

Then came the automatic camera. I had a nikon pass me down from my brother in university. Again, it was one of the things I brought to every event or function, and all my uni days were captured in the nikon.

That was later superceded by the first generation digital camera. I bought a Kodak 1 Megapixel camera in my assignment in Taiwan, about 6 years ago because I was bored, and I wanted to capture some moments out of town. The Kodak was superceded so quickly, in the blink of an eye, within two years, 4 megapixel cameras were the new things and I felt the camera did not have enough resolution.

I bought the Minolta dimage XD 3 Megapixel in 2002, thinking it was sufficient and would last me long. Then came the final itch, when I saw photos taken with digital SLRs and I fell in love with the sharpness, the contrasts and depth of field impressions of a dSLR. I succumbed to the Nikon in January 2006, a few months ago.

Thinking back now, it seem a full circle - Minolta, Nikon, Kodak, Minolta, Nikon. And mum's grew up in early years in a photo studio until the family sold it off. Back then, she told me women never take photos. Customers would always ask for the male photographer. Back then, the color of the photos were black and white, and they painted the colors to key areas like the face, lips, etc.

Now, we have online preview, load to PC and enhance, and the chance to take many shots before agreeing to one.

Photography has allowed me to see the world differently. Now, everytime I look at things, when I see new environment, I look for angles, I see details which escaped me before, I see people in action as I've never seen before.

As I indicated in a earlier post, a friend humbled me and called me a amateur photographer. If it means I have a lot to learn about photography, I am really excited. Because photography opens up a whole new world and I cannot wait to see and learn more.

Malaysia's 1st Blood Type Restaurant

According to Malaysia's first bloodtype restaurant, I can only eat salad.

Spotted, and taken using my mobile phone at a restaurant which opened up near my home.

Close to Tiger

I was 5 feet away from him. I debated his good shot and how he had taken the "Tiger Line" with some stranger next to me (I sounded like a pro.. :-))

I said "in the hole" (what a absolutely man's phrase!) along with the other people surrounding the green.

I saw him take his driver out on the 7th hole on Day 2, and hit a driver on the fairway to the green on a par 5. One lady said "he's taking out his big stick"... I was tempted to say "what big stick!?" ... luckily I saw the driver before I made that remark...



Tiger Woods is the epitome of pure sportsman. My friend, the Frenchman, a non-golfer, was hooked by his intensity on the course. He was so captivated on watching Tiger that he followed him on the course until he almost forgot to take his ride back to catch his flight. In Tiger, we saw his history as a young golfer, and the dedication to training. Most importantly he represented a winner - someone who is so mentally strong that opponents crumble.

Golf is an amazing individual sport - it is a challenge to oneself to master the sport, to conquer the course, and of course, to conquer oneself and rise to the challenge. I mentioned it to a friend, this is similar to running races - how you want to finish is up to you. Do not blame others if you did not practice or train enough. It is all in preparation and mental challenge.


Although Tiger did not win the matchplay, it was an experience watching him. I was 5 feet away from a champion.






Footnotes :

Photo Note 1: Tiger at the Accenture dinner after Round1 - he looks not too happy at having to entertain us bunch of consultants ...

Photo Note 2: Past champions of the matchplay.

Photo note 3: Aspiring champion at Carlsbad, California, for Accenture Matchplay (2nd round) in full golf gear, looking like a japanese golfer!

Have a Break, Have a Cookie

The day never ended for me today. As I am writing this, I am so flat out tired from work. What I need now, is a nice massage, one week of good 8 hr sleep and my phone and computer out of order.

International Women's Day 8 March

Today is International Women's Day. I have a colleague in China who told me that in China, women are on half day's leave today. I celebrate today by working longer (!), and blogging three times today!!!!

You will never run alone... (A short report on KLIM)

KL roads will never look the same again to me :-)

Today I was driving to KLCC from Technology Park Malaysia, using Sg Besi route. I passed by TUDM and this flash of deja-vu struck me - it was about the 10km mark and the detector.

Last Sunday, March 5th was my first KLIM event (Participant number G1123! wearing the stupid organiser t-shirt because I followed instructions in the info sheet!).

In fact, to put simply, I have mixed 'feelings'. I am glad I finished my half marathon, but at the same time, I felt I did extremely poorly. It is a great lesson learnt for me, because I was courting disaster, did not have time to train, did not even had time to do short training sessions. It was the first time I had competed in an event I did not have time to train for, and worse was that it was not just the distance I did not have time to train for, it was even basic time spent in the gym was not in existence. This is the story of a virgin "half-marathoner" and how I saw my "first" experience.

In the Beginning
After a sudden interest in running starting from the Rat Race last year (2005), I ran 3 other races in the closing months of 2005, and in 2006, started off with the Pacesetters 20km run (held together with the trademark 30km run), in January. My plan was to do this 20km run as a preparation to see if I could take the KLIM half-marathon. I intended to do 3 half marathons and at least 3 10km or sub-10km events for 2006, and then aim for marathon in KLIM 2007. A pretty simple plan.

The prep race and prep before the race
I did a good time and effort for the pacesetter 20km in Jan. It was the first time I almost ran continuously for 20km, and therefore I was quite euphoric about KLIM. Then came CNY, went to London, came back, and went to San Diego, and came back with a continuous jet lag feeling, plus no time even to run in sunny San Diego. In US I had little sleep and even on Friday/sat I had only 3-4 hrs sleep as we were doing a trial system migration.

Race Day
Although I slept early for the race, when I got up I did not have enough to eat. , and when during the race, from KM5 to KM15+ they ran out of drinks so was pretty dehydrated. So I did a good time for 10km split, but after 12+km, I lost focus, my mind was on water!!!! Last km lap around Jln Raja Laut I even felt dizzy because of lack of energy...! I just wanted to finish, and I did that, but definitely next time can put in a much better time, with lesson learnt on preparation and enough sleep/nutrients before race!

Gadgets and Nutritions
The most interesting thing was the Championship Chip. The half-marathoners and marathoners were given a championship chip on loan. When we were let out of the "bull-pen" for runners, the beeping sound of the RFID CChip was quite interesting - it beeped continuously like a chirping alarm (because so many runners were running on the mat!).

I was first exposed to Powergel on the Pacesetters 20km race. I ate one pack as a reward for reaching 10km without stopping, but along the way, the race organisers gave many power-drink supplements at drinks stations. For KLIM, the reverse happened. I brought along one powergel to repeat my strategy, but when we reached 10km, they handed out Chocalate flavored ones, hence I took it and ate it, only to find out 10 paces later that there was no water in the water station. So, I was dehydrated and had "ate" a powergel stuck in my throat for a good 5km!!! Lesson learnt - do not be too greedy :-)

After the race
People I worked with when they heard about the race thought I was mad as they saw the hours I put in during the week. Even the client bosses thought I was joking when I told them I was running on Sunday. Sigh... Good lesson learnt, body is not made of steel...!!!! For those who think their mind can overtake, when the body is weak/tired, don’t push yourself....

Nevertheless, I am still quite satisfied I had achieved what I wanted to do - to complete the race. Next time, do it well!

Thinking whilst running

The next few post must be dedicated to the euphoria I had on completing in my first half marathon and the first KL International Marathon event (KLIM).

What do you think whilst running? I admit the amount of time really thinking is proportionate to focus. For this 21km race the last weekend, I could only really focus for half the race, the first half which I ran well.

When running, it is definitely a very interesting reflecting time. People wonder - how can you think when you are running? Surprisingly, a few runners agreed with me - you do a LOT of thinking whilst you are running to occupy and focus yourself.

One of the questions in my mind last week Sunday whilst doing my first half marathon was one which a close friend asked me - "Why do you do it?" in referring to my newfound interest in running.

And my response was "Because it is very motivating".

"Do you need that motivation?"
"No, but I really enjoy it - it is something I can do and look forward to doing"

Just like golf.

One has to have passions. My passion lists grew and only came about in the last few years - I love to run for the sport itself, just as much as golf, and as much as capturing a beautiful shot.

I never realised I think when I am running. I have also argued with myself sometimes, examined my actions, played scenarios in my head, even imagine conversations with the next 10 people running closest to me. Ask a runner... you'd be surprise what is in his head whilst running. Tell me your thoughts!

Triple Highs At Carlsbad

It has got to be a triple high week.

High #1 : Me and Diego & Team
I was one of the two in my team to present to the Accenture CHT Operating Committee, the top 15 people running CHT global in Accenture, including the CEO of the CHT group. We were the first team to present, and I opened the session. Although I presented only 30% of the presentation, it was a high. Even my bosses have never gotten this opportunity. It opened a world of higher level issues within Accenture I would never had the chance to encounter if I did not have a chance to participate in this leadership development program (LDP). It also gave us a chance to mingle on first names to our leadership and identify with them, and enabled me the passionate old-timer to give them my two cents worth from the little kampung of malaysia.

High #2 : Saw Tiger, Go on, Be with Tiger.
I watched one day of the Accenture World Matchplay championship! It was a once in a life-time opportunity to be standing in a golf course, about 5 feet from Tiger Woods, when he is teeing off in a matchplay. Even better was that it was an Accenture sponsored matchplay, and that in a dinner function, I had the chance to attend, we had an opportunity to hear him talk about his success.

High #3 : Met Bill. Bill Green, Accenture CEO
Introduced ourselves - Hiro (Accenture Japan), Peter (Accenture Sydney) and Allen (Accenture Shanghai) to Bill Green during the dinner function. Only those of us will appreciate this. We took initiative, us who has little interaction opportunity, the minority. What is wrong with saying hello to your CEO, after all we travelled over many thousand miles to be with the LDP group....

The three highs are both career and a sense of personal standing.

San Diego and Tiger Woods has been eventful.

Sub-High #4 : Stayed at Four Seasons
A feeling of how it is at the jet-setting league. I wished the week never ended, even though the presentations were very tiring!

San Diego and Tiger Woods

Got to travel this weekend on Saturday to San Diego for the development program "training". All the way across the Pacific Ocean to Carlsbad California, for 3 days of workshop, then 1 day of golf championship attendance. The golf championship is world top 64 golfers, the tournament is match play format (one against one knockout), and sponsored by Accenture.

http://www.worldgolfchampionships.com/tournaments.

I'd get to see the first day of matchplay as well as attend a dinner function on Weds nite, which hopefully our Tiger Woods will attend!!! I hope my new Nikon D70s camera can capture him, without flash.

Although its tiring to travel and got to prepare stuff for the workshops, it is a different week.

Life is exciting.

Thaipusam

I was at the Thaipusam festival celebrations on 10 Feb. We went there started from Sentral Station at 9:45 pm, and finally reached Batu Caves at around 11 pm. Took two trains - the Komuter which changed in Sentul - the Komuter was packed!!! I have never been squeezed in a train before in trying to get through the door.

The celebration at the Batu Caves was quite grand - there were so many people there especially to look at the newest status of Lord Muruga which was the largest in the world. We actually trekked up the steps and reached the top temple and then trekked down in the crowd. Watching people performing their vows and some in a trance was quite an experience, one that we will never forget.


We finally left at around 2am and arrived home at 4am!



To view all the photos click here






About Thaipusam - excerpts from a local site
THAIPUSAM is an annual Hindu festival which draws the largest gathering in multi-racial Malaysia - nearly a million people in 2000.

Several hundred devotees spear their cheeks with long, shiny steel rods - often a metre long - and pierce their chests and backs with small, hook-like needles in penance. Tourists watch in awe as metal pierces the skin with hardly any bleeding and, apparently, no pain as the devotee stands in a trance in the dawn light after weeks of rigorous abstinence.

Over the years, curious British, American and Australian medical experts have come to observe and speculate. Some think the white ash smeared on the body, the juice squeezed from the yellow lime fruit or the milk poured on the pierced areas may help to numb the skin. But most admit they have no answer.

The devotees say it is faith.

There are plenty stories about what Thaipusam is about. Among the most popular is that it commemorates the day Lord Siva's consort, the powerful goddess Parvathi, gives her son, Murugan, the vel (lance) to vanquish three demons and their large army which were plaguing the world.

Thaipusam falls on a full moon day in the auspicious 10th Tamil month of Thai when the constellation of Pusam, the star of well-being, rises over the eastern horizon.

In Kuala Lumpur, the festival is celebrated on a mammoth scale at the Batu Caves temple on the outskirts of the city. It began in 1892, started by early Tamils who migrated to colonial Malaya.

Love is in the Air...

Happy Valentine's Day!

I thought the beautiful occasion deserves a revisit to the blog, one of my love of live is driven by passion - passion for writing, running, and now currently photography!

May this Valentine's Day be celebrated with appreciation of love, both given and received, and for us to cherish the loved ones by our side.

About Me

I have been called a pre-amateur photographer.

I admit, pre-amateur years are most agonising but at the same time, most inspiring, as every shot is taken with enthusiasm and excitement. For the one who named me a pre-amateur, I forgive you, you give me more energy to pursue my interest!




I felt it a necessity to introduce myself in photos.

This is me - the most natural shot of me, the first shot of me using my newfound love - my nikon D70s. I was at Foto Shangri-la - this photo was taken by Jeffrey the supervisor of the store. I did not pose, and the photo when enlarged showed all my facial defects!! But I loved this photo, because it was natural, cropped, and also my newfound love's first sight of me!!




The second photo here, in a very condensed mode as I downloaded it from a site, is one where I am in my next greatest passion - running. My dream is to run the marathon next year, and subsequently I'd be a travel runner - to be honest, I felt the urge in London from Greenwich to Westminster - the London Marathon, to be precise. It was one of those love at first sight things when I saw the route.



The third - my newest love - photography - at the rate I am going, I'd likely be king of nite photography! Just can't find any time to do any day photography. This was one of the first few shots someone took of me in front of PB building.






The fourth here, also related to running, is also a downloaded shot, where I was almost famous! I am pictured here carrying one of my retired partner's photo in the token award ceremony for the KL Rat Race. The KL Rat Race is my most enjoyable racing outing for the last two years!!





The fifth photo, indeed is my hidden talent - I love to pose for photos in addition to taking photos!! This one is one of me being conned into lying on a foot of snow just for the sake of taking a photo.






Last photo - added post-edits - taken by Mum!!! Cool!!! Mum can take photos, I look very natural here!









Last-last photo - added post-edits - my bird photography "skill"!

Last Christmas

Free and Easy Trip to Denmark and Sweden - 24-Dec 2005 - 1 Jan 2006 - PhotoBlog
For full view of all the photos - please click here



A Quiet Christmas Eve in Copenhagen - This was the scene on Stroget, one of the busiest fashion street on Christmas Eve, the day I got there. I thought I was halucinating from jetlag, but true enough, NOBODY works on Christmas Eve...! There was not a soul on the street except for my two colorful companions... It makes me wonder how these Danish people do business!





Chistmas brings in a sunny day - On the second day, the sun welcomed us! This was Christmas day in Denmark, and Wai Fun just came in. We were greeted with great sunshine, but the skating rink was not open on Christmas. We later went to Peter and his wife (Ah San's boss) house for dinner. We had I think one or two sunny day of all the days I was in Denmark and Sweden. To some extend when the sun did come out, we were so awed. Photos look better, people just looked more cheerful and even the day looks brighter. I frankly cannot imagine how the locals spend winter - it must be so boring!


I love my body! - This picture of the fat naked lady is a theme of a famous artist in Denmark, I could not recall his name. They have multiple sculptures of this 'fat lady' theme. I also saw a drawing in Peter's house. Scandinavians are great at designer stuff and interior design. I wonder where the gift comes from? Vikings?






The little mermaid - This famous statue in real life is pretty small - it was a symbol of a danish folk lore on the mermaid who gave up her fins and waited for a man. Apparently this statue had been replaced before multiple times from regular mutilations and damage. This was the first touristy place I saw in Denmark - Ah San drove me here for a nite picture at 7am when I first got in to Copenhagen.




Stroget at night - Beautiful heart shape lights lined up the street to welcome in Christmas, unfortunately not many were around. A case again of, where is everybody? Can you imagine, even McDonalds was closed!!!





Opera House (Copenhagen) - This would've been a wonderful shot if not for the white patch in front. We were here as a first touristy sight for Wai Fun, who came in one day later than me. The opera house was resplendant in lights at night.






The old church - I loved this shot because of the beautiful scenery and the reflective shot on the lake - it gives the old church a mystic look and feel and is probably one of the 10% of the shots which shows good weather!









A park near the Carlsberg Brewery - We stumbled upon this beautiful park covered with snow and filled with hundreds of happy kids (and adults) toboganning - it was too good an opportunity for a photo shoot. Ah San stole a toboggan and rode once down herself! Babies from 2 year olds to 50 year old men were having a go at it!




Stockholm, Sweden (Gamlastan) - This old city of Stockholm where most of the admin used to be, and four freezing girls standing in front of the church tower. It was -4C.







An Elk, Moose or Reindeer - I had this argument with Derick (he could not prove me right or wrong) through the entire trip whether these creatures were elks, moose or reindeer. I was adamant that reindeer was this mystic creature which was associated with Santa :-) BTW, it is an elk. Confirmed after the trip.


Enroute to Sweden
Last Christmas, I gave you my heart, and the very next day, you gave it away, This year, to save me from tears, I gave it to someone special.... George Michael for the very 5th time was playing on the radio as we were driving to Sweden. It is a sad song, but also my favorite as it is a very catchy tune. We drove for about 500 km from Copenhagen to Stockholm, Sweden on 26th December for at least about 8 hours, and the only CDs we had was a Christmas CD and Il Divo, and Italian opera group. Il Divo puts people to sleep so George Michael for 5 times is probably more entertaining and no other option. This was the scenery when we were driving there.


Pee Stop - I was navigator for leg one of the journey. San was driving. I think we left around 7am, when it was still dark We had gotten lost getting out of the city, and when we crossed Malmo bridge from Copenhagen to Sweden grounds, it was still dark, and we did not get a chance to see the magnificent 20km bridge spanning across the two countries. I remarked to San that it would be interesting to do a marathon on the bridge, 20km and back = 40km. As we got onto Sweden, it was pretty much barren land all the way. Everyone was sleeping in the car.

Season's Greetings

Its the end of the year, and I have not written for 2-3 weeks. I was in Singapore on Tuesday and Wednesday and when I alighted the train between airline concourses - it was so packed - and my colleague and I were almost squeezed like a LRT ride on peak hours! She remarked that we were the only two persons in the whole train who was in work clothes...! How true... and how extremely sad...

The holiday seasons is indeed here. Many people are taking the time off to spend with children and loved ones, shopping complexes have a very christmas and holiday mood, there are many people doing year end shopping and dressing up for christmas and new year parties and everyone's really winding down for the year.

December is a good month to reminisce about the year that has passed. Last week I read an announcement in email that one of my respected leaders in my company Kah Soon is moving on and pseudo retirement. Not sure about the politics behind this move, but I have a high respect for Kah Soon. He was the one who interviewed me for this job in Accenture, who decided to hire me with one screening interview, instead of 3 long full interviews. He has an uncanny ability to remember people and names, and most importantly he was truly one of the few persons I looked up to in the firm. He helped saved my soul in my lowest career times in Taiwan project, and at the same time gave me a second chance, and extended his hospitality to me many times to his family's home during my one long year working in Taiwan. He taught me how to be a good servant to others, and service beyond self is the motto which has let me learn a lot more about enjoying my work over the last few years.

December is also a month where I remind myself to stay healthy for the next whole year. I did a medical checkup for insurance a week back. Aside from the routine stuff, the docter remarked that my blood pressure was remarkably good, and I attributed that to my increased physical exercise and activity this year. I vividly recall the last insurance check up I did some years back, and to my greatest shock to find a lump in my breast. At that time, I was very naive and did not understand how scary that can be. Luckily it turned out benign. However one of my family was not so lucky. Fortunately this also turned lucky for us and my family member is now in remission. I remind myself to do a proper scan yearly (I have been slack) and also do the proper full medical checkup. Good health can be managed.

December is the month which reminded me of the need to take a good break sometimes in order for us to come back refreshed. This year has been good to me, I set forth with a few places I wanted to go to, and came away with a few more. I went to visit the Great Wall of China on one of my Beijing training trips, I conquered Mt Kinabalu, and most inspiring of all for me, I started to run seriously again.

2005 closing - it reminds me of why I am myself and thank you all who put up with me!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all... may you be blessed with good health for the coming years, lots of laughter, good friends and be surrounded with lots of love.

Picking a good read - post-mortem

On one of my previous posts, I wrote about thinking of what book to bring on my long trip - to those who were curious - this was what I ended up bringing
1) Sudoku exercise - did not touch
2) 5 attitudes to excellence - a book as small as a A6 notepad with about only 50 pages that can fit in my handbag - read about 5 pages

This was what I ended up doing going (very pathetic)...
1) Wrote a contract for my boss
2) Read 50% of the pre-read materials for the training
3) Watched two and a half movies - March of the Penguins (a famous french documentary), Batman Begins (half), Initial-D (Jay Chou movie!!)

This was what I ended up doing coming back (equally pathetic)
1) Did no computer work cause MAS flight notebook adapter not working
2) Read Men's Health (!!), Cosmopolitan and Runner's World magazine
3) Watched one movie - All about Dogs or something, with Diane Keaton
3) Slept a lot

Deja Vu

Two and a half years ago, I started this blog before and during the peak of a migration exercise. I am back again, this time, with a larger team, and with a heavier responsibility. This is round one of the work I've done since January of the year. Round two is even bigger, in May 2006.

I am here, sitting through my shift despite being sick. I popped enough pills from the docter to get myself to a level of sane thought, wrapped myself with a fleece jacket and went to work, knowing that I need to last myself another two days, of such on-and-off sleep and worries. 11 months of work, what is a little bit of being sick... and yet I know I have to pace myself.

Wish me good luck.

Playing at the highest level

There were 36 teams of on average 6 people. Each team painted a square. The squares were put together.. and the Big Picture was formed!

It was a funny feeling in the stomach. It is indeed an excitement to be here in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for Leadership Development Program, knowing I am playing at the highest level. In my years working with Accenture, I have only recently know how much I really enjoy my job despite sometimes the long hours I work and part of the reason is the passion of the people I meet.

I have said this is a "non-passion" sport in my recent return to blogging. To come to a stage over the last two years to have transformed the non-passion to a passion is to have understood what is balance, and accepted I have a lack of balance. And yet have the courage to refine my own self in the process to find a very personal leadership style and still learning how to work with it.

Living life to the extreme is being here today, with no regrets, because everything is a choice. What I do not have and have yet to have, is balanced with what I have. A good leader needs to work hard, be lucky and be smart enough to spot the luck.

Leadership is tough, but a choice we choose everyday. Extreme leadership is leading with truth and passion. I want to be an extreme leader, not just in work, but in life.

Sometimes it takes to take one away from the environment, many thousands of miles away I can finally think about who I am.

Picking a good read

Definitely not looking forward to the coming long haul flight to US. One thing I absolutely dislike is the jet lag feeling when you get there, and the same feeling when you get back. One of the questions which most people ask me is what I do on the plane for such a long haul flight. Guess what's my answer? You guessed it!!! SLEEP! Despite the attempt to do so, killing time is difficult, and sometimes between sleeping and watching movies, it does help to read a good book.

As I was looking to pick a good read for the upcoming trip, I rummaged through my house for my latest buys which may qualify for the long trip. The last few reads are as varied as the sky and the earth, I thought I'd share them here :
1) The Seven Summits of Success - This book is a pretty thin volume, written by a journalist Rebecca Heller, who scaled the "seven summits" - the highest mountain on each continent. She was an amateur who took on Everest as a goal, and since then has moved on to do the seven summits, and is the first British woman to do so. In the book she relates the process of preparing for and conquering these mountains, the motivation behind her actions and her learnings, leading to seven leadership points. The book is a mix of leadership and also personal story of her conquest, I was especially interested in this after the KK ascent!

2) Sudoku - Yes, I am one of those dumb fellas who has since subscribed to this craze. This is one of those 'cheaper' ones, the first one I bought when I read about this puzzle phenomenon going on, and how it recently invaded Malaysia as well (look at the books in the store!). The amazing thing is that I just got the hang on it recently, but.... surprise surprise, I have YET to solve one puzzle in the book!!! (This is quite embarrasing, I guess my puzzle solving skills have decreased linearly with age!!!). A likely candidate for the trip as I always fall asleep after 20 minutes trying to solve these!

3) Alberto Salazar's Guide to Road Racing - I actually 'ran' into this book, in looking through a series of golf books in a book shop. I admit I am very interested in racing recently but very worried about training, and this was a pretty decent book with a mix of realistic and scientific facts. I am still on this book, it is more of an ongoing reference than a read, as it needs re-reading from time to time to benefit from the advice.

4) Tom Peter's Guide to Leadership - What? Another leadership book? Again, this was an easy reference read, it is more of a pocketbook than a book, has lots of pictures and illustrations. I read this waiting for my MyKad registration in Putrajaya.

5) DK Travel Guide to Shanghai - No, I've never been to Shanghai, and I've yet to make plans to go... just that I did had the tinge of intention to go to visit Mun Lan, and I told her that when I commit to buying a book, this usually means I'm going to make the trip soon... she merely said "I listen first.....", she does know me well...

So, last 5 buys, none of them readable on a long trip! I need a story book... or maybe I need to extend my conversational skills to the next passenger... oh man, the long trip sucks... Anything to recommend?

It's a celebration!

It's a celebration of three days and three nights...! No, I am not talking about Deeparaya, its processor total shutdown day coming up, ie. the special day of one special person - me!

I am going to eat, sleep, have a good girl spa session and enjoy the great company of my friends and family for three days three nights coming up to my birthday. For every year, I've always wanted to celebrate my birthday with those around me, and thank them for their support for putting up to the ironics and idiosyncracies of me.

There were those I celebrated with my family when I was younger, there were those I celebrated with my uni friends studying for exams, and there were those I celebrated with my first love, there were those I celebrated with my best friends, there were those I celebrated with colleagues, there were those I celebrated at work. These are memories both sweet and residual, memories which I cherish for those who choose to be with me on my special day.

When I am now much older, and claim to be 18 every year, I want to just relax and enjoy birthdays like everyday in life, with a reminder that I am glad to be here...So, in celebrating my love for life, I would like to wish those around me, thank you for being you. And thank you for helping me love life! (And no blogging for three days :-) )

I received this from a friend I've known for 15 years, very touching, one of those whom I thought warrants a record... made my day.

GIRLFRIENDS IN YOUR LIFE
When I was little, I used to believe in the concept of one best friend, and then I started to become a woman. And then I found out that if you allow your heart to open up, you will see the best in many friends. One friend is needed when you're going through things with your man. Another friend is needed when you're going through things with your mum. Another when you want to shop, share, heal, hurt, joke, or just be. One friend will say let's pray together, another let's cry together, another let's fight together, another let's walk away together. One friend will meet your spiritual need, another your shoe fetish, another your love for a good laugh, another will be with you in your season of confusion, another will be your clarifier, another the wind beneath your wings, another your mentor.

But whatever their assignment in your life, on whatever the occasion, on whatever the day, or wherever you need them, whether to meet you with their gym shoes on and hair pulled back, or to hold you back from making a complete fool of yourself ........ Those are your best friends. It may all be wrapped up in one woman, but for many it's wrapped up in several. One from 7th grade, one from high school, several from the college years, a couple from old jobs, on some days your mother, on others your sisters, and on some days your daughters. So whether they've been there 20 minutes or 20 years, pass this on to the women in your life to make a difference. Time passes, Distance separates, Children grow up, Love waxes and wanes, Hearts break, Careers end, Jobs come and go, Colleagues forget favours, Men don't call when they say they will BUT...........

Girlfriends are always there, no matter how much time and how many miles are between you. A girlfriend is never farther away than needing her can reach. The world wouldn't be the same without them, and neither would we. When we began this adventure called womanhood, we had no idea of the incredible joys or sorrows that lay ahead. Nor did we know how much we would need each other.

Every day, we need each other still. Pass this onto the women who helps make your life work.

Hurricanes are named after females because only a female's wrath can be felt that forcefully :-)

I guess I won't be going anywhere but hopefully the hotel when I go to US (Florida!) for my training soon in the coming weeks....

In the news today...

Wilma Barrels Across South Florida
By MIKE SCHNEIDER, Associated Press Writer
NAPLES, Fla. - Hurricane Wilma crashed ashore early Monday as a strong Category 3 storm, battering southwest Florida with tornados, 125 mph winds that shook the sturdiest buildings and pounding waves that flooded parts of this area and Key West. At least one death was blamed on the storm.

By 9 a.m., the storm's top sustained winds had weakened to 110 mph, a Category 2 storm. It was centered in the middle of the state about 45 miles southwest of West Palm Beach. It was moving northeast at about 25 mph.

A man in the Fort Lauderdale suburb of Coral Springs died when a tree fell on him, Broward County spokesman Carl Fowler said. Fowler had no other details.

The center of Wilma's eye made landfall around 6:30 a.m. EDT near Cape Romano on an uninhabited island of the same name, 22 miles south of Naples in Collier County on Florida's southwest coast, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. But severe weather began long before.

Wilma's devastating winds had reached Florida's east coast by midmorning, with wind gusts of more than 100 mph reported in suburban Fort Lauderdale and Miami.

More than 316,000 homes and businesses lost power in the Keys, Miami, Fort Lauderdale and even into central Florida. Nearly 33,100 Floridians hunkered down in dozens of shelters across the state's southern half.

Soul Food
I pressed the reset button on my processor yesterday, and rebooted myself. It is difficult to understand how and why people feel stressed, depressed or anxious. Do you not wish that you could, when you need to, just press a reset button and then you can start all over again?

If you are feeling down, tired or stressed, let me introduce you to some soul food.
1. Reflexology - Foot pampering. This is my favourite soul food... though the foot gets all the relaxation, people say that many parts of our body is linked to the soles of our feet. Nothing beets a good press... ooh... they say pleasure is pain :-)

2. Music - Radio is my favourite. I love the upbeat mood of the radio dj's. My favourite station is Mix FM. The two programs and djs I love is the morning breakfast show couple, Shazmin and Richard and the night love songs and dedication - Aldeena. They have so much energy!!!!

3. Exercise - Going to the gym at night, even after an exhausting long day is really good for the body, exercise brings up the positive happy energy similar to eating chocolate, except that it also helps you keep healthy!!

4. Shopping - This one only applies to the girls. Some guys I know do this as well, but at a higher price level, they buy cars, gadgets, stuff too pricy for the normal person! Shopping never fails to sooth the soul!

5. Coffee - This is also one very specific to me... a love for coffee!

6. Friends - They say this is the best remedy, and its true, good friends take you as you are, on your blue, bright, and many shades day, and accept you for who you are.

7. Food - Good food is always good for the soul! (Is that where the word soul food come from?). Having a good meal and not rushing through the meal, but savoring the food, this is life's best moments :-) Don't skip meals just because you are down...

8. Mind over matter - A wise man said 'mood is choice', and I said to someone else on another occasion, I am always happy because I change my attitude to life... now to keep that attitude intact...

A reset button is virtual. Create one if you don't have one, and take charge of life before it takes charge of you.

Beep.

Feeling the blues...
I am feeling the blues today. Spirits are at an all time low... If you know me or do not know me, give me a smiley sms, I would appreciate one!

Golfing Thoughts
On Saturday for the first time, I played golf with two ladies on a partial business stance. It is a first of sorts for me, as not only do I not solely play with with business relationships, it was a friendly affair which I did not expect to pay, and also it was with only ladies. My previous affairs playing with my closest golf mates Evonne and Ai Leen had proven to be always entertaining and very unwinding, and it pretty much died down quite a bit after Ai Leen left for Melbourne.

It rained at 6:50 when I woke up for the event. Surprisingly, and also an indication of how crazy a golfer we can be, I did not question or SMS the organiser to inquire whether it was on or not. I knew however that if I did not turn up, there was no chance they could play even if the rain stopped as there were only three of us, and without me it would have been only two person.
So I drove there, to arrive on time as per the host's request, at 8:45 am, and the rain died down to a slight drizzle.

Let me describe my two golfing mates - they were two people I greatly admire in their work attitude. I admire them for their rightness, their efficiency of doing things and their direct way of doing business. Despite that they are slightly older than me, I also respect them for respecting me.


In golf, how you play the game greatly reflects the person you are. A, a relatively easy-going person, always is modest about her score and declares a 'double-par' for too many shots. She however, never gives up, and it is reflected in her quick to pick up the game and her 'working hard' at each shot despite not playing well.

B, on the other hand is a woman in control. She plays at tournaments and is relatively business savvy. She is a forward looking person, and assesses those around her closely. Only a risk taker will start talking about betting with me on the first hole, not because I am good, but because I have never played with her before, so my capabilities are unknown!!!


I, am a person who enjoys a challenge. I bet all the time to improve my own motivation to win, but for those which I don't have a chance or have no interest in winning, I would never bet. Which explains why I did not bet this round!!! I also play better under pressure, but I knew women play golf to socialise, not to discuss work. And I had looked forward to the game with this in mind.

I do not recall what was the score, but we all had a good time. I definitely could do better, but was not too bad as well, just out of practice and losing some concentration on a few holes.

One of the key learning points for me from this event was my glimpse into these golfing acquaintances lifestyle. Both were perhaps somewhere in their early middle ages. They both had kids in the school ages. They have a comfortable job, a good husband and loving family. Yet, they still suffered from a chronic difficulty of balancing work and family life. Often I detected some tinge of regret of not spending more time with the children or for example fetching kids to school, etc. I had a glimpse of a possible lifestyle I was heading for. I was quiet as I contemplated how I could ever escape this rat race called work. It was a small but niggling and disturbing thought of what I could end up to be, even at the best, will still be besieged with time constraints.

I leave this blog with that thought, which I will never have an answer, but definitely on my mind, at least for the moment. This is something I learnt also to let go the last couple of years - enjoy this moment of your life, as you can never know what will happen in the days to come.

My Memorable PhotoBlog Part 1- most photos taken by my small and cute DiMage XT Minolta (it froze in KK top, so the first one is an exception!)

Looking through the few exciting trips and some of the thought inspiring photos I've taken in the last two years, it is indeed a pleasure to share some of the memories via a photo-blog. Whilst I've always wished for a digital SLR camera, I've always loved my Minolta, 3 Megapixel 'fastest startup' camera. It has gone with me to many places, and in some cases, gone without me! Of late, I've started to socialise it to other members of my family in the hope that it will be adopted by one of them and hence make way for a newer model! (No wonder it rejected me at the peak of KK). I'd post up part 2 when I can figure a better way to get photos into the site!



1. Mt Kinabalu, August 2005 - On top of the world - Oh, what a feeling! We are on top of Mount KK, Low's Peak, 4092m above sea level. Just a step and a sign at the peak, but the feeling is ... I've done it!





2. Great Wall of China, March 2005 - Would you believe that to keep fit, you cannot spit? A really funny and badly translated sign-board we saw at the bottom of the Great Wall.





3. Colosseum, Rome, November 2004 - The first historic sight I saw in Rome - after so many years seeing this over tourist documentaries and movies, looking at this historic 'battlefield' is very special, inside and outside.





4. Copper Mountain, Colorado, November 2003 - Can you believe I can ski and take photos at the same time, moving slowly? Copper Mountain - the coldest ski resort I've been to, at minus 40F, I was freezing my fingers when I took this shot.






5. Mt Kinabalu, August 2005 - Above the clouds, you almost feel godly. This image on the way down gives meaning to the phrase "living on the edge".









6. Grand Canyon, November 2003 - Do you remember David Copperfield flying across the Grand Canyon? This monument took my breath away for quite a while when I first saw it.






7. Sahara Dessert, November 2004 - My friend sunbathing on the Sahara. Miles of solitude and peace, a sand ridge that's both real and unreal. My best memory - running up the sand ridge in the dark out of boredom, with only a million stars accompanying us above.




8. My Niece - One of my favorite photo targets are children. At such a young age, they are so innocent, and learn quickly. They know there's a device which captures their faces, and able to 'see' it like TV a moment later! Children will be children, and this is my best photo of her, in her own pure innocence, the light providing a tinge of childhood shyness, something us adults cannot imitate.

The Power of Branding
I related this story twice over the last week, so I thought I'd write briefly about this. Most of my closest friends have actually heard of where I work - Accenture. But, I still encounter maybe about 50% hit-miss ratio with new people I meet who are not directly in the industry. For many years, even my parents have little idea what I do for a living, and I never did try to explain. So here are a few funny stories and also how powerful branding can be :

The first was a month or so back when I renewed my gym membership with Sweat Club, now Jackie Chan California Fitness. There are actually two stories here - one was that they had a bunch of very friendly staff who tried to sell me many forms of renewal. When we finally agreed to something, I handed him my business card to simplify his registration. The next time I met with the guy again, to close off the discussion, he asked me whether I worked with a hair salon! I was actually very amused, also wondering why he would think so... he said, "Your business card look like one of those from a hair salon, and it does not say what your company do". Very very true.. such is the sometimes frustrating thing about working for a consulting company - everything is vague, from the company logo, designation and perhaps as some clients think, even the services!

However, one of the most prominent logos for us in the recent years must be the Tiger Woods campaign. We are strongly affiliated with the Tiger Woods brand for high performance delivery. It worked well initially and went to a bit of a slump when Tiger had his slump, but luckily he recovered. He is indeed my ideal of a winner - he is above and beyond all other golfers, even during a slump period, he could come up with amazing winners. Best of all, he is passionate about winning - seeing him win the Masters is indeed the most amazing feat. Our tie-in with Tiger is reflected in our logo - Go on, Be a Tiger. This was not very well known, and as one of my vendors said, he always sees it at airports, where we target business travellers. The funniest incident happened a few weeks back. I was running for this Shah Alam 10km race, and at one point a bit tired of the ups and downs and actually slowed down significantly almost to a walking pace for a short distance. There was this 50 something 'uncle' who actually shuffled/run up to me and called "Don't stop Tiger!". This surprised me somewhat until I realised I was wearing a cap with the company logo at the back, however that still surprised me a bit, as not many people know the correlation. I was not sure whether I was actually day-dreaming or had actually heard him say that, anyhow I related that to my marketing manager later, and she was so pleased, it made her day! Also, the 'uncle' made me run faster! (how to not do that when I am suddenly associated with high performance!)

If you ask me what is the strongest brand around, I have to say it would be Nike - the swoosh sign and the "Just Do It". This is both simple and relevant. Good branding means easy to remember, long lasting associations and ability to relate to everyone, even the man on the street. The other one I can relate to well, but is not too strong globally is Toyota. For some time ago, there had been an advertisement with the motto "A Toyota Never Breaks Down". Till now, I recall that line, especially when I relate to others why I still like to drive my Toyota, even if the car is old already!

For more interesting pictures of the great Tiger Woods campaign, see the link below :
http://www.accenture.com/xd/xd.asp?it=enweb&xd=aboutus\advertising\ad_print.xml

I still believe it to be a rumor that how we paid Tiger was to help him with his website. Unbelievable for a man with a 1Million USD appearance fee... one day I will find the truth!

Red Box
Last week the entire team went for Karaoke at Red Box at the Curve. The last time I had been to a karaoke must have been years, maybe even as far back as the times when I was working in Taiwan! Red Box originated from Taiwan, and had pretty much the same concept - it was a all in one fun place to hang-out with friends. The room we booked was able to accomodate up to 30 people, I think we had about 20-25 at peak during the night. We booked from 8-12midnite. There was a buffet package which included dinner, and they even threw in a package with 3 bottles of Chivas whiskey.

Arrived there at around 8:40pm, slightly worried that I may be penalised to sing because I was last. But apparently the others were worse time keepers than me... when I arrived only about 10-12 people were there, and they have not even started singing!!!

I was worried that the group was not singing, but soon my worries disappeared quickly. All I can say is that my team is filled with amazing talents and singers. First off the block was Aloysious (he's indian), who sang a chinese song!!! That got everyone warmed up, and before we know it, even I was singing (not solo-lah!). Key notable surprises was Kok Meng, Chinese karaoke king, Kamal who can sing to an audience, Alex - all oldies only (but he's still young!), Joong (our CSG Korean friend) who did a Korean number, and of course our young group who drank nearly all the Chivas - luckily I had a couple of small glasses before everyone attacked it.

There was a short moment, at the end of the session, when I just had a great wave of pride - I had with me here, a team of people, who had pride in what they were doing during the day, could enjoy themselves at night, and whom I will take to the battlefield to help our clients be successful. I was almost filled with pride at the way we just disregarded race, level, talent for singing and was together screaming our hearts out. This team will take us to the end, I was sure nothing will take us down, and I was not in this journey alone.

Best singer of the night went to Alex Tan, who was also birthday boy, good on him, otherwise we would've missed the discounted rate for the night :-)

For a great glimpse of the youth and vibrance of my team, and how we can sing, check out these photos (I took a great portion of them - they were too busy singing!)... see if you can spot me (in t-shirt) http://au.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/joycesau/album?.dir=7f64 (Joyce's album)... I was singing Teresa Teng (yue liang tai piow wo de xin) (now that is an oldie).

Blogging again
It feels good to be blogging again. I did it before to experiment the feeling but returning to blog about the interesting things in life, I have to give credit to a guy I hardly know, a Mr KC Leong - he's a runner - his weblog site is here - http://penguin-r2.blogspot.com.

Met him twice, albeit briefly, first time accidentally in KK, and another time in PJ Half Marathon which I did a 10km race, riding on an enjoyable high after getting back to running mode in the Rat Race. The site portrays a strong passion for the sport, and in doing so, made me realise that passion is so important in expression. It reflects in the photos, the writing of the group of people within the site. So a big thumbs up, you unknowingly made me realise how I used to be talented in writing as well, before I got distracted by a non-passion sport called work. I myself was surprised to see I had 2-3 weblogs, one mms log which I've just been playing with, but no focus. So the remaining blogs will all be dedicated to memorable life events!

Two weddings
Two weddings over two days last weekend. Congratulations to Soo Yee and Beng Hooi and Alan and Sandy. Soo Yee and Alan were from the same university as me. Thinking back, this is quite a while ago. The photo here, at Soo Yee's wedding is such a rare occurence - we have Mun Lan (who happens to be around from Shanghai), myself (locally based now), Dr Soo Wei (my favorite cool docter, based in UK), Cheng Mei (my 'sister' in namesake, and now in Security Comm, two kids), Irene (computer science, based in Singapore) and Michelle Tan (ex PWC, used to roam around HK, but now local, Accounting graduate). Not forgetting Soo Yee (Accounting/Info System, now working in Penang) and groom, and John, Cheng Mei's husband (successful lawyer). What a mix bunch!!! As I told Mun Lan, it is a rare occasion, the last time we ever stood like this, dressed like this for a photo was more than xx years ago (so that others do not know our age, but those of you who do, you know how it feels).

All the best gals!! I am so proud to stand with all of you. May we have many more occasions to celebrate together.

Rat Race 2005
On September 6th, 2005, I ran my second Rat Race. This was a charitable event organised by the Edge which contributes to several identified organisations, the interesting thing here is that it involves Corporate Malaysia, and we run in working clothes!

After having 'tried' the first race last year, it was indeed exciting to be participating in it the second year. When our Marketing superwoman Susan asked a list of people including last year's participant on whether they wanted to run, I was initially polite to say that I can go, but if anyone wanted to go they could take my place. However, deep inside, I actually wanted to go!

Then comes the practice part. The original race was on August 9th or something. I had hardly enough time to train and due to busy schedule had not run too much competitively for the recent months compared to last year, my only saving grace was all these climbing activities I had been doing preparing for the Mt KK trip on August 31st. So I was extremely relieved to hear the race was called off a couple of days before the race due to haze. Coincidentally too, the postphoned date suited me, but was just after KK, I was not sure if I could "survive" the knee killer climb and still run.

When I got back from KK, I felt generally in good spirit that I could recover for the event, but physically was tired. Went to the gym the Sunday before to persuade my legs to wake up, but to no avail, my body was physically tired. It did not help that the week before KK, I made a trip to Singapore, and the travel really pushed my endurance a bit more. So, I only made 2.5 km at the gym as preparation.... not good.

On race day, my usual style took over. I had such a big obligation to attend a meeting called from 2:30-4:30pm. Went into the room, and found 20 people attending, squeezed in a small room. Whispered to the organiser that I had brought along 'the right person' and that I wanted to be excused earlier. She was very friendly and did not stop me, but I cannot believe that I sneaked out at around 3:15pm! We were meeting at KLCC office at 3:45pm to go together in one car, as from previous experience, the parking did not really cut it when you arrive late. Note how amateurish we were, no warm up or photo taking ;-)

This year, because I was so gung-ho and 'experienced' and because I happened to be at the office the day before and ran into the rest of the runners, I convinced the team to dress similarly, and managed to at least get a freebie cap from the office. Best of all, the team chose yellow color, which was my lucky color!

Race day, Kah Soon, our partner and representative for CEO race, came about 20 mins before time, and took just a minute to "dress up". He actually purposely wore a tie for the event. Kah Soon was again modest when I told him he had to beat 10 position he took last year. He said he was suffering from over-golfing strain and just got reminded yesterday that the race was today.

We had a real marathon runner in our team but we've never seen him run. He was Kell Jay, a young staff, belonging to the same group as me and Peter (the other veteran). Okay, I'd be honest to declare that in addition to being the only lady, I am also the most senior member in rank and in age in the team. Which makes it a bit embarrassing as I'd bring down the team score, but of course, its the spirit that counts :-) So, Peter (who is in the same department as me) and I told Kell Jay that he had to take 10-20 position in about 20 mins in order to get promoted next year. If you are that age and your bosses tell you to run for promotion, I am sure you would!!! (He came in 17 position, at around 22 mins, chased by another of our firm's runner, who came in 18 position, geez, young boys are young boys....).

Kah Soon started first, and I was surprised he managed a 8th position in the CEO race, a couple of positions up, when I could see the competition this year was stronger! Then we were flagged off and away we went.


Running in long pants (non breatheable ones) and working clothes is no fun. Its worse when it is 5:30pm. The sun is really down onto the face, face dries up, and traffic fumes never smell so good. Furthermore, you have many kiasu people in more nicely dressed clothese blazing past and also cars with horns blaring. Every corner there was supporters, but none from my company :-( yeah, we knew earlier this would happen. It did not help that I did not want anyone from my team to come all the way to town to support me. But, yet, every corner I would run faster because there was an audience! In fact at the last punishing corner going up the hill to the Bursa, I encountered first the Deloitte team about 100m before the upslope, carryng banner for Deloitte. Being the competitor company, I ran faster. When I turned the corner I knew Susan would be there taking photos, so I flashed my cool smile (look at the photo :-) ). Its funny what motivation we can get from an appreciative audience!


Conclusion - it was a really fun race...! Would I race again next year? I am not sure, maybe if I am still in Accenture.... but the Rat Race is definitely the most motivating and spirit lifting event I participate for Accenture!