The Hills and Sun

Well, they are my bestfriends during the semester break :)

Sorry, I know I haven't been updating much.

Nothing "inspirational" to write about until today. Hehe.

Holiday has been good so far. Besides the usuals (movies, TV series, food, facebook, youtube, meeting up friends, relatives, moginum etc), I've been spending hours on two other activities:

1. Hiking up hills.

On the 8th of July 2009, yours truly will be ascending Mount Kinabalu together with Goch, Yoke Mun, Amy and Adonis. In great anticipation and excitement, I've been preparing myself by alternately hiking up Tivung Hill and Sukang Hill.

Sukang Hill is located in Tun Fuad Park whereas Tivung Hill is located nearby my kampung. I prefer the former than the latter though. It is further in distance but less steeper than Tivung Hill. At Tun Fuad Park, I would begin my so called "training session" by jogging 1.5km around the park before hiking up the hill.

My best record from the foothill to the peak is 12 minutes 30 seconds. Going up Mount Kinabalu is not a race, but it's important to have maximum stamina before the climb. In addition, it's a mental training in case my muscle pain starts to kick in. The most challenging part of Sukang Hill is walking up 211 steps from about three-quarter of the hill to the top. For a person who seldom do sports like me, it's a physically demanding task to walk non-stop. Halfway through the steps, my legs would begin to ache. Another issue is short of breathe... But alas, I've managed to achieve this feat.

Do you remember that auto-suggestion that we've learned in STE? When you keep repeating words of motivation in your mind? For instance,

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"I will excel in my exam... I will excel in my exam... I will excel in my exam"

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"I am awesome... I am awesome... I am awesome..."

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Well, I'm putting this lesson to practice for the first time, hahaha! I know it's rather cliche, but you've got to believe that the mind is powerful. Very powerful, indeed. I am training myself to shut off the pain from my brain and focus on that ultimate goal : Conquering Mount Kinabalu. Even in our daily lives, there will be many obstacles and trials in the path to success. The biggest one is yourself; be it physical, social or emotion. That is when mental comes into play :)

As for now, my confident level is about 50:50. I am still a bit concern with my current level of stamina, especially on the shortness of breathe. I'm taking good care of my body, avoiding things that may affect my health. No drinking session for now, hehe. And hopefully, all the hard work pays out in the end. Guys, let's own Mount K!

Sunrise view from Tivung Hill

2. Chasing the Sun

Another thing that I've been crazy about is chasing sunrise and sunsets. If you've known me well enough, you know the fact that I hate being alone especially in campus. My thoughts would go wild and I'll end up being emo. But thank God, it's more seldom now. Perhaps it's a sign of growing maturity, albeit slow. After all I'm a sensitive soul at heart.

However, things are much different at home. I really appreciate the time of being alone. With my mum's car and my beloved camera, I've been a loyal fan of the Sun : Scouting for locations to snap sunrise or sunsets from Kota Kinabalu. I'm usually alone but it is very enjoyable and fulfilling indeed.

I would normally stand/sit at one spot for half an hour while setting up my DSLR on the tripod and waiting for the twilight to appear. And then, I'll be caught up in my very own world, neglecting the presence of others around me. If you're not into nature or photography, you may get bored and annoyed, hehehe. Please do forgive me for this, sometimes I give too much attention on capturing that priceless moment. Only because it puts a smile on my face :)

To see more photos, you can click here!

For now, I am quite satisfied with my landscape photography. However, there is still a lot of room for improvement. Contentment will lead to nowhere. Last night, I met up with the person whom I consider as my mentor, Saiful Rizan. He is a photo hobbyist who resides in Labuan, but one that is more knowledgable and technical about it. I've learned much from his tips and guidance in our very own Borneoshutter forum. If everything goes to plan, I'll be driving up to Kuala Penyu with Mark and my roommate, Andrey on this coming Monday. Looking forward for another awesome photo outing :)

Anyway, how about you guys? What do you enjoy doing on your lonely time while others are busy with their own business? Reading, blogging, playing games? Hehehe... let's share... my blog has been kinda quiet...

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Lastly, with all the hills and Sun, can I call myself a nature-lover?

Yeah, maybe. It's a sense of appreciation to what God has created on our Earth. The truth is, I don't get hyped over the thoughts of camping in the middle of a thick forest, sleeping on twigs and leaves while getting my flesh bitten by mosquitoes. That is not my cup of tea.

But shooting landscapes, yeah, I'm still loving it! And hopefully it stays the same for a long time :)