Selamat Menyambut Maulidur Rasul

Selawat dan Salam ke atas Nabi Junjungan Kita, Nabi Muhammad Rasullullah Alaihi Wassalam. (MPBUH)

Sama samalah kita menyemarakan Hari Kelahiran Rasulullah dengan memperbanyakkan Zikir dan Selawat keatas Baginda.

Semoga kita sentiasa dilindungi dan dirahmati oleh Allah SWT. Amin.

For additional reading you may click the following links below:

• http://www.geocities.com/budayadunia/PerayaanMauludNabi.htm
• http://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maulidur_Rasul
• http://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maulid_Nabi_Muhammad_SAW

My favourite Three & Just ME!

Browsing through the regular blogs that I like to visit, I always make it a point to take my time to read through three of my favourite blogs.

Firstly - Mr Adidarwish - A Biology teacher and an amazing runner. He blogs about his run and the goals he sets himself. Even his students stop by his blogsite to read up on extra school work. Way to go Sir! Now that is incorporating ICT in his teaching.

Secondly - Mr RezaFaizal - A runner as well and his was the first blog that I came across abot running. It was in his site that I stumbled upon Mr Adidarwish. He was and is still very helpful when it comes to running. It was like meeting an artist when I first met him on the treadmill.

Their helpful tips have helped me improve my runs on the treadmills. Eventhough I am nowhere near their runs but I think I have improved since the first time I got on the treadmill.

Lastly - Ms Murabiyyah - She is a teacher somewhere. Her blog is about keeping healthy and she also blogs about her runs.

Ms Murabiyyah's post today was about choosing the right food to eat. Losing weight does not mean one does not have to starve themselves. Thats not ideal. Eating is still essential in an attempt to shed the 'added baggage'. Only difference is what do you put in your mouth.

On her post she has some 'visual aids' to further clarify what I am trying to convey.

I as remembered she did a post last month about 'You are what you eat' and she also has some 'visual aids' to make it easier for others to understand.

Ever since I started to go to the gym. I have have become more conscious about my eating habits. I have three meals everyday. I usually make my own breakfast. A peanutbutter and jelly sandwich. I usually have my own packed food to bring to work. Sometimes my mother would boil some sausages or she would cook something for breakfast. If if buy fruits I would also bring some to work, preferably red apples or oranges or bananas. I have my sandwich in the morning at home and have my very early lunch around 10 whenever I plan to go to the gym right after work.

Lunch would be whatever I have left from breakfast because I do not eat as much as I used to.

Most afternoons are spent at the gym. I do alot of cardio and some weight lifting. I work on my biceps and triceps and also on my chest. I round off the work out with sit-up, a minimum of 100 situp, which is still not enough but it will have to do for now.

Back from the gym by 6. I will go directly to the kitchen to see what I can have for dinner. I used to be very fussy about what to eat, but nowadays I keep it simple.

When I eat out, there are only a few places I would like to dine in, notably Ideal and Dixie. Because they serve 'grilled' chicken. I do have the occasional Sushi outing and italian dinners but usually its either Ideal or Dixie for me. 'Hers' has been very supportive and I sometimes feel sorry for her because she misses eating 'fast food'. She loves her McD's and her KFC's and her Sugarbun's but she does not like dining there if I do not eat fast food. So I sometimes I give in to her request and accompany her to eat fast food but only at McD.

I do long to eat 'Mee Mamak', 'Mee Hoon Goreng', 'Nasi Goreng', Fried chicken and so many others that I had deserted since I commited myself to lose weight. The sacrifice. I know one day I will get to eat them again but until that day comes, I stick to my current food intake and carry on with my life.

I have not been blogging about my runs does not mean I have stopped running. I am still running but I keep a log of my runs on my phone. I will try to blog about my runs soon.

I leave you with a collage of random pictures of myself from when I realised I needed to change for the better to what I have accomplised today.

Thank You for Dinner

Wedding preparations are tough. I remember doing a post about what to reply to family and friends who ask about 'When is the BIG DAY?' sometime in January. Previous post [here]

For most people, getting married is a one time thing. So you want it to be a day to remember for as long as you shall live. You want to make sure you have exactly everything that you wished for.

Most of the time, it is very rare for the men in Brunei to envision what their wedding would look like. I am one of them. I never really thought about the big day. I look at all the weddings I attended and I say to myself. Everyone does the same things anyways so why should I worry.

I should, because at the end of the day it is my wedding as well. I want to look my best. I want to make sure the guests are comfortable and enjoy the food. I want people to remember my wedding like no other.

Wedding preps so far its taking its shape slowly. We have made our necessary arrangements and confirmed some important things.

This evening for dinner, his and hers had an informal meeting with Mr Muaz of MdesignZ. We approached him last year. We spoke about wanting to renovate 'hers' room for the wedding. Last month Mr Muaz & his Wife and his Project Manager were kind enough to spare some time and dropped by my fiance's house to have a look at the room and do some measurements.

After that we sat and discussed some of the aspect of the room which we wanted to change. Instantly he drew us a quick sketch and his ideas were more that what we had in mind. We loved the initial sketch and he promised to design it properly and show it to us.

Two weeks ago he showed us the design and it was brilliant. I loved it and I can imagine living in that room. It looked so serene.

Tonight he gave us a quotation and we did not really have much to disapprove. We have made a commitment to his design and I hope to finalise everything soon, so we could start working on the room.

If you plan to do any renovations and you seek professional help. Mr Muaz and Co. at MdesignZ would be my recommendation to you. You can get his contact number [here]

I wish I could post up the design of my future room but its a secret for now. But you never know, once the work begins I might take snap shots of it.

On a final note - Mr Muaz and wifey - 'His and Hers' would like to extend an invitation to the both of you for dinner sometime in the very near future. This time its on 'Us'.

A Gift

I received a gift today for a colleague. He went away for the holidays and bought me a money clip. A T&CO imitation money clip. I remember asking him to buy a money clip if he comes across any and he did. It was so thoughtful of him. I offered to pay but he did not want me to so its a cool gift. In the back ground is my 'Record Book' cover which I designed myself. He he he. Have a nice day people.

Thank you Ckg Aziz ;-)

Gotta love the RaZR

//edited//

On the right we have the Black Motorola RaZR V3. Bought on July 1st 2004. Today it has deserved the right to retire and rest until duty calls. I love the sleek design and the colour rocks. I fell in love with in the moment I saw it. I bought mine for BND$700. Now it only costs BND$248. Thats Mobile technology for you. Over time when new functions and additional features get introduced, the once 'cool' factor gets thrown out of the window along with the price tag. *Sigh* My V3 has been with me everywhere I went, has recorded some important times in my life and held so many reminders.

I love the V3 so much I bought the v3i. This maroon V3i comes with built in iTunes. So I can buy converter and use regular headphones so I can wear it when I jog. Initially I had my eyes on the W710i which has a cool fitness application which calculates the distance and calories burned and all. But 'Her' thought the design was ugly so in the end, its always a good excuse to buy a new phone.

The V3i has an upgraded 1.23 mp camera. The phone came with a 256 mb mini sd for free and I have uploaded songs on my V3i iTunes. The funtions are similar and I have no problems learning how to use it. Only 'annoying' thing about getting a new phone is transferring the whole phonebook to the new V3i. I am still trying to figure out an easier way.

I love my Motorola V3i!!! Oh and my 'SiRT RaZR' [Bluetooth nick] costs me BND$335 from QQeStore.

//edited// 25th March 12.46 a.m.

9 km @ 59 minutes

An unplanned 60 minute run. My right thigh felt stiff and I was not confident of running for an hour.

I ran for 30 minutes at 8.7 to 9.5. Right thigh felt stiff so I walked at 5.7 for 4 minutes. Then I continued running at 10.0 and walked again at 45 minutes.

My legs felt fine and ran at 11.0. Final 3 minutes I ran at 12.5 and when I saw the screen I had a wide smile on my face.

Have a nice weekend. ;-)

Chick Phone

'Hers' got a new toy. The pink Sony Ericsson Z610i. She is an SE convert and she loves it. It is actually a very belated birthday gift and I bought it online from QQ estore.

I also bought myself a new toy. I just took mine from the shop and will take pictures of it soon.

No running today

Yesterday afternoon I accompanied my fiance to run at The Stadium area. We started off from the indoor stadium. Made our way to the main road and ran along the road and entered the junction at D'Anggerek and ran straight to the end at the T junction. We turned left and made our way back to the indoor stadium. I ran an extra bit further than my fiance and dashed for a hundred meters (give or take). I ended my run at the junction entering the indoor stadium which faces the ICC.

After the run I felt a sharp pain at the joint on my right hip. It was so painful I had trouble walking. I figure the shock was severe for my body as I have not ran on asphalt for quite a while. I guess the 97Ti's shock absorber system has pampered me too much Ha Ha Ha.

So the treadmills are a no go for me for two days as adviced by Mr Tony of JPMC Gym. However I am compensating the runs with cycling for one hour.

Cinta - Made in Brunei

After collecting my new ATM card from BIBD at Hua Ho Manggis Mall, I browsed around a mini expo on the ground floor.

I have been looking for this product since the Halal expo last year at ICC.

//edited//

Now this company had already taken into account what the Minister of Health had mentioned in yesterday's BB. As you can see above they have taken the initiative to provide the nurtitional facts of their product which is very good for me.

Ever since I started my 'gym-ing' I have also taken the liberty of looking after my food intake and reading the calories help alot. I was very pleased to see this on the packaging.

The sales girl was nice to me and I went red face when she asked 'Sir still teaching at (insert All-Girl Secondary School)?'. Apparently she just finished her 'O' levels last year and is now continuing her studies in Maktab Duli. I did ask her, if looking after the booth was her 'part-time' job? Since the first term break is only 10 days. She said that 'Cinta' is her father's company. I congratulated her and wished her family all the best of success.

Maybe some of you are wondering what those funny looking characters are on the packaging? Maybe some of you know that it looks like japanese characters. Well what is it doing there? We live in Brunei and not many people here know how to read japanese nor do we have that many japanese people living in Brunei.

Well - I am proud to inform you that 'Cinta' will be eaten by japanese people in Japan. I believe it was last year when I heard that 'Cinta' recieved good response when they went to Japan and have struck a deal or deals (I am not sure) with a or some companies/restaurants. Is that not brilliant? Something us Bruneians can be proud of.

To reply to Muslimah Melayu question - It depends really on what you are asking for. So far I have only tasted the 'Sos pencicah Ikan Tahai' and its very nice. I love tahai cooked in any way. I have yet to try the 'Sos Cili' but I have tried the 'Sos Cili Pedas' which I did not buy, and that was pedas but not like 'Lada padi' hot. The 'Sos lobak merah bersama Cili' apparently is a new product and they are using this mini expo to promote it. I just bought it because my baby sister loves carrots so much.

I believe what the company has produced is in accordance to the Bruneian taste buds in general. Tahai I believe was an important part of the Bruneian diet ages ago and still is. Unless someone could prove me wrong, eventhough I do not have much basis to stand on. But it is my assumption only.

'Cinta' should be given a chance. The Mini expo ends tomorrow -21st March - so why not head on there and buy a couple of bottles. If you cant make it, this product is already on the shelves of some supermarkets in the country. Support the local industry, without our support how will they survive and you never know, one day this product might be sold all over the world. Dreams can come true.

Good luck 'Cinta'! I am a fan of yours now and will support you for as long as you exist and for as long as I live Hahahaha!

//edited//

Spring cleaning

Made a quick run at the gym and am now at home cleaning up my room. Above are some of my ties. I love buying ties and I usually buy them from Top Man, M&S and Zara. Plus some others from shops I don't remember.

Guilt run

This morning's run was a guilt run for what I consumed for dinner last night. The Family had a little dinner celebration without a birthday cake *gasps* - poor Lateng will have to make do without a birthday cake this year.

We had dinner at the Food Court at The Mall. My parents ordered some 'Thai' food for one of the stalls. I know my parents won't order any food from them again. It was so-so and we know we've had better.

Anyways, My Mother made me eat rice. I have been doing alright without rice for a while now and since it has been a while I thought why not. Not until I realised that my parents had ordered 7 different dishes. *Scratching forehead*

I ate five of the dishes and said 'No thank you' to 'Telur goreng and Ayam pandan'. The other dishes were two different vegetable dishes, two different fish dishes and Tom Yam soup.

So I woke up this morning determined to do a 60 minute run to rid the dinner. After running I got on the scale and am thankful that there was no sudden increase but it remained the same as it was when I checked my weight on Friday morning.

My membership expires early next month and I hope to lose a couple more kilos before that. So far I have been complimented by my friends and how different I look now and some even got worried why I looked 'thin'. HaHaHaHa.

I am feeling great. My motivation is still high. I know I look good now Hahahahahaha. I have bragging rights now. Have you??

Happy 9th Birthday to Mas Zatun Amiratul Adillah - Love MAS AFSNA

Know Mine, Your and Our Role!!

Fellow Bruneians,

I call upon you to unite as a one and help each other to identify the main areas of concerns clouding our youths today.

I have been given the responsibility to create change. I have had three years to try and inspire change but I have failed.

I am the Brunei RYC member - Regional Youth Caucus Member under the Commonwealth Youth Caucus for the Commonwealth Secretariate.

I was elected to replace someone and I was given no clear indication of what position I was filling. I did not know my role and my resposibilities.

It was only in November 2005 and the middle of last year that I had slowly realised my purpose. I am elected to create - alter - stimulate - revolutionise change to better improve the quality and sustainability of our Youths to prepare for a better tomorrow.

After coming back from the Bahamas last year, I had prepared a 6 page report excluding appendixes, about the meetings I attended and my recommendations.

This was last year and I did not receive any feedback from the relevant authorities since then. I know my role and without the support my election into the Youth Caucus to represent my beloved country is just a 'free holiday'. Mind you I have travelled half way across the globe to attend a forum and a minister's level meeting.

The responsibilty of our youths should not just be put under our government's watch but everyone directly and indirectly involved in the upbringing of these youth have a role to play. These are the people who will lead one day. Think not only of what they can do in the future but also what they can do now.

Because if we wait for the future then what happens to them 'now'?

I might be away in April to attend a meeting in Pakistan and I do not know what my role will be. I know I have to attend the meeting. But what I will present and what I will do, I am still clueless.

I always thought my role was to partake in Youth related activites only and report on them but in actual fact I have a much bigger role. I am suppose to have the 'influence' to affect change. However, I am just a random guy picked from a hat full of youths to represent my country.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It is nearly two in the morning and I have to be awake in 3 hours and begin my day at work.

I was awoken by a call from a friend of mine from Maldives - Maloof. He called me from Sri Lanka at 1 a.m. Brunei time. He mentioned me just sent the Brunei Delegate off at the Airport after attending the Commonwealth Day. He remembered me and gave me a call to say Hi and to remind me about the meeting in Islamabad.

I would be indepth if you could help me identify the 'problems of our Youths in Brunei'.

Please leave a comment/suggestion/recommendation/solution by leaving a comment or you could email me at zul_fadly@hotmail.com

Half time update

DPMM FC 2 - Johore 0

Both scored by Jan The Man after coming on as a substitute for a promising young striker. I didnot really catch his jersey number. I think it was 22.

Brain dead

I have never really blogged about my profession. The students had their assessment last week. So I am having a mentally tiring day of marking their compositions. I am also not in the mood to go to the gym today. I feel so drained.

0.07 Shy

Another milestone for me.

Today's run I had aimed to reach 9 km before the 60th minute mark but I was shy 0.07 km.

At 60 mins I had reacher 8.93 km. So near yet so far. My average speed was 9.0 to 10.0. I dashed at 11.o at the 59th minute and increased to 13.0 at 59'30. I am not sure if I will do another 60 minute run tomorrow. Maybe just a 6 km run but increase my base speed and aim for a shorter time.

My legs did not give me any problems today and I was very thankful for that. I will attempt another 60 minute run sometime this week. Probably on Wednesday or Friday morning.

On another note I have been playing the 'Chef' for the past two nights. Last night this is what I dished up. A trial dish.

Sauteed Boneless Chicken with pan fried capsicum - Red and Green with sliced carrots and potatoes.

Additional ingredients: Chopped herbs, Black Pepper and iodised salt

Cooked with a teaspoon of Olive oil

Conclusion: Tasteless. Had to eat with Chilli sauce and Tomato Ketchup

Tonight's Dish

Sauteed Boneless Chicken with pan fried carrots, green capsicum and tomatoes.

Additional ingredients - chopped herbs, lots of black pepper, chili paste (Lada kisar) and a pinch of iodised salt spread earlier on the boneless chicken breast

Cooked with a teaspoon of Olive oil

I made this dish for two people and asked my younger brother, Tenno, to try it out.

Verdict: He said 'Nyaman jua' and asked me what I had put inside the dish and how and what I needed to prepare the dish.

Conclusion: The additional Chili paste and lots of black pepper made the dish spicy and no additional sauce was needed.

Bon Apetite!!

Birthday wish goes out to my good friend, Mr Jonathan Bong a.k.a Datuk. We go way back 'Datuk'. Wishing you all the best in everything you do and when we go KL 'Datuk'? *LoL*

Below: The Good Old Days - 'Datuk' in the Studio with me.

CHAMPIONS AGAIN!!!

The STPRI Knights Bowling Team 2007

Claiming back the title for the 3rd time.

First in 2004

Second in 2005

Third in 2007

P.S: We are wearing the new polo shirt to commemorate the Golden Jubilee this year. If you are interested to purchase the polo please contact me or for more details make your way to

http://stpri.wordpress.com

for details.

With the Guest of Honour - Mr Koh

Today history was made in the Interschool Teachers Bowling Tournament. The annual Bowling meet organised by SMMH, Tutong is an event looked forward by many teacher who love to bowl. This year I have been assigned to to help out with the Bowling Club for the CCA. I am always honoured to be selected to represent my school.

We played in the afternoon session and were lucky enough to not have any other school next to our lane and we had both lanes to ourselves.

I wished I had kept a record of the scores but I didn't. But I remember we had a very slow start with an overpoints of 586 in the first game. The second game was an uplifting moment for the team as we cheered on each other and the Top Male Bowler for the 3rd time as well, Adi Mulyamin, bowled marvelously. He scored 214 points of the 700+ points the team scored in the second game. In the third game was slacked off a bit, but Ckg Juraidah had her game on when she managed to get a triple strike in the 3rd, 4th and 5th frame. She also won the Top Female Bowler for 2007.

I am happy to be part of the 2005 and now 2007 STPRI Knights Bowling Team and win the Competition again. I have the Trophy with me but it is in the car and I am too knackered and 'lazy' to take it out and take really nice pictures of it. I will do it tomorrow.

I played the best I could today to redeem the unfortunate loss for the Choir Competition. I dedicated my win to the STPRI Choir Girls. You girls have made me proud and I am happy for all of you. We may not win this year but there will always be a next time. Pictures will be up tomorrow.

Lazy Sunday Noon Run

I was not very motivated to run today but I had forced myself off my bed and went to the gym.

I need to run to get my mind off yesterday's disappointment. My School's Choir Girls made it to the finals this year and after coming to their practice sessions and giving some words of 'wisdom', I had unintentionally cemented in my head that my girls stand a chance to win the competition.

Bygones! There will be other opportunities. I will post pictures of the competition tomorrow afer I do some exposure adjusments.

I could vent my anger about the competition here but that would be unprofessional of myself. Sometimes things do not go our way but all good things come eventually. Good Karma - Bad Karma.

6 km only

My initial determination to do another 60 minute run and beat yesterday's feat was undermined by a sharp left knee pain and my right calf tightening.

I pushed myself to complete a 6 km run. At 4 km my knee really wanted to give up. So I walked at 5.5 for 8 minutes.

I am compensating the remining 20 minutes by racing on Cybex The Bike.

Hello Mr BR sir. See you around. ;-)

Over Due

It has been a while since I did a 60 minute run. It felt really good.

I reached 5.71 in 40 minutes and reached the 8 km mark at 56.36 mins.

At 60 mins I had reached 8.60 km.

Tomorrow morning I hope to do another 60 minute run.

Still in demand

Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy - Opening Ceremony

I missed the Liverpool Vs Manchester United match to attend the HBT Opening ceremony.
These are some of the sacrifices 'Teachers' have to make but it was an eventful evening with worldclass goals and the students cheering on the Brunei team. I was jumpy all night awaiting the full time results of the most watched EPL Match of the seasons. But enough said. We all know who won and Glory! Glory! Man Utd!

I got a little creative and edited some of the pictures. Tell me what you think about them.

Patiently waiting

The Opening Match

They love the camera

Sir ambil gambar ku!!

The Full Moon

Goalllll!!!!

Tentative

Looking at the screen

Kids these days have no passion for Footy

I am very disappointed

A mobile phone is more entertaining

National Day Celebration at School

I was asked to take pictures during the event as the owner was asked to be a judge for the Interhouse Competition that was organised for the National Day Celebration at my school. I have also taken the liberty to 'label' the pictures. Students are having assessments right now and I am not really in the 'marking' mode yet so I played around with Photoshop.

The Crowd

Amber - The Winners

We beat Ruby!!!

We made it to the Choir Finals! Yeay!!

Upgrading the netball court

Who is going to win?

Prefects - Time out!

More JadeRzz

Zul

Well, Hello!!

Oath readers

BHB - Back Hall Boys???

Chicken Breast @ Tasek Brasserie