Run Ann Run.....

The four of us did something really really really great last Sunday. We woke up early and by 6 am were at University Malaya to participate in their annual Cardio Charity Run.

The Registration Booth at 6.15 am

An Early Spotter Catches The Carrier!

Thousands Of Students Were All Geared Up For The Run

The General Public Were More Than Happy To Do Their Bit For Charity

One of The Sponsors That Day, The Team From Quaker Oats Cooked Crispy Oat Chicken With Mango for All To Try.

Thousands of students, staffs of UM as well as supporters from the general public were there but I was the only one carrying the cut out. I did it in style and that was the truth. The run was officiated by Raja Nazrin Shah, the current chancellor of UM.

It Was Physically Very Challenging Due To The Hilly Terrain . Carrying My Buddies Proved To Be Easier Said Than Done!

This Was Taken In The Middle of The Run. You Can Actually See The Exhaustion in Our Expressions..

We ran 5.5 kms of hilly terrain and I admitted to walking most of the trails going uphill. Going downhill was a totally different matter, with renewed energy, I ran with all my might until my legs were too tired to do so. I carried my 3 buddies and was cheered by most of the marshals on duty all the way until the finishing line. They motivated me and that provided me with the energy to complete the task even though my hands were almost numb at the end of the run and my legs were so wobbly due to exhaustion. Nevertheless, the 4 of us truly deserved a pat on our backs for completing the run in style.

Dr. Izam (holding a unity band given by me) and His Team Organised The Charity Event That Day

I was very happy that I kind of proved to every one that if we strongly belief in our self, we will succeed in the end. Many asked me along the way the reason behind me carrying my cut out. When I told them of my quest, they initially showed disbelieve but after they realised that I was telling them the truth, they wished me only the best. You see, I told them that I wanted to use some of the cash prize not only for myself but also to get a few supplies for my favourite animal shelter, PAWS as well to organise a party for under privilege children in Klang Valley. Those are what motivated me to take up the challenge because I know that I would not be able to achieve these dreams on my own due to financial constraint.

Save Someone by Donating Your Blood to the National Blood Bank

The Blood Donation Room Was Bursting With Laughter and The Nurses Actually Told Us That Were Proved To Be The Noisiest Lot So Far!

After a 20 minutes rest, I decided that the 4 of us should continue to support the charity drive organised by UM but this time in the form of blood donation. I was reminded to have something light prior to that so I decided to sample the fare offered by "Mat Shah Nasi Briyani Gam". I asked for 1/4 portion of rice so that it could qualify as "light" meal. Yes, I know, I'm crazy. Full of hunger, I attacked the "ayam masak merah" and "kambing briyani" with so much gusto I finished the meal within minutes and washed it down with a can of 100 plus. Delicious!

Strangers Brought Together All In The Name Of Charity

My New Found Little Sister at UM.

I'm A Type A Person. Peace Be With All The Donors That Day

I made my way towards the blood donation centre, registered and had my blood type checked. There I met a few of the girls who ran together with me earlier and they again cheered me on. No other blood donating centre was ever so noisy, filled with so much laughter as how it was yesterday. We joked and even consoled a few of the girls who were donating for the 1st time. We took photos with the nurses and other donors and when we left, everyone wished us all the best to win the competition.

A Charity Concert

Who would ever imagine that Anuar Zain, Farah Ashikin, Zainal Abidin, Rem, Rina and Gary would turn up at UM free of charge in aid of the charity drive. As I was walking towards the door, I heard a male voice singing a song so melodiously it made me paused for a second. Then I heard someone shouting Anuar, Anuar, Anuar as though chanting the name in a trace. I made my way to the open tennis court where the stage was erected and there I saw Anuar Zain, enthralling the audience with his latest song.

So Many Requested For Me To Put Up As Many Photos Of Anuar As Possible. To Those Young Ladies, Here Are The Photos Posted Just For Your Viewing Pleasure!

I took some photos with him and got him to autographed my cut out. Then Rina announced the the arrival of Farah, Rem and Zainal Abidin. I rushed out to meet them, got their autographs and even got them to pose with me.

My 2 Minutes of Fame

Farah was a very young contestant when she 1st appeared on a local reality show. Although she did not make it, she persistently pursue her singing career by joining another one last year. Again luck was not on her side but all her efforts did not go to waste. Now, Farah has matured into a young singer full of confidence and energy to cheer the crowd. With her powerful voice, she entertained us with songs that were redone into a rock version.

I truly admired her charitable character. Rina mentioned that Farah had just gotten back from an out station show and even though she was still feeling tired, she rushed back just to perform at UM. Good for you gal. We are all very proud to have you performing for us.

Farah invited me upstage to perform with her a song that was done years ago, somewhere in the 80's if I'm not mistaken. FAME was the title and and it literally gave me the chance to shoot me to fame so to speak as TV3 was shooting the whole segment. Thank you GOD! Although I did not know most of the lyrics, I managed to match Farah's energetic performance as I encouraged the students to clap their hands. At a point I was jumping up and down but stopped as I realized that I had put on weight and may cause the stage to collapse. Hmmmmmm....

Farah asked me the significance of the cut out as she had noticed that I was carrying it with me where ever I went earlier. I told her that it was my ticket to RM 50 000 and she wished me all the best in my quest. Farah even hugged me before I went down the stage and that simple gesture boosted my morale to it's highest peak. For a moment I totally forgot about the aches and pain that I had to endure due to the run I did! Amazing!

I could not wait for the other two performances by Rem and Zainal as the sky had turned cloudy. I bid my new found sisters and brothers farewell and made my way to my car that was parked earlier at a spot that was about 800 metres away. I was very windy during the walk and the rain started falling in large drops. I broke into a run and managed to store my cut out in my car without further damage.

I truly had a wonderful experience at UM yesterday. I would like to thank everyone who took photos with me and those who took photos of me and my cut out (hard core spotters). To the students of UM whom I met along the run, remember to have faith in everything you do. The message that I want to put thru to you all was that if you want to do something, do it well. Do not be contented with doing something half way. Give the task your best, do not get swayed by what others think of you. As long as you, yourself, belief that you are doing something right, just continue doing it. Remember the saying "if there's a will, there's a way"? Just put it to practice and with God's blessing, you'll do just great.

Lastly, do keep in touch. Till the next run, take good care of yourselves and study smart!

Love, hugs and kisses,
Kak Ann

The Unity Band

Day 6.

When I, who was suppose to be out and about doing promotions and generating shameless activity was confine to the house due to a severe attack of diarrhea, I was very depressed. I lost a day of possibly generating the best of publicity ever at Dataran Merdeka just because I have to stay close to the toilet. Man… this is so unfair.

To console myself, I decided to write about the unity band that has been generously distributed by the Ford Escape Roadrunners to the general public during their “pit stops” all over Malaysia.

The unity band, was designed to unite all Malaysians regardless of race, religion, the color of our skin nor social standing. It is red in color to represent THE color of blood that runs thru our veins. All bands were stamped with the words “Malaysia Tanah Airku” and “I Love MY”. It is cool to wear as one could instantly feel connected to our country the moment we slipped it through our hand to permanently grace our wrist.

All my life I’m proud to say that I have friends from all races. I grew up in a rich community where gals of different faith were molded to work together as a team. That place was Convent School, Muar, Johore where the teachers were a great bunch who taught us to be proud of ourselves irregardless of racial or social background. In school, the rich were paired with the underprivileged and usually the team formed will have a mixture of all races. We celebrated all of the major celebrations like Raya, Christmas, Deepavali and Chinese New Year by visiting each other enjoying the food and drinks. When it comes to sports, we worked hard in order to win the house champion title. We treated our friends like family and now when we are all grown up, the feeling is still mutual. We still love each other very much.

Mom’s birthday last year was attended by most of my friends who are still in Malaysia. Mom still call them her “anak-anak”.

Yen & Tam’s wedding brought us Malaysians closer to understanding the British culture.

Most of my friends from back home have emulated this harmonious trait till now. Inter racial marriage is a common thing. We respect the different belief and religion that our partners embraced and they in turn respected us for what we have chosen. Compromising, understanding and respecting each other are the key things that we practiced in life and so far it has worked beautifully.

I took this photo years ago and still it remained as my top 10 favorite as it portrayed the simple beauty of living harmoniously in Malaysia.

So guys, be proud to be called “Anak Malaysia”. We live in a country filled with so much beauty where the people worked together harmoniously. God has kept us safe from any major disaster, blessed us with beautiful sunny weather through out the year and given us a lot of opportunity to develop ourselves towards achieving the status of a developed nation. Show Malaysia your love by wearing the unity band. Get one now from the Ford Escape Roadrunners or visit www.mix.fm.