[Rio2016] Adventures - Part 1

Dear Pipsqueaks,

It's been tough since returning to Malaysia. With an air travel of over 25 hours and crossing 12 time zones, it is absolutely normal to operate like a zombie for the last few days. Not to mention, I actually slept until 3pm on Sunday - definitely didn't help with jetlag that's for sure. But, I think I'm back physically and mentally. Though, I do question my sanity at times when it comes to the office...but that's for another day.

What was it about Rio that I wanted to tell you...

THE COMPETITION? Lots of upsets from the start, with big names falling left right center in Round-Robins. As for those who made it to the Finals and won, they played a very good Games. I suppose some would not have been my picks, but you know what they say: It's not about winning every time, but winning when it counts.

There will also be quite a number of retirees in the next few months as teams reshuffle their squad for the next Olympic Games in Tokyo. It'd be interesting to see who's left after the 'cleansing'. And with that, what's left of my generation of players will most probably be at the minimal. Yes, it's not that the players are getting younger; it's that we're getting older. Sigh, at least I can still go around calling myself 'Jie Jie' and not at the 'Aunty' level yet. Phew. Though, I don't foresee myself working here by then anyway!

(It's all about where you stand on this podium...)

THE CHALLENGES? It wasn't really until the last couple of weeks before leaving for the event that I knew what my tasks were for the Games. The first was to get head shots of all of our athletes for Sports Presentation, so when the athletes were announced, this clip would play and the audience would get to SEE and RECOGNISE them. I suppose this is important as we do want to put faces to names. It definitely wasn't an easy job to do, but if I was told correctly, we were the first sport to get ALL our athletes to complete the shoot! All 172 of them #proud

The next two challenges were more like hall passes than anything else. One was to get athletes to donate their equipment to the Olympic Museum, and the other was to get them to do interviews at the Olympic Channel. Interviews and equipment - how hard could it be? Well, let me tell you. No one likes last minute requests, and not to mention I didn't even have the right access to do the job. No, I did not have a T3 (to order my own ride or jump on one at a T3 spot), nor access to the IBC/IPC. Now that I think about it, being able to bring in 3 of our 5 Olympic Champions is amazing in consideration of the circumstances. As for the equipment, we can always get it at our next events and post it over to the Museum. No biggie.

(The most polite and easiest players to work with! 10/10 for cooperation)

But yes, this is when I feel that my job is to build relationships with players in a short amount of time only to break it in the same short amount of time by asking them to do this and that. Well, at least I can represent myself. I don't simply pester players for anything, so when they see me, they know it's legit. Most of them would not make it difficult for me anyway - there are a few but I won't shame them here. Let's just say, athletes aren't the difficult ones; it's usually those who can't manage them that makes things more difficult. Hopefully, it will only get better as we move towards being more professional in the sport!

THE INTERNAL STRUGGLE? Let's just say, it was one of those Games where we really needed to take things into our own hands and just get them done. We had 18 staff members onsite just to ensure the Games is reasonably delivered. It was particularly challenging with some of them being 'Olympic Novice' where they aren't sure what's okay and what's not. I guess that does come with experience, but it never hurts to learn by observation. The worst is assuming you know and act on it rather than asking. All the more, for the rest of us to manage the damage.

THE FOOD? We didn't have food at the venue for the first few days until competition started. Not going to complain as we at least had food to eat. When we finished early enough, we would either go to the pizza shop or steakhouse 15 minutes down the street from our hotel. Definitely was a great find, or else we may literally starve if we had to depend on the hotel food. Oh! We did go to three real Brazilian restaurants during the 21-day stay! When I say Brazilian, I mean Brazilian, where they bring around meats on grills until you can't eat anymore. It's no wonder by colleague said, "death by meat". Now that makes sense!

(Never expected to be able to celebrate my birthday in Rio - but here we are! Enjoying a meaty dinner at Fogo de Chao among Olympians~)

(Funky restaurant with no free space on walls anywhere - Marius Degustare. Just filled with all sorts of things! I think I even spotted a racket but it was above someone else's table so I didn't snap a photo. This place not only did meats but also seafood. Just one word - yum!)

(We found this homey Brazilian restaurant in Rio Design Mall called In House, and boy was it a gem! It had a bouquet of selections for their all-you-can-eat, and you can order your meats on the side if you want. The flavours were by far the best I've had in my stay. Definitely worth going for at least one of your meals!)

Anyway, Part 2 to come!

Stay tuned =)

Rio, Here I Come!

Dear Pipsqueaks,

After a long rest, I'm finally in the brain mode to write! I had wanted to update right after my shower, but couldn't keep my eyes open long enough to take out my laptop and fell asleep from 6pm to 12:30am! I know I shouldn't have slept but there was no fighting the need for my body to rest. But anyway, here to update now am I not?!

(Small but clean room. The bed was very comfy indeed~)

Bleh, flight at 2am wasn't as bad as I had imagined. After a delicious meal at Muhhibah with a small group of friends, I lasted until the first meal time on flight. Not bad if I must say so myself. Flying this time around sucked because I couldn't find anything interesting to watch on ICE. I've practically seen everything that I've wanted to watch. Although, they did have Twilight Series and Lord of the Ring Series...I would have been a happy girl if they had the Harry Potter one. Maybe they couldn't get the rights for it. Oh wells, luckily I downloaded my own drama to watch on my tablet! Thank goodness for my tablet~

I also met a very interesting Malaysian on my way to Dubai. Unfortunately, due to flight, my brain was a bit fried to remember her name but she had the cutest baby ever! She used to play for the Malaysian team post-Sidek brother times, before she chose studies over badminton. Now she lives in New Castle with annual visits to KL. I left her my name card so hopefully she'll have time to catch up the next time she's in town! It's always nice to meet new people - it's like picking up a book and reading the first few pages only to find you want to read more! Anyway, we chit chat for a while before we both had to board. I figured she could use some adult talk as she's been speaking to her 5yo and 8mo kids all flight long. Hope you had a smooth trip back home!

(Emirates flights are the best! They actually give chocolate bars for snacks~ my favourite one too!)

After 25 or so hours, I've arrived in Rio! Honestly, I was in a little disbelief that I'm actually landing in Rio. Here at the Olympic Games for the second time. You might not understand, but the excitement is not only for the athletes. It's for everyone who participates in any shape or form. It's that OLYMPIC VIBE! Frankly, I wasn't as enthusiastic about these Games as I was with Vancouver2010 or London2012, because I hadn't felt the vibe. But it started to kick in when I reached the accreditation validation area of the airport. The Rio2016 staff were very friendly and I think their excitement sparked it for me. It's a good thing as I do want to be in full Olympic mode not only physically but emotionally too! I will regret it if I weren't.

So anyway, I'm sure you would have seen that clip of Usain Bolt looking puzzled and annoyed looking for transport upon exiting into the arrival hall of the airport. Yes, that was me too except I didn't have cameras shooting at me being annoyed. But yes, it was rather frustrating to see a whole bunch of people yet no one to guide me to where I need to go. I have a TF transport, yet I didn't know where to get on a TF transport. Before becoming frustrated, I took a deep breath and asked a Rio2016 staff for directions. You wouldn't believe me...but I had one staff who spoke little English and another who spoke absolutely none. At that moment, yes I was a bit worried that I wouldn't even make it to my hotel!

Luckily, the granny who spoke no English was very kind and eager to help. She led me outside down into a parking lot (I had the impression she'd drive me herself because she seemed to know where she was going) to the T3 stand (T3 is pooled car transport for a certain group of people. I'm only given a TF, which means I get public and some shuttle transport). Knowing I didn't have T3, I was pretty sure they'd kick me back upstairs to take the shuttle. BUT, what do you know? They took some time to examine my hotel address, put me on the next vehicle and took me to my hotel! Can't tell you how lucky and relieved I was!

The ride was almost 45 minutes as there seemed to be a jam on the highway. It wasn't until we reached the Olympic lanes that the ride became a little smoother. No joke, we had the aircon blasting as the temperature was bout 27 degrees! This is supposed to be their summer?! Though, I shouldn't be too surprised because my colleague had told me the temperatures are rather extreme during times of the day. Cold in the morning, hot in the afternoon, and cold again in the evening. Not that I'll be wandering out myself, so I won't find out until some of my team arrives.

This morning, I had planned to take one of our IF cars to the Athletes Village to check on the Sports Presentation filming we're organising, but my upgrade had not been approved yet. So now, I'm in my room being a very good girl doing my emails and checking up on the teams. So far, I haven't heard any complaints or teams not showing up, so all good! Fingers crossed I'll get my upgrade later today so I can go do what I came early to do.

(Talk about simple breakfast. I think I can lose weight in 3 weeks if I ate like this, haha!)

(My access to the Games! That's the public transit card...)

I did complain my luggage was too heavy for me to carry, but totally worth it! There's nothing near our hotel to eat, so thank goodness for my stash of food! This kinda reminds me of the Thomas and Uber Cup Finals in New Delhi 2014. Though, I think I'm a little more prepared this time. I even brought my vitamins and a pack of M&M's because I KNOW I will have cravings for chocolate. So might as well bring them - I'll be here for 20 plus days anyway. Until my colleagues arrive later tonight, I've been ordered to stay put. So I am. Or maybe if I can get a car, I'll drop by the venue.

(So glad my colleagues have warned me about food here! I can last at least the first day by myself no problem :))

Cheers to a smooth first day for Rio2016!

Are we ready for the Games? Yes, we are!

Birthday Surprise!

Dear Pipsqueaks,

Last weekend was action-packed but still managed to be somewhat relaxing. Planned: we were set to go spend a night at Port Dickson's Avillion, arriving just in time for the rather late check-in hour of 3pm, then chillaxing by the pool before grabbing dinner somewhere. But of course, we're always up for those come-what-may's.

The day started with a late brunch at this super hidden Korean coffee shop in the middle of warehouses called Bean Brothers. Honestly, we drove by a couple of times completely missing it because it didn't have the branding we were expecting. Luckily, our friend stood out onto the street, or else we'd probably be making another round. But anyway, we found the place, got parking and was too ready for some food!

Upon pushing through their gigantic glass door, it did feel like we were entering a secret compartment of reality. This place was spacious and yet filled with items here and there. Open concept with lots of seats and a huge hole in the middle of the ceiling (that looked like the 2nd floor fell through) allowing light to shine through to the first. Very edgy and metal which normally feels rather cold but warmed up quite a bit with all the customers and staff buzzing around.

Certainly a focus on their beans more than food, you will find only a page of belly-fillers. But I'm sure you will find something you like despite the short list. You can always try the avocado on toast with quinoa. Just enough punch for breakfast without it getting too heavy. Most of my friends didn't like the quinoa but let me tell you it's good for you!

(That's what I ordered - the name escapes me but it's the only one with avocado in it if I remember correctly)

(Super chocolate-oozy muffin: a must-order for chocolate-lovers!) 

(Christine and me!)

(Coffee + Friends = Best combo ever!)

Then, we were on our way to Port Dickson...kinda. There were talks about going to an ostrich farm that was on the way to PD, but no one really confirmed the plan was a go so it wasn't until we were on the car that was decided. Yup, that's how we rooooooooll! Never been to an ostrich farm, and the only thing I knew about ostrich were that they're quite fierce. Fast runners with super skinny legs...and some people actually eat ostrich meat! That's just...not my cup of tea.

So yes, we arrived and took a walk around the farm, which surprisingly was quite well kept. It didn't have that farm or zoo-smell that I had been anticipating. We learned a few things about ostriches: male has black feathers while female have grey feathers; their eggs can withstand 120kg of weight; and any one of these could have been the runaway ostrich on Federal Highway the other day! Yes, if you had not read the news: Ostrich on Highway.

We also tried to get our baby of the group to ride the donkey, but these two were by far the most LAZIEST if not the SHYEST donkeys ever. They wouldn't take even a step forward, and at some point the one we had gotten her to sit on was leaning on the wooden post like it was too cool for all of us. Faint. Maybe it was the weathers, so fine.

Then, the joke of the farm: they actually had a one-humped camel by the name of 'Jessy'. Like seriously, it's so difficult to find a person with the same name. What are the chances of running into a camel with the same name? Apparently very high...

(Well, hello there Jessy~)

(This farm also had a doggy cafe - in partnership with SPCA, they keep the doggies here so they could roam around and you can adopt them if you'd like!)

After the short walk around, we departed with the group to check-in at our resort. Part of the members package, we got a free night stay at a Garden Chalet. Room was just as spacious with a reading bed by the window. Actually, I think the whole washroom area was equivalent to the bed area - BIG. Then, I was left to snack on whatever I brought over before Jo came back from meeting up with another friend (who was also staying at Avillion for the Run-Bike-Run Dualthon the following day) to tell me what the plan was for food. She did suggest to order room service, but I never trust hotel food. They're normally overpriced and barely satisfactory in taste. Finally, she came running back to say that our friend ordered food in her room, and that we were invited to join them.

At that point, I'm thinking - "Did she say order food? But I thought they just checked-in? Didn't she say they brought food on their way here?" A bit fishy but I was hungry so I didn't ask anymore questions and followed. 

When the door swung open, I was looking around the room for food only to spot a cake box with a knife-spatula taped on top. "You bought cake?" My friend who stayed in the room said this super suspicious and long, "Noooooooo." Then, out jumped everyone from the toilet, under the bed and the closet! Totally didn't expect them to be there! At best, I thought they'd pop by dinner because I knew a few of them were heading to PD for work and the other three said they were busy doing something else. But very pleasantly surprised! And you have to check out my designer cake. It's seriously the best combo of everything I love about cake: Macaroons in the shape of shuttlecocks and racket with earl grey filling on top of dark chocolate moist cake. Seriously O.M.G. dope.

(Thanks for such a cute birthday cake!!! Credits to the cake chef Aaron Quay from Pretty On Plate)

 (The one in the closet - if I took a step forward, the door would have swung in my face...so good thing I didn't! Haha)

(I can't imagine how dusty it was down there, so I give props to you two! They definitely got me because I get the creeps seeing anything climb out under the bed!!!)

(My Malaysian Family - missing Jeslyn Pang)

After the surprise, we chilled by the pool waiting for the last member to arrive in PD. We got quite a scare because the hike was only supposed to take 6-8 hours, but now reaching 12 hours, we had still not heard or been able to call. Turned out, she was 2 hours behind due to partner-injury. So at least she was alright. When she arrived, we were all ready for the seafood feast! This is what happens when one of our friend's places order - she goes all out. Not to mention, she remembers what we all like to eat. Then she'd say, no one knows what I like to eat. Helloooo, we don't even get a chance! If we have to guess based on what you order, difficult la! That's like the whole menuuuuu. Okay, we will work on figuring out what you really like to eat - deal!

(Maybe we should've taken a photo before we devoured the food...)

Feeling like round balloons, we needed to go for a walk or coffee, so we did both! We dropped by MBA badminton hall, so we could finally see how the place looked like. A few played table tennis, and let's just say, my level of competitiveness is NORMAL among my friends. Not long, coffee was calling, so we drove to the ONLY Starbucks in PD. And you could tell it was the only one because the place was PACKED! We waited a while for seats, then another while for our drinks. Honestly, it seemed like the only legit place to hangout in PD at night!

Dropping by the petrol station for some snacks, we made our way back to the resort. Randomness kicked in again - we found ourselves at karaoke for a hour since we had vouchers as members. Odd enough, this place had much clearer speakers than some other places we've gone. One hour went by so quick, but at 1am, I felt exhausted and hungry. Not wanting to eat anymore food, I retired to my room, shower and slept. Obviously, the others had a different plan. Two actually went out to buy ikan while the other two swam at the 24hour pool. Yes, I admit I did say we should stay up all night to enjoy this resort, but my thyroids were protesting! Maybe next time when I'm in better health...

The next day started with growling stomachs. Luckily, two very kind ladies were already out buying breakfast! We ate by the pool even though the staff had said no outside food allowed. Well, technically, we weren't even by the pool. We were by a drinks shop that wasn't even open. Anyway, we quickly finished our food and hopped into the pool before check-out time at noon. There's just something about being in a pool during holidays. Like, if you didn't go for a dip, you didn't have a complete one. Weird thought but I think I'm starting to get that.

(No, she didn't really need that but that does remind me of those babies with donuts around their head! Cute~)

It's surprising how fast we get hungry during holidays! And our friends from the dualthon came back just in time. Unfortunately, their stay at Avillion was a disappointing one because there was a leak in the roof, and since it stormed during the night, you can imagine the amount of water that drizzled in. So they didn't have a good sleep, and had to wake up at 4ish to sign in for the race before 6am. It also didn't help that the tracks for both runners and bikers were too muddy due to the rain. Both came back covered in mud and in desperate need for a nice hot shower. BUT, it was already check-out time so if I'm not mistaken, they had showered in the hotel sauna area. The hotel did compensate with a 50% discount, but still. These kinds of bad experiences leave a mark and an unpleasant memory. Let's hope we were able to buffer that a little with all the good food and company though.

We had a lunch order even the staff at the restaurant were questioning whether we'd finish it all. But seriously, you don't question how much this group can eat - we CAN eat. Not to mention two peeps that just finished a crazy run-bike-run. Nothing can do what food does - bring us all together. And we finished what was left of the cake from last night. It was hilarious when the restaurant staff member brought over the cake and opened the box only to find it half eaten. He was so worried because he thought his people had eaten the cake! Good fun giving him a scare, but nah, we confessed eventually. 

I couldn't have asked for a better weekend getaway surprise birthday celebration. Perhaps, maybe if I had been able to pull an all-nighter. Next time peeps, when I get better. Thanks for making the trip to PD and spending your weekend with me. I'm blessed to have such a close group of friends here in a foreign country that has now become my second home. I'm grateful for having such an awesome birthday cake to kick off the celebration this year. I'm thankful for everyone's time they have so willingly spent with me this past weekend.

(Once again, missing Jeslyn Pang!)

I feel so loved.
Thank you.