Good Men Go (R.I.P. Jayshe Han)

Posted on by Edmund

One of my Airsoft friends, Jayshe Han, had contracted cancer and been fighting it for around a year. We received a message passed onto us that he was in critical condition and he didn’t have long to live.

I detoured from the gym and head over to his residence in Cheras. The atmosphere was heavy and the once cheerful, fit and larger-than-life man was now reduced to nearly skeleton.

I was at a loss for words and even though I said to “stay strong” I knew it was false assurance. I wanted to hug him but he was too frail and weak, and in the company of his wife, family and close friends holding onto every part of him, we could only be careful. As he laid suffering on the recliner chair, it was the day even the toughest of men cried.

To give an insight into what kind of man he was: when I was new to the team 4 years ago Jay was one of the first people to talk to me and welcomed me with open arms; I was pretty much a loner then.

His looks might had been intimidating but he always had the best of intentions. Although without children, he had been a father figure to his nieces and nephews and stayed loyal to his loving wife up to his final day; his get well cards were gold testaments to his character and how he lived his life.

Alas, it is with great sadness that our friend, brother and comrade passed away 7:25 this morning. It was just two weeks ago that celebrated his 49th birthday.

Jay, it must had been a tough 3 weeks but you’re now free at last. We already miss your cheerful presence and great sense of humor and friendship. Rest in peace Jay.

Not only were you a great brother to me and others, you also touched lives when you were not wearing the uniform. I am truly and forever honored to have fought by your side for the last 4 years!

 

Rest In Peace Brother, Comrade, Amazing Friend, General.

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Dead Lifts Update – Nearly Twice My Weight!

Posted on by Edmund

I won’t be going anywhere for the time being until my trip to the US in February next year. I’ll be clocking in gym time again on at least two times a week – and beyond that, do my own workouts at home with body weight training.

My motivation has been renewed ever since friends commented I look buffer now. YES, A BIG WIN considering that I failed my attempt in 2012. I was putting on muscles but vomited it all out and felt nausea for a very loooong time, thus shrunk back. Plus for most of my life I have to bare with people around me saying how thin and scrawny I was, and “ah boy boy, you need to eat more rice”.

I weighed 59-60 kilos average then; now I am consistently 65 kilos for the last three months.

IMG_8960One of my recent photos. Yes, I’m making gains!

Yesterday I visited the QLS Fitness gym and my latest PR for dead lifts is 120 kilos or 264 lbs. A 22 lbs increase since my best record of 242 lbs in 2013!

I was gunning for 130 kilos which would have been double my body weight but alas, I couldn’t even lift the bar off the ground. Not even 125 kilos. So 120 kilos it was. I shall try again in a couple of months.

While I am happy with my progress, the increase in body weight came at a price: I also put on some unwanted love handles on the sides. And I’ll be hitting 30 soon, which means I need to watch what I eat now more than before.

Now that I’ve achieved my long desired ideal body weight, it’s time to go for that ideal body: get rid of the flabs and replace with six packs!

The Long Awaited Upgrade. BMW?

Posted on by Edmund

Yesterday I visited a few auto dealerships in search for a second hand BMW 3 Series, and at the end of my search I found myself browsing the new cars and premium selections at Auto Bavaria, Glenmarie.

I’ve been driving the Toyota Vios for 6 years, and it’s high time to upgrade. When I get a new car, I will be passing on my current car to my mother for her errands and church activities in Johor.

Originally, I planned to purchase a second hand Beemer as for one, I am not a ‘car person’ and I know cars are liabilities; I would rather spend that difference on acquiring another asset, if not at least put a down payment for it.

After a day spent looking at cars, talking to the sales people and getting opinions from my friends who are knowledgeable with cars (and own luxury cars), I realize it’s probably better to buy a new one after all, or at least get a pre-owned car.

The frugal saver in me is screaming “this is out of my comfort zone!” and even though I can afford it, I cannot help but think if I should have bought a second Filipino property.

But what about the promise I made to myself when I was 23 years old? That I would have easily gotten a BMW while still in my 20’s. Today I have about a year left before I hit 30. Was I all talk?

In as much as I’d live frugally and do business guerrilla style, I can see that my current methods can only get me so far; if I want to graduate to the next level in business and make more profits than I am right now (I’m talking about DOUBLING and TRIPLING even) I will have to eventually forego my guerrilla methods and adapt and adopt a different style of playing the money game.

That means different thinking, and being less of a cheapskate.

bmw-320i

Visiting Auto Bavaria and talking to my friends who own luxury cars opened my eyes to some of the things I didn’t realize or thought otherwise – that there are still crazy heck LOTS of rich people among us here. I would think with the GST implementation, weakening Ringgits, and Malaysia’s economy performing worse than ever, most people would have been forced to downgrade their lifestyle. I can see the truly rich are on top of things again.

And I definitely want to ascend to the levels of the mega rich. This shall be the start.

So my game plan right now: 30% to 40% down payment for a BMW 3 Series (I’m eyeing the 320i or 316i), monthly repayment financed by my monthly memberships. Will work to grow business BIGGER and acquire properties so by Year 3 to Year 4, liabilities like the BMW can be financed by assets instead.

I am going to get down  to it in the coming week, after I at least check out what Audi and Mercedes has to offer for completion sake (might change my mind).

Bali Revisited

Posted on by Edmund

The last time I came to Bali was seven years ago. I came here again mainly for the Airsoft tournament; I didn’t think of visiting anywhere else as I thought I would be in the Sports Center most if not all the time.

But due to long waiting time and late start each day, Soviani Chandra insisted we visit a few other places.

We covered the Safari & Marine Park, Agrowisata Village, Monkey Forest, and one of the many temples when we were not at the Hall.

(If you’re wondering why I’m wearing camouflage in all the photos, I didn’t pack in enough clothes and I didn’t think I would be visiting these tourist places.)

Kejuaraan Nasional Airsoft

Posted on by Edmund

This was the most anticipated Airsoft event of the year for me. I flew to Bali, Indonesia to join the 3 day event, in what would become Indonesia’s first ever national Airsoft tournament.

Although I came alone from Malaysia, I would join up with two other members to form our 3-men team. Malaysia, Netherland, England… truly a multinational team indeed!

The format of the tournament is a 3 vs 3 match. We had advanced to the final day before we got eliminated, but for a team formed on the spot, using borrowed guns (in not so good condition I must add) and that half of the 23 teams present at the tournament are Special Forces, Regular Army and Police… I’d say we did a good job overall.

The organizing of the event still has a lot of room for improvement; each day would begin rather late in the afternoon, and with no strict schedule to adhere to we would wait for hours before our next match – and each match would end in minutes.

Even though we won no medal, I still took back a collection of team patches from the event, because I always make it a custom to exchange team patches with every team I come across.

My collection swelled yet again… and it is still my dream to get in US and Europe team patches into my collection!

More on that next year…