the fieldtrip

let me first tell you that, this is my first time in malaysia. that being said, let me tell you why i am here. i was sent by the company i'm working for to attend a workshop that involves basin modeling as a method for successful exploration of oil and gas. the workshop was held on the first day and consisted of a lecture and application parts. this workshop was a confirmation and a more formal training of a job that i have done (and will be doing again) a couple of years back. it was also a chance to be able to mingle with colleagues who are doing the same things that i'm doing. what is more interesting, and i guess relieving for me, is to see that the people my age in that group know the same things that i do. maybe a little more, or a little less but at least, we are almost on the same footing. 

yesterday was the end of the formal sessions and certificates were already given away. today, we went on a fieldwork to see the fractured formations that act as the (analogous) reservoirs for the basin that the three countries -malaysia, thailand and indonesia - are studying jointly.

first stop: steep climb to one of the seven wells (Machinchang Fm)

 the falls lie in a fault that separates two formations

 large feldspar phenocrysts in granite aligned in a parallel manner

 load casts (top view) formed by the difference in weight of sediments while being deposited

 fractured limestone have a very good porosity, which makes it a good reservoir

 folded limestone formation

 bioturbated clastic rocks

 ripple mark surface with interference at a different direction

large tourmaline crystals in granite 

 

 a boudinage!!! :)

after the fieldwork, we stopped by one of the duty free shops near the underwater world (near chenang beach) and here is what i've found! proudly pinoy! 

one of my favorite chocolates - made in pinas!

08/18/10

not so busy day

today is our last formal session day and we had most of the afternoon off. we spent some of our time lounging at the beach...

the beach may seem nice but the water was brown and the waves were too strong for a leisurely swim. we later decided to just go up and head to town.

08/18/10 (picture from MST's Nikon 5000 camera)

things i learned in langkawi (aside from geology)

in langkawi, it's a duty free port zone. all chocolates and liquors are cheap.

the movie Anna and the King was partly filmed here and part of the set is still standing.

most of the langkawi people are employed.

it is safe to travel around the island. the only crime committed here was theft but that didn't last long because the thief was stupid enough to hide near the police station! :P

there are no metered taxi in langkawi.

the government provides free housing for the "poor" and landless.

one can only build a house in areas where there are no trees standing there. most lands are governed by the forestry bureau and to build a house in protected areas, permission must be given first.

foreigners can build a house in langkawi but they must be within, from what i understand, the "senior" group.

most people of langkawi buy a boat and sail when they grow old, when they are retired and their children are grown.

finally saw the beach last tuesday, before the welcome dinner ---

08/18/10

arrived at langkawi

as with my saigon entries, this is written a few weeks after the event. i just had to write this for future reference. :)

we landed at langkawi international airport at around 8 o'clock in the evening today. my first glimpse of the island made me miss my hometown more, with its small runway and green field running parallel to it. the sunlight was a bit unnerving though because i expected to arrive at night but it was light outside. the airport itself looks like the one we have back at home. at the immigration, i was asked where i will be staying and it was only then that i realized that i don't really know where we were staying! so i said that i'd be staying in a hotel that sounds like holiday villa resort (or something). the officer must have known the place so he let me through, but not before asking to see my return ticket. it was a bit confusing for me because for the four of us who arrived together, i was the only one who was made to wait for more minutes than what was usual to the rest. anyways, i finally got my passport stamped and i headed to where my companions, and my luggage, were waiting for me.

the most important stop for me next is the foreign exchange counter. today, 1 USD = 3.11 MYR.

i was so tired from the trip which started at 0430 hrs (for me) today. add to it my six hour stay inside the changi airport since i couldn't go out because of the heavy rain (and because no one was available to meet up with me). however, i joined my companions to a quiet dinner at a restaurant in front of the hotel. it was called Boat and they serve meals until 11 o'clock in the evening, which fortunately for us, was still an hour away. funny thing there was when we ordered rice (as most of us were hungry), we were all thinking of the steamed, white rice but what we got was noodles! it was only then that we realized that it was rice noodles and not rice itself. we had three viands: spicy chicken, vegetables, fish; rice and soda. total was 40 MYR, which was cheap, to my thinking.

first dinner at langkawi, malaysia

it was already late but like small kids placed in a new playground, we checked out the place first: our rooms, the pool and the surroundings. the place looks good but since it was dark, we are reserving our judgment until tomorrow.

holiday villa beach lobby

can't wait to see the beach!

08/18/10

bumming around changi airport

arrived at changi airport around 1145am. was supposed to meet with ross at the arrivals but got cancelled due to the heavy rain. stayed at the airport until our boarding time at 540pm arrives. walked around the airport, reacquainted myself to o'brien's, met monina at F34 before her flight back to manila, made wood block sketch art near the orchid museum, took a nap and watched tv...

plantar fasciitis

quick lesson of the day: what is plantar fasciitis?

that is what i have!

according to what i've read online, *plantar fasciitis is a painful condition caused by overuse of the plantar fascia or arch tendon of the foot. it affects the plantar fascia, which is a broad, thick band of tissue that runs from under the heel to the front of the foot.

*the affected portion in red

but how did i know that this is it? a sports science specialist friend of mine suggested i see a sports doctor for my heel problem. i have been complaining about this for the last three weeks although the pain was more pronounced this week. i thought a foot spa would help but when i asked my friend about the one he usually frequents, he suggested i go to see this doctor he knows.

today, i went to the clinic, thinking that this will be a very quick check-up because it was only the heel (a very small portion of the human body, i'm thinking). when i got there, the doctor asked me a couple of questions:  when did you first experience it, what were you doing when you felt it, and where particularly? then i felt the same pain when he pressed a certain part of the heel - i said, 'that's it!' and he murmured to his physical therapist "spur." what the heck was spur? then i just found myself down on my stomach on the bed.

a second after that, i felt a cool gel thing being spread on my heel and a certain device being moved around it. when i asked, the doctor said that it was an ultrasound to see which muscles are affected. when they finished with it, the therapist thoroughly massaged my heel musles and then when it was done, he asked me, if the pain manifests itself when i wake up. when i said yes, they were both sure that it was plantar fasciitis because they said it was one of the very common symptoms of this injury. then the therapist had me doing strengthening exercises which, i must really tell you, really hurts!!!!

================================================

*--- the symptoms---

• Heel pain, under the heel and usually on the inside, at the origin of the attachment of the fascia. ✔
• Pain when pressing on the inside of the heel and sometimes along the arch. ✔
• Pain is usually worse first thing in the morning as the fascia tightens up overnight. After a few minutes it eases as the foot gets warmed up ✔
• As the condition becomes more severe the pain can get worse throughout the day if activity continues.✔
• Stretching the plantar fascia may be painful. ✔
• Sometimes there may also be pain along the outside border of the heel. ✔ This may occur due to the offloading the painful side of the heel by walking on the outside border of the foot. It may also be associated with the high impact of landing on the outside of the heel if you have high arched feet 

 ===============================================

--- the exercises ---

first, i had to stand with my feet on a 45deg platform while standing up properly. try it, that really hurts. when i told the doctor this, he said (just like any other sports doctor would say, i think) "if there's no pain, there's no gain." he also said, "you can only know that it works when it hurts!" hmmm... does it also apply to any aspect of life? LOL.

the next exercise was to have me stand on edge of a platform and have me lift my body fast and then go down slowly, to stretch my calf muscles. the therapist said, strengthening my calf will help relieve the pain in my heel. i guess the muscles there are really connected. anyways, i had to do three sets of 20 ups/downs before the doctor and therapist were satisfied.

they let me rest after that while lying in the bed again but the therapist then placed a tool in my heel again, this time a thing which looks like an ecg attachment. when he turned it on, i felt a certain "sting" and vibration. later, i just felt my feet move in reflex. it was kinda cool but weird. when all these were done, they placed a plaster to my sole to support my tendon and foot arch.

tonight, i am still wearing that plaster until two days from now. today was quite an experience and although i'm sad i have an injury, i'm glad it was seen to as early as now. :)

my right heel after seeing the doctor today

* article and photo credit: http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/cybertherapist/front/foot/plantarfaciitis.htm

the winning goal

iniesta scoring the winning goal at the 116th minute in overtime

woke up at 230 this morning to watch the 2010 WC Finals, Espana vs Nederlands. the game was beautiful but at times, excruciating to watch because of the very physical game and the time it took for the team to score! i went back to sleep at around 530 in the morning already! LOL. and during the entire game, i was wearing my 2006 WC Espana t-shirt! i guess it was a lucky shirt... LOL.

photo: taken from my friend's fb page.

it's done!

i got this last week :) what do you think? i finally made something out of scratch and i love, love it!

my own ref magnet housing

Argentina on to the Quarter Finals!

i think it would only be fair to mention the other team i'm cheering for this WC 2010 - argentina. :)

on sunday night, i know i wouldn't be able to watch their game against mexico because i was cramming to finish a report i'm due to submit early monday morning. i started getting into the writing late in the evening and after a couple of hours, i was distracted by a very familiar whoozing noise in the background (the tv was just left on for company). when i looked up, i was surprised to see that the game was about to start! when i looked at the watch, it was already a little over 2:30AM monday morning! i decided to sleep then but left the tv on. well, what can you expect with the tv turned on, right? so instead of "forcing" myself to sleep, i ended up watching the first half before finally falling asleep.

it was only in the late morning that i found out that argentina is moving on to the quarter finals! yes! :) i'm sure my friend betch will be happy to hear about that :)

here is lionel messi of argentina at the soccer city stadium on their final 16 game vs mexico 

photo credit: getty images (fifa.com)

and we advance to the 16!

tonight saw portugal entering the final 16 together with the group leader, Brazil. i definitely love the portuguese defenders for stopping the game at 0-0. with many attempts and ball possession of brazil, it was quite heartstopping fom time to time. with the ball mostly in brazilian hand (or for that matter, feet), ronaldo wasn't able to do much of his magic. the play with mareilles was probably the best shot they had at scoring a goal but lucio (well, i think it was him) just had to take the goal away from them! anyways, i'm just glad that portugal is secured a place in the final 16 and that they weren't beaten much by the favorite, brazil.

so now we advance to the 16! it would be a treat to have an argentina vs portugal finals (messi vs ronaldo) but i guess it wouldn't happen now since they would be playing on the same half of the draw. they might play each other but definitely not in the finals. we will just have to watch out for it.

this sunday will be another exciting game -- argentina vs mexico! can't wait to watch it! :)