Revisiting An Old Haunt

An old haunt, not an old aunt.

I had earlier on mentioned to FCI that I was looking forward to his class last night, to which his reply was "that's good". Therefore, I was perplexed when I got an sms from FDI (aka Leon), saying, "FCI not teaching tonight hor". Turns out, yes, that latest intelligensia information was accurate, unlike reports of Osama bin Laden's death, which till now is unconfirmed. Drat, on the one day that I have no desserts to prepare, and have the whole Tuesday evening free, FCI is not teaching. What to do, what to do? Scoured the online schedule for other options, but none seemed to appeal to me, so I thought, well, if the weather permits, I shall head for the Lake Gardens, my old haunt before I got bitten by the GX bug.

This place holds a lot memories. It's a great place to bring people on a non-committal "date" on the pretext of exercise. The other half and I used to spend inordinate amounts of time here, with other friends, as we did our Sunday walks/runs religiously. Another friend of mine, who resides in Singapore, used to jog with me regularly in 1998 when he lived here for a short period. And it was in these same gardens that I actually proposed. Subsequently when the kids came along, it was also our regular haunt. Some of you may remember that I mentioned in a previous post in one of the blogs. I brought the kids there one day, a few months ago, and idly voiced my thoughts aloud, "I used to bring you guys here when you were kids", when my 2nd kid retorted, "Huh? Excuse me, we are STILL kids. Have you lost your mind?" Baby girl is still a lake gardens virgin. Waiting for her to be able to be propped up in a stroller before bringing her. To carry a baby around the gardens, even in a sling, is hard work.

As it turned out, the weather was perfect. By 6.10 or so, the ramadhan rush was nearly over, and it was smooth passage to lake gardens. By 6.20 I was on the track, (FDI had earlier suggested why not treadmill, since I had found no class to attend)....the route I usually take, ie, from Lake Club guardroom, towards the playground, veer right, towards the other playground, up to the road that goes to Carcosa Seri Negara, back into the gardens at the end of the road, around the lake, and another circle around the lake, and back to Lake Club via the open amphitheatre. Usually if I am jogging with "frog" (friend's nick), this route takes 25-28 minutes. On my own, I tend to be a laggard a bit.

However, much as I enjoy jogging, in lake gardens, I am loathe to admit that these old joints really can't be subject to too much of it, coz stamina wise, I have no problems, but I can literally feel the creaking in the joints. Nevertheless, I think I shall try to incorporate an outdoor run at least once a week, (excluding the sunday walks with wife in the Bukit Kiara trail..... where years ago I was attacked by a cow), cos the feeling of well being after an outdoor run is something I really miss. Also, I don't have to worry about towels, as I shower in the Lake Club, and towels are provided.