Just back from a Friday nite out with the usual suspects Loti, Accent & Bones. A few others are supposed to join us but had to pull out last minute due to work & family committments.Accent has kindly initiated this dinner and due to the recent network problems no thanks to the Taiwan earthquake, the arrangement had to be made via sms. Really THANKS to Accent for her solid co-ordination & communications to get everyone together at such short notice!! *thunderous applause*Dinner place tonight is at this North Indian restaurant in Race Course Road called Jaggis. The gang had initially wanted to eat there last Fri after our unsatisfactory Secret Garden dinner, but the plan fell through. So Accent decided to bring us there tonight. However, I was a little apprehensive about going (I'm not particularly thrilled about indian food and quite worried I might be overwhelmed by the experience) and had wanted to back out. The gang of course wouldn't hear any of it and managed to cajole me to just experience it. (Of course I had an escape clause that says I can leave anytime I'm not comfortable :P).
So the 4 of us got to Jaggis before 7. While walking to the restaurant, we passed by MANY restaurants along the way. Most of them were nicely & cosily decorated. We passed by The Banana Leaf Apollo and it was packed! Jaggis on the other hand was pretty empty. When we entered, there were only an indian and a chinese couple. I left the ordering of the food to the rest of the foodies while I snapped several pictures & took in the restaurant's environment. Its a simply & minimally decorated restaurant (think functional) with none of the frills I saw in the rest of those more upmarket looking restaurants.
As I don't normally eat Indian food (except for roti prata), most of the food dishes were new to me. I have to say the food is pretty alright and I even tried their yoghurt drink. Not bad at all!!We had a good time just pigging out and yakking away in the restaurant. Even went for 2nd round and ordered more dishes! :PThankfully the place wasn't crowded so we were able to just chat there even after we were long done with our dinner. We only finally left the place and headed to Cafe Domus in Owen Road at about 9pm. Again, this is a cafe which we wanted to go previously (after Corrinne May concert) but it was then closed for a private function. So we were pleased when the place was open for business tonight!I wasn't impressed just from the look of the shop front. It was very nondescript. With just 2 tables & several chairs. It was only when Accent led us to the back of the cafe did I realise what a gem it was. The place opens up to a small longish backyard (open-air) with benches & chairs (in the shape of tree stumps/logs - or maybe they are!). The place was dimly lit with candles & lamps (i think) and one side of the wall was replaced by a full length mirror that makes the place looks brighter and bigger. As the lighting wasn't good, I didn't take any pics. What a waste. Thankfully for the cool weather lately, sitting out there in the backyard was actually very nice and cooling. So the four of us ordered our drinks & crackers (nachos with yummy wasabi+mayonnaise dip) and just spent our time relaxing and yakking some more. In no time all the tables were occupied but since it was a small place, it wasn't really a crowd and hence it wasn't noisy. Very comfortable !! I could sit there for ages in that place (provided the weather continues this way)We finally left the place at 11. THANKS to Bones for driving me home after my failed attempt to get a cab. *bow*and THANKS to Accent, Loti & Bones for the lovely company. Another wonderful night with nice company that lets me go to bed with a smile ...ContentedJazzy
For most of us, today marks the LAST day of work for 2006!!!Wow Wee!!!Have a great day everyone! Work hard yah! :)
Reminiscing about 2006, I think I ought to reflect and think what I have done right, and what I should do better. So below are some learning points ...
I've learnt that ....- No matter how bad / dire a situation may seem, things will get better. Or that even if what seem like misfortune initially, may actually be a blessing in disguise. Cases in point :
- If I hadn't known the truth, I would still be yearning for the impossible or thinking about the what-ifs. With the truth, I am forced to let go and though I'm still working on it, but at least I have no false hopes. That's important. We must not live in false hopes.
- If I hadn't got injured, I wouldn't get to learn about injuries and about strengthening and stretching.
- Everything is transient. What may be yours today may not be yours tomorrow. What may seem like a wonderful friendship may be lost tomorrow. Seize the day, seize the opportunity but do not be attached. The latter is the most difficult thing to achieve. Until now I still have difficulty with this ...
- Be thick-skin (haha). If not for my forcing myself to be thick-skin, I wouldn't have plucked up sufficient courage to join SGRunners CBD run. I wouldn't have got to know SGRunners, I wouldn't have picked up running, I wouldn't have known so many of you wonderful people, I wouldn't ..... ok, I have made my point.
- Practise makes perfect. As I practise to be thick-skin (going up to complete strangers - in the context of a group run and introducing myself and talking to them), I learn to be a little more comfortable in crowds and not so worried about making a fool of myself. Heck! So what if people laughs at me, laugh along! :) I learn (and still learning) to be less self-conscious and just enjoy living
- Whatever that may be acted out of good intentions may still back-fire. Your actions may be mis-interpreted, mis-represented, mis-construed. Just think the age old adage 好人难做. So well, I'm still trying to figure out the lesson for this. To care less ? To be less "kaypoh" ?
- Just do it! Sometimes don't think so much. The more I think, the less I would embark on something. Think Analysis Paralysis. That's me. So sometimes, dun tink so much, just do it. One good example would be the HWA project. Just take one small baby step at a time, do whatever I can and just let the momentum get going. Looking back, I'm so proud that the team pulled this through. From an idea, we actually got into action and got this done. All from just taking one baby step at a time. As my big boss likes to say "Rolling stone gathers no moss" Very true.
- Avoid people (including friends) who make u feel lousy. And you shouldn't feel bad for not wanting to hang out with them. Its your life! Granted that no one can make you feel miserable but yourself, but we surely do not need people who constantly challenges our patience. This applies to people who don't bother to keep in touch, who you bother to keep in touch but brushed you off, who only keep in touch when they need you ...
- NO Expectation. This is a very very very important lesson I'm trying to learn and to remember this lesson. NEVER expect anyone or anything from anyone. Expectation is the recipe to disappointment. Its almost a formula where Expectation = Disappointment. Simple as that. Sometimes I might expect someone to behave a certain way, to say a certain thing. But more often than not, they wouldn't. I just have to remember that they are NOT me. NO one person behaves/thinks the same as me. Get over it. And the world does NOT revolve around me. Even if he/she does not behave/react in a certain way, it doesn't mean he/she doesn't care. It may be that he/she cares in a different way. Whatever it is, let it go, get over it and move on! Easier said than done though, I'm still learning this lesson.
I have read somewhere (think is the Andrew Mathews book) that in life, we all have different lessons to learn (everyone's lessons are different). We will be repeatedly thrown scenarios to learn until we learn the lesson .. and the lesson will get increasingly difficult if we keep failing to learn it.
And I suppose if we don't learn the lesson, we wouldn't graduate to learn life's other lessons. Then we will forever be stuck *horrors*. So in order to be wise by learning as much of life's lessons while I'm still walking this earth, I better buck up and learn my lesson earlier :)
Now that I am done recounting interesting events in 2006, time to seriously pen down my reflections for this year before 2007 arrives .... hmmmm ..... I need to sit down one corner quietly and reflect ...R u going to write down your reflections for the year too ? And most importantly, will you be sharing yours with me ? :) Would love to read / hear them ... :)
We finally get to visit Secret Garden!!! THANKS to Loti for organising this dinner!First time I got to know about Secret Garden was the post-SCSM hangout. A bunch of us were walking towards Bugis (from La Salle Fine Arts) to have our dinner when we passed by this little restaurant standing quietly and inconspicously at a corner. If not for Taz who pointed it out to us, we would have most probably just passed the place without even noticing!The place was really nice and cosy looking and Loti organised a dinner (al fresco) there on Fri nite (22 Dec). Fellow foodies-in-"crime": Roentgen, JT, Loti & Divey.Thankfully weather was kind to us that day and it didn't rain and spoil our al fresco dinner plans! We got there early (everyone was just so eager to get off work!!) and got there more than half hour early but we were nonetheless shown to our seats promptly. The place was still quiet with only 2 occupied tables (i think).The food was alright and the service was close to bad but as usual, the wonderful company all for made up for it! We just spent our time yakking and chatting and taking loads of pictures of the place & the food. Taz was suppose to join us but he was caught up at work. When he finally called, we were already done with dinner so we joined him for our 2nd round of PO at .... Alisan ! The muay place at Kovan - the one where we used to frequent after our night runs. Boy, I just miss the place (and the runs!!!! argh! ok, i just can't resist squeezing in a whine here :P) So amid more food (its disgusting how I eat more than those who can afford to, that explains my growing girth!!!! -_-") and more chatter and laughter, we had our 2nd dinner (and 1st for Taz) that night and left the place feeling all satisfied and happy ...Thanks for the company people!
Went to catch Night at the Museum with Roentgen, Divey, JT & Teelee. Its been a while (since SCSM) since I last saw Teelee. Good to see Teelee again! Movies was at Great World City. The rest of the gang were there very early so was hanging out at Coffee Bean when Teelee & I got there. Movie was alright, didn’t find it particularly engaging or nice. But glad that Roentgen & Divey enjoyed it. We then proceeded to have dinner at Ichiban Boshi. We waited for like 10 mins for a seat and was shown to this very spacious stall for 5. Wow, soo comfy lor! Divey had to leave for another gathering and so the four of us ordered and pig out on yummy jap fare like raw fish palette, agedashi doufu, edamame, salad (yes I love my greens!), unagi salad (not bad!) etc. etcWe started at about close to 7 and PO til about 8:10pm before leaving for our next stop at PS Café. YES!!! Thanks to Roentgen, we had made a reservation at 8:30pm to celebrate our xmas eve there! Initial idea was to have our xmas dinner there but we decided later that it might be too pricey (and of coz too late for our hungrie stomachs) and hence switched our PS Café to after dinner desserts & hangout.
Really like PS Café at Dempsey. I was expecting the place to be super crowded but surprisingly it wasn’t. It was filled but crowd wasn’t rowdy and everyone seemed to be enjoying their own quiet time. We were shown to our table close to the window overseeing the alfresco dining area, and very close to this huge xmas tree (real one too!). It was decorated simply with red reindeers toys (I think) and red little flowers. We ordered some starters (chips with bbq sauce and kiffer aioli, pita bread/baguette with some other dips) & drinks and sat there and chitchat for quite a while until the staff started hovering around us asking to clear our plates and whether we were ready to order our mains :P We hence ordered their blueberry cheesecake & fudgy choc brownie with ice cream. The cheesecake was great! Not too cheesy. The choc brownie was a tad too rich and sweet though. Think I put on another 2 kg just eating it! Haha
We chatted some more and simply just enjoying one another’s company. This is one of the most memorable and relaxing xmas eve I’ve ever had. Not one who enjoys huge crowds, big parties (yes yes, I’m a boring person), I really appreciate this small little gathering in this quiet little place. When midnight strikes, there wasn’t any of the loud whistles & wishes of “Merry Xmas”, more a subdued, quiet wishes (& hugs) between staff & some of the patrons. We clang our glasses (of plain water haha) to celebrate the xmas day ….We left the place at 1+ and kind Roentgen drove us home, while passing by Orchard to soak in more of the xmas mood. The road was not as chockfull of merry makers as I would have imagined it to be, but its still crowded enough, with policemen patrolling the streets (as what I was told is more as a visual deterrence). I obviously haven’t been going to Orchard much because I didn’t even know they had police patrol stations set up with policemen perched high up the station so that they have an aerial view of the area.
THANKS Roentgen for driving us home!! Appreciate it lots! and THANKS JT, Teelee & Roentgen for the wonderful company :) I enjoyed myself tremendously ... What better way to celebrate xmas eve then with a group of close friends enjoying their nice warm comfortable company. THANKS people for agreeing to spend your xmas eve with me.
:)
A continuation from here
JulyMore runs … with Teelee, with the SGRunners. Ran to Seletar airbase, midnight run in Kovan to try out the Mizuno Wave Run route and many many more ... Spent time shortlisting and visiting charity organizations to decide on the charity of our choice. With the several rounds of meetings and discussions, we finally managed to decide on going with HWA as the charity of our choice. It was very heartening to see the dedication from a few key members in the group making the time to come for the meetings and contributing their time & expertise in whatever way they could.
17 Jul - Shape Run. My first 10km “race”!! I didn’t suffer any of the pre-race jitters, to me its just one exciting and fun run. Something that I can relish in future … a new experience for me. Being super inexperienced, I got carried away by the crowd and started the run too fast, so much so I ponchet too early in the run and took very long to complete the 10km haha … but it was a good experience nonetheless. But what made this run most memorable, is that many of the SGRunner guys turned up to support the gals! It was a really really really wonderful feeling to have the guys cheer us on. I couldn’t thank the guys enough. Everyone was just so encouraging! I remembered seeing IMD taking pics of us gals at many of the stops. Seemed like he had receeded the route before hand and planned out where to be at what time. Amazing !!!! Also remembered the rest of the guys such as Shut in his super duper solid SLR camera, nemo, teelee, cfred (in his cool shades), cyberkinetics (in his pink outfit and pink pom pom!!!!! I salute him!), DR & cheow (to support their wives), superboy, dasher, tiwazz, renoh & hedgehog (the 2 hunks went for their own run earlier on before coming to support us gals! Wow!!), cosmic (who skipped his mrn class to be with us – wow wow!!) and roentgen (who just touched down from some biz trip the day before). I just felt (and still do) feel very happy and blessed to have such a wonderful group of kakis in SGRunners who would come and support the gals in their inaugural ladies-only run. It was an awesome feeling!!!
23 July - Mizuno Wave Run. Another big turnout at the Mizuno Wave Run. Again, very happy to meet up with the big gang of SGRunners! Very fun!! Also had the chance to run with Aichai & Roentgen, who were very very kind to run with me the whole time and Aichai actually paced me and gave me pointers about walking through the water stations and keeping to my pace the whole time!!! I couldn’t have finished in that time without Aichai’s pacing !!! THANKS!! 
Birthday celebration. This is the MOST memorable birthday I will ever have. What a great day to celebrate my turning 3 decades old. Frankly (& seriously), this is one memory that I will bring to my grave, and when I’m ever down and out or feeling like there is nothing to hang on to, this is one memory that will keep me going. I have to thank Nemo, Roentgen, Junie & Teelee for putting in all the effort to plan such an elaborate bd celebration for me. I am eternally grateful guys … really. I can’t express enough how deeply touched I am, even til now. The bd week was (and still is!) the BEST time of my life !! and I have to thank EVERYONE (andy, imd, charmane, cfred, bikerchic, angelica_wonders, bala, shutehelup & mha, kay, superboy, charlotte, cosmic, tiwazz, taz - i hope i didn't miss out anyone, if i do, i'm soooo sorry!!!) for taking the time to celebrate my bd with me … I’m just so bowled over !!! I feel all warm and happy and contented just thinking about this I’m one lucky gal aren’t I ?AugustFinalised on the HWA charity fund raising slogan and collaterals and HWA blog. With tons of help from Nemo (now known as Loneshark). I was very impressed with the quality of the work done by Nemo & Roentgen. Their talents (Nemo in publicity and marketing & Roentgen in his powerful command in the English language) truly shone through and I learnt a lot from them both. We spent an intense Saturday getting the blog up.More anihowz runs with Teelee … 
On the week of AHM, I had to fall sick! A very frustrating time doing whatever I could to make sure I am well for AHM. Sleeping super early and drinking tons of water. Thankfully I was able to run at AHM. My first 21km event!!! And my first medal!!! I was, needless to say, elated!! SeptemberMore runs followed …. I’m enjoying my runs very much … 17 Sept - Terry Fox Run. Ultra memorable run for me!!! Did an LSD with Roentgen prior to the TFR. We started very early in the mrn, ran from Sentosa to Labrador Park and back before joining the rest for the TFR. Due to the rain the race was delayed. Not wanting to cool down from our run, we decided to start the TFR route on our own. Because of that, we confused many of the road marshals along the route because they thought the run had started when in fact it hadn’t :P We must have confused the elites too when they saw us “ahead” of them. It was an awesome run, weather was cool and I managed to run to Labrador Park, something which I had wanted to do for a very long time. Of course, its not everyday that I can be “faster” than the elites too hahaha … 
24 Sep - Demoralising Run. Another good run. Passed by that Changi Coastal road in the past by car and at the back of my mind I was thinking how wonderful it would be if I could run there. That thought never materialize until one day when Roentgen suggested to join the Demoralising Run. It was something that never crossed my mind. What ? Joined the veterans in this run ?? They so fast ! how to run?? Thankfully Roentgen reassured me that he would be doing a slow run so I decided to what-the-heck and joined the run. I didn’t regret tagging along coz I ran/walk 28km that day! Not to mention that I met familiar faces like Mythos while running that route ! Very fun to be running and meeting friends along the way October1 Oct – did a LSD Chai Tow Kuay run with Roentgen & Charlotte. Explored many places and even found an interesting food joint Athens Restaurant.Starting to have difficulty running, feeling pain in the calves …15 Oct – my last LSD. A lone LSD to the zoo. Didn’t expect to run to the zoo but the DR somehow ran and ran and ended up at the zoo. Was a painful and yet fulfilling run.Pain got worrying enough for me to see a sports doc at CGH.20 Oct - Started my first physio session at CGH. Running and mood went downhill from here ... have to thank everyone especially my dear kakis (you know who you are) for constantly checking on me and encouraging me and to the many others who msn/sms to ask how I'm doing. Thank you so much! I may not say much but your warm gesture touches me tremendously and I am very grateful *bow*Busy with HWA. Making sure everything is in order. Getting the running tops printed etc. etcNovemberMore whining about my inability to run, my no progress in my recovery … lots of frustration (and still has)More HWA work ensued. Packing of the HWA goodie bag and getting ready for people to return their pledge cards etc.DecemberStill whining (but more resigned to fate now…) about not being able to run…
3 Dec - SCSM 2006. My very first SCSM experience, unfortunately had to be just a supporter instead of running the half marathon. It was still an experience an I enjoyed being at the 30km support station cheering my dear SGRunners kakis on while they passed the 30km mark. This was also the day that we celebrated Teelee’s birthday in advance as he was not able to make it on the actual day, due to work -_-“First anniversary in the new job. Very surprised that I survived this job for a year ... didn't expect myself to last :P
6 Dec – Dinner at JT’s place. A nice warm dinner at JT’s place. Very honoured to be invited to her place and got to have a yummilicious dinner cooked by JT’s mommy. I had a great time just enjoying the company of the group, with the usual easy chatting and teasing and “fighting”. Awww … 16 Dec – Corrinne May concert. Another wonderful night just immersing myself in the lush beautiful and calming voice of Corrinne. Not forgetting the delicious dinner at Outback and the HIP post-concert drinks at café iguana.
24 Dec - a wonderful xmas eve gathering with a few close friends. Such a wonderful night ...
Been wanting to pen down all the significant things that happened this year for me ... more for safe-keeping (considering I have really bad memory!) and reflections. Upon reading Loti's post, I am just even more inspired to write .... so here goes ... a draft ... which prolly will remain so ... :PJanuaryA brand new year, brand new job. Into the job for 1 month and still grappling with the culture and all.My first blood donation. Read in the papers that supply is dwindling fast, especially during the CNY period and blood bank is appealing to all (those applicable) to donate. I remembered going there during one of my lunch hour, very rush and had to keep hurrying the nurse to finish up as I had to go back to work. :PChinese New Year. My favourite time of the year. Nope, not for the ang baos & definitely not for the visiting! Just enjoyed the festivity of it all and of course the feasting! YUMZ!! Love my pastries ... tarts ! :P But funny, i'm one who loves the crust and not the filling (think pineapple tarts, i like the crust with just a bit of the pineapple filling, not too overwhelming) ... and the loveletters! *drool*February
Went Phuket for my department retreat. First time in Phuket and did a lot of shopping there. Quite fun. Enjoyable time.
Was too lazy to go to the gym the entire month and my last run was on CNY's eve, so decided to re-start my running. Went into SGRunners forum and found that they have a weekly CBD run, just right near to my workplace! Ok, no reason not to join the run so thick-skinly asked to join the run on 28th Feb 2006. (I just went to the forum to check when was the first run I joined and found to my surprise that when I first post in the CBD run thread, we were at page 19 and how we have grown! We are now at page 280!!)
Still remembered my apprehension about going for the run on 28th Feb, I was in such a dilemma. I'm not a sociable person, I surely do not know how to mingle in a crowd full of strangers!! How ? Shall I or shall I NOT go ?? I was 2 minds about it even at 6+pm, deciding whether to change and get down to meet the runners. Thankfully good friend Allan was online and encouraged me to just go for it. Oh boy am I GLAD I went down for the run!!! I met a bunch of very friendly and wonderful people and as the saying goes, the rest is history :)
I have pretty vivid memories about my first CBD run. I went down in my running attire and just my staff pass in hand. As I was crossing the road I saw a fellow runner going towards the CBD gathering point. It was only later that I found out that was Philip. Got to the starting point and I introduced myself to the group of runners (can't remember who liao). All seemed harmless hehe .. Trying to recall who I met that day ... Tiwazz, Charlotte, Meteor, Ronnie (?), Philip, Nemo (now known as Loneshark), Realrunner, Kops (now known as tigger), megahunk IMD.
Charlotte and Meteor were really nice and friendly, both chatting with me before the run and making me feel at ease. My first impression of the group was that everyone had known one another for ages so was really surprised when I found out several runs later that some only joined not long before me. Its this camaraderie that really attracted me. And of course, everyone being life-time members of the k3 (kek kek klub) all reassured me that they run VERY slowly and that I need not worry. When the run proceeded, everyone (including charlotte!! -_-") just zoomed off leaving me biting the dust. But of course, Meteor and Tiwazz were really really kind to keep me company throughout the run, until the very last leg of the run (when I was already near-collapse) when Meteor decided to sprint ahead with Philip. I was about to give up but the ever patient Tiwazz took over and accompanied me all the way back to the starting point. I was REALLY embarrassed about being so slow and slowing Tiwazz down but he was very gallant and kind about it and wouldn't hear any of my apologies. What an angel.
While stretching and cooling down, Kops who was there to act as jaga for our bags, gave us nice cold 100+ to quench our thirst. I remembered feeling very impressed with people like Kops. He wasn't running that night (tapering week for the upcoming marathon that weekend) and hence was there solely to help jaga our bags and even so, he bought us 100+! I was thinking to myself, wow! this bunch of people is fantastic!! I remembered leaving the run feeling very glad that I joined the run and meeting such a fun group of people.
I was still wondering whether to join their subsequent runs (not very nice to keep slowing people down) but was encouraged when I next login to the forum and saw Meteor and Charlotte and the gang warmly welcoming me to join them for subsequent runs. THANKS everyone! Without your urging I think I would have thought twice about going again ...
March
HSP Run - Idea mooted by Nemo (now known as Loneshark). Was a great idea and I jumped on the chance to have more running sessions with the group. Met JT, FBB, Patrick, Mythos there. In our inaugural run, we even have Tiwazz & IMD to grace the event!! And IMD event ran back to the West from Sengkang!!! *faint* Not one familiar with long distance running, my jaw almost dropped when I heard that the megahunk was running home from Sengkang! Sure, I'm a DR but I still know Sengkang to the west is very far lo!!! :P
25th March - Missed the SGRunners organised Sunrise run. Didn't have the guts to try out the 10km route coz I was quite sure I would have ponchet halfway into the run. But I was really really itching to go for such a run coz I think it would be just simply fantastic to be able to run (especially in a group) and to catch the sun rise. Got my dream fulfilled when Tiwazz reassured me that I can do this sunrise run. Boy was he right! We met in Tanjong Pagar MRT in the early Sat morning. I met many of the SGRunners whom I didn't get to see during the CBD runs. Met Alvo, Run3, Taz di di and choon wei for the first time!
end Mar - found some unpleasant truth. Sadness swept me away momentarily but thankfully I have a wonderful friend in Allan who was with me at my darkest hour. THANK YOU so much, Allan (though I know you wouldn't bother to read my blog -_-" hehe) Thanks for being there for me, when I myself didn't know I needed a shoulder to cry on so badly. Eternally grateful. :) And I'm still waiting to meet ur gf! Way overdue liao hor!!! :P
April
23 Apr - West-to-East-Midnight-Run
My longest run ever thus far!!! Again I have to thank Tiwazz for reassuring me about this run. My intent was also to just run as much as I can and then take a cab home when I ponchet. I just found this run too interesting to miss so I just went for it not knowing much what to expect. Met the "westerners" at Jurong Point at midnight. It was indeed a very "massive-scale" operation and I have to kowtow to IMD for organising the run and getting everything together.
The "westerners" met the "northerners" (who ran from Yishun) at Orchard CK Tang and a big group of us chit chatted in the middle of the nite, outside CK Tang and even took a big group photo. In retrospect I wonder how come we were never stopped by the police haha :P
First time meeting Andy, Cfred, Roentgen.
Very proud of myself for hanging in there and running & walking all the way to ECP only finally giving up at the MacDonalds! :P Remembered some candid moments like Charlotte with her 7-11 plastic bag hanging from her elbow while she enjoyed her ice cream. Also remembered her offering me her almond biscuit near ECP when I complained about being hungry, and Roentgen stopping to wait for us gals while we enjoyed our biscuits & drinks :P
Met the towering figure Sotong at ECP while we were having breakfast. Had a very enjoyable time.
Interval Training at HSP - Nope, I did no such thing. It was a day after the JP Morgan Chase run. So I joined the HSP gang. While they did their intervals (patiently guided by Patrick), I merely ran a few laps. That night, I met Teelee & Shutehelup for the very first time. Also saw Taz running bare footed on the track. I was thinking this guy is nuts lo :P well, I wasn't very far off since he signs off as InsaneT@Z :P
May
First outing with SGRunners where the objective isn't to run! Celebrated JT's birthday with some of the runners and even Choon Wei turned up!
12 May - Vesak Day Sentosa Run. Another memorable run!! This is a run that almost didn't happen! It was pouring close to 5pm and the group of us were online discussing whether to call off (albeit reluctantly) the run. Just as we had called off the run, the sky cleared and we immediately sprung into action. Everyone was informed to meet at said time and off we went. My first time running into Sentosa, it was really fun and I remembered one part of the trail was pretty dark and I had to use my dopod as a torch light. Still remembered poor teelee who forgot to bring his running shoes and only found out when we were halfway to the meeting point. Could see the disappointment in his face .. poor fellow ...but he learnt his lesson and his TLV always have a pair of running shoes now hehe
Injured my leg (shin) and had to stop running....
X-Men - Went to Great World City to watch X-Men with a big group of the SGRunners. We later proceeded to Suntec for shopping and ended the fun day with B&J ice cream! YUMZ! Also had a chance to chit chat with the young boys like Cokie.
June
Resumed running on 10 June with the HSP gang accompanying me on a short run. I felt very blessed to have these wonderful runners keeping me company on my recovery run after one month's hiatus. This run also marks the very first post on my public blog...
By now the CBD runs have attracted a pretty big group. Lots of BD celebrations it seemed.
During CBD run, we celebrated Tiwazz's BD. The following week, we celebrated Roentgen's & IMD's bd. Both of them shared the same birth date (not the same year though).
I remembered at one point the CBD group totalled about 30-40 runners! Its HUGE!!!
SGRunners 1st Anniversary !! I am honoured to be part of this meaningful event. Had loads of fun running around ECP with Andy as my partner. Was a very memorable event and feel very happy to be part of this one big happy SGRunners family. To many more great years ahead, SGRunners!
Charity Fund Raising for HWA - The idea to raise funds for charity was mooted by Aichai. Roentgen & Aichai spoke about it and decided to rope in a few of us CBD runners. I gladly joined in as I have been wanting to contribute & volunteer my time for the longest time ever. After getting a few interested parties involved, we kicked off the charity drive on 21 June 2006, by having a meeting at this very exclusive place *sweat buckets*
Next half coming up ...
Wow!! I'm soooo beaming right now because I just found a very interesting shop!!!I arranged to have dinner with my brother tonight. We settled on our usual sibling dinner place somewhere in Upper Thomson. Got there quite early and for once we could not find a parking lot right outside the restaurant!! So while driving around the estate to find alternative parking space, we passed by this small stretch of shophouses and lo and behold found Awfully Chocolate! Needless to say I was surprised to spot this shop in such a nondescript place, but what caught my attention was not Awfully Chocolate but this very bright confectionary 2 shops away.
The place was buzzing with activity with many people hurtling around shopping for bread. I was very attracted to the traditional-looking shop front (seriously, I don't see many of such traditional looking confectionaries amidst our neighbourhood now) and excitedly went on to check out the place right after we parked the car.
There were trays of buns lined up neatly outside the shop and people were just buying these fresh from the oven buns. These are the traditional, simple looking buns that we used to see in those neighbourhood confectionaries. No fanciful names, no frills nor elaborate decor on the bread. Just plain, simple looking loti. Apart from the few sesame seed sprinkled on the outer layer of the bun to denote tau sar bun, the rest of the buns look almost alike.
As our stomachs were calling out for some nice warm dinner, we proceeded to have our dinner, agreeing that we would return after dinner to buy some of the bread. So right after our simple dinner, we gamely returned to the shop and started picking out bread that we wanted to try. For the buns, they have the various fillings such as tau sar, coffee, chocolate, butter, curry, coconut, peanut, kaya, hot dog & otah. Apart from the traditional white bread, they also have raisin and mini loaves. We were standing around marvelling at all the different types of buns and bread that they have, and having sooo much difficulty deciding what to buy. I guessed we must have looked like two sua-kus, yakking away excitedly and animately coz one of the store helpers (or owners), who was cutting the loaves of raisin bread (shaving off the sides of the bread and packing these shaved sides into small little bags) gave us one bag of the bread. Another one of them presented one tray full of bread pieces of varying shapes & sizes and asked us to try. We gladly took a piece each to sample.
Among the 2 of us, we bought 2 bags full of bread : chocolate, butter, tau sar x2, curry, peanut buns, 1 small baguette and 1 loaf of mini bread. The store helper / owner charged us a total of ....... $5 and threw in 2 raisin bread FOC! Wow!!!! All that bread for just $5?!?! UNBELIEVABLE! and not to forget how we got to sample their bread and even got free raisin breads. Simply LOVE this shop!
The people there were all very friendly. The shop is huge too. The back of the shop is used for the baking and we saw many guys kneading and moulding away at the loads of dough. This is what I call traditional hand-made bread! Oh, and did I mention that they were blaring their speakers with hokkien music ? :P though a little noisy especially to those who dislike hokkien music, I have to admit it injects a little life into the otherwise very dead neighbourhood :P One last surprising thing. Have you ever heard of a confectionary that closed at 5am ? Well, not me lor (ok, call me suaku again) ! Yes, this shop closes at 5am! Amazing isn't it ? So the next time when I'm out late and feeling hungry, I know where to go to get some comfort food like traditional hand-made loti!The 2 of us tried the loti on our way home (yes, on top of our already very satisfying dinner!) and we were very impressed with the softness of the bread and how yummy they taste! Oh, this shop is such a gem!! I believe I will be going back there more often now to replenish my loti supply !! No more Gardenia Raisin Bread for now.... I've found my new love!! :)I'm still beaming ear to ear from my this treasure find .... I'm gonna sleep like a baby tonite :)LotiCrazeJazzy
After 24 hours of rain, woke up to a super cool and refreshing morning. As like any other wed morning, made my way to CGH for my physio session. Already mentally prepared to tell my physio that I will give this physio session a break next week and probably re-start the week after (as I'll be on leave anyway).Wanted to go earlier so that I can have a proper workout (40mins on the elliptical trainer) but got out of the house late as I was chatting with my family. Only managed to do 20 mins on the trainer before my number was called. Went in to see the physio, she apologised that they (she consulted her senior as well) could not find the root cause of my pain. That they couldn't determine where my problem was and all they can do for me now is via the method of elimination - i.e. to eliminate which part of my leg could be the cause (via taping). She said that it would be a very long process just to eliminate one by one the possible cause and we just have to be patient .... -_-"She started me off my stretching. Plan was to tape one part of my leg then start me on running after my stretching. While I was doing my stretching, she came to me saying that she just spoke to my doc and doc said since I'm not having any pain right now, to let it rest first. So no taping, no running for now.... come back again when I'm rested enough and ready to try a run (which is about 3 weeks from now)So for now, just continue with my elliptical training, my stretching (she said my calf is still very very tight! she spent quite a while just massaging my calf today - yipppeee!) and to return to see her 2nd week of Jan.Wow! I got more than I bargained for! Was getting very sian of going physio every week and not seeing results. Just when I'm about to give up Heavens give me a reprieve haha ... but yeah, sadly, still can't run. I think I will be a good patient, be patient too, and not run for now. Geez, by Jan, it would mean I have laid off running for 3 months!!! Its crazy !!!! :(Anyway, so I guess I better rely on myself for now ... do my elliptical, start my swim lessons (once I find an instructor) and do my stretching EVERYDAY ...
What a wet Tuesday morning ... Almost had difficulty getting to work (how I wish I could snuggle in bed and not be at work! :P) As I walked my usual route up the mrt station to my office building, I was transported back to one year ago in December where it was also pouring when I made my way to work. It was my first few days in the new workplace then and everything was still unfamiliar ... as I think back then .. and now ... I smiled. Coz this year has been so much more wonderful in so many ways ... and as I returned to the present moment, I don't see a dreary wet Tuesday morning. Rather, I feel that the cool weather helps make the xmas season more apparent. We don't get snow, we don't get to wear thick winter clothes, gloves to warm our hands but we at least get the rain to cool this tropical island down and make us feel a little more xmassy as we put on our jackets and shawls :)
I was smiling to myself as I walked into the building and was greeted by the beautifully decorated xmas tree standing right beside the escalator, the xmassy mood just really strikes me. Hey! We are 6 days away from xmas. Although I don't celebrate xmas its still something to look forward to. No, I'm not looking fwd to presents (i don't pine for xmas presents at all), I'm looking fwd to just the holiday break, the xmas festivity, the mood, the hanging out with kakis, the nice warm company, the generally relaxed mood around as everyone gets into the mood for giving and loving. And as I read my horoscope today that reads (nope, not that I believe in them but its one of those silly habits that I picked up - just like reading the comics each day :P): It's time to pack up your troubles and get happy. Your luck has just taken a spectacular turn for the better. Now you can gleefully put away any lingering problems that have been on your mind for far too long.
let's be happy and countdown to xmas! Awww .. what a wonderful time of the year...XmassyJazzy
Spent my Saturday at the gym, then studying a bit before meeting up with the rest for our much anticipated Xmas with Corrinne May concert at Esplanade.The 4 roses (JT, Loti, Divey & yours truly) & 1 thorn (hehe, Roentgen) had previously arranged to meet up for an early dinner at Outback. I've been raving about Outback (their chunky fries!) and hence the gang decided to go there for dinner before the concert. As the concert starts at 7:30pm, we foodies met up at 5:30pm so that we have ample time to savour the food (instead of woofing it down :P) and take a stroll to Esplanade.Wow, everyone was dressed very nicely for the concert. Roentgen was in a multi-striped (hmm, forgot to test whether he can discern the different colors of the stripes ... great way to confirm ONCE AND FOR ALL that he is indeed color challenged*evil luff*) blue shirt & pants. Very smart !!! *clap clap*. The gals fared even better! My very FIRST time seeing JT in a dress! She looks simply RAVISHING in that dress, hair blown neatly in place. SHWEE! Loti is in her LBD and eye-catching accessories (which somehow remind some very unHIP among us to associate those beads on her necklaces as hard candies -_-"). Divey is in her hip smart cheong wear. In her flattering top & jeans and heels to match, she looks all set for a cool nite out. HAPPENING!! Very seldom get to see everyone dressed not in their normal work wear or running attire, a pity that no pictures to remember this beautiful sight by! *bang head*Ok, back to the serious stuff. Food! As the servings at Outback is pretty generous, I suggested that the group (made up mainly of nibblers except myself and Roentgen) ordered appetisers & mains to share. Ended up we only ordered one main (Fresh catch of the day which happened to be Dory Fish), 2 salads (Chicken Queenland Salad & Caesar Salad), Bushman shrooms (deep fried mushrooms) & a dessert (Chocolate Thunder from Down Under). They also served complimentary bread and I have to say all the dishes, including the bread are nice. The dessert brownie was a tad too soft but well, I'm not too picky when it comes to dessert :P
After a hearty meal, we all took a quick walk through Marina Square to Esplanade. I love the xmas decor in the Marina Square atrium. Their color theme was this very beautiful purple - my fav color! They have loads of purple balls of varying sizes on strings illuminated by bulbs hanging beautifully from the ceiling. The place looks so dream-like, very beautiful!! Too bad we were in a hurry and I couldn't stay longer just to admire the sights.
We got to Esplanade and settled down comfortably. The concert started promptly at 7:30pm and Corrinne May walked confidently up the stage in this gorgeous evening gown. When she started singing, I was just in awe of her beautiful voice. Powerful, slightly low at times. As this is a xmas special, so naturally most of her songs were xmas carols from her recently released xmas album - The Gift. This is my first Corrinne May concert, so I didn't know what to expect. But from the projection screen showing her face up close, it seemed that she is very at ease performing and the way she played her piano, I can almost feel her joy in performing, in playing the piano, in singing the songs that she believes in. Very good feeling really. She interspersed her songs with a few xmas stories of her own, which unfortunately is pretty flat IMHO :P Almost the -_-" feeling but ok lah ... good try, better luck next time :P
According to Roentgen who has been to her other concerts (what a strong supporter eh!), this was the first time Corrinne has ever sat right in front of the audience to belt out a few songs (sans the piano / guitar). Previously she would always be sort of hiding behind one of those instruments. But I didn't sense any of that discomfort or uneasiness in this concert (though I have no basis for comparison) and she carried herself very well!
We were very very fortunate to also get to hear a few of her new songs! One of which (5 loaves & 2 fishes - that's the title i tink? :P) was about how we each have our own strengths and can contribute no matter how insignificant we thought it is. She gave an analogy about how she has the talent in piano, but she sucked in math. Key is to find our strength, everyone has their own strengths. I'm so waiting for her new album to be out ...
I went to the concert thinking that I will definitely be able to hear Corrinne sing Flyaway, but was disappointed. Ah well, I guess this being a xmas concert, she wouldn't want to be belting out sad songs which is obviously not in keeping to the theme :P And being a non-Christian, and not one who celebrates xmas, I have to admit I'm not particularly touched by those xmas carols except for this one - The Answer. The song started with the piano playing and somehow I just felt very touched by the simplicity of the music and the lyrics... which goes like this
I belive You are the answer to every tear I've criedI believe that You are with me / My rising and my lightGive me strength when I am weary / Give me hope when I can't seeThrough the crosses I must carry / Lord, bind my heart to theeThat when all my days are over / and all my chores are doneI may see Your risen Glory / forever where You are
Her voice calms me and for that 110++ mins, I just feel very safe and almost serene. Though she wouldn't get to read this, but still .. Thanks Corrinne! :)Apart from Corrinne's gift in playing the piano and also her very beautiful voice (what a gifted woman!), I noticed her consideration and appreciation of the people and crew around her. She introduced her band one-by-one, remembering each and every of their names. Wow! I didn't know whether this is the norm of all performing artistes but I sure would feel nice if I'm remembered like this. It just shows at least I'm appreciated ? And at the end of the concert she also thanked all of the crew that made the concert possible (from the CEO of Esplande Mr Benson Puah to the sounds and lighting crew). I could also see how she admired her hubby's talent (he played the keyboard/piano too) and appreciated all that he did for her (he put the whole concert together). When the hubby was playing the piano, she just let him shine and gave him the attention. Its very heart warming to see this husband and wife duo on stage. With the hubby quietly supporting and guiding the wife/concert while the wife showed her appreciation in her little ways. So sweet ... but of course, this is just my own ideal interpretation of my observation, for all I know backstage they are constantly strangling each other or screaming their heads off :PWhile listening to the concert, I told myself all 5 of us must take a group pic outside the concert hall to mark this very special nite. But alas!! Guess the buzz outside the hall made me forget everything and we didn't have a picture to remember this night by!!! *CRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY*After the concert, we headed to this place in Owen Road that Divey knows about. Didn't know what I was getting myself into (basically misplaced my trust !!!) when I agreed to go to wherever they have suggested. It was only when they started laughing that I knew I had gotten myself into a trap, one that I couldn't wriggle myself out of. The place, right smack in Serangoon, thankfully was closed for a private function when we got there. I was all too happy to get out of the place and after some suggestions thrown by the rest of the gals (geez, these gals are way HAPPENING! they sure know where the watering holes are! I felt sooo sua ku lor :P) we ended up at Robertson Walk. Finally found The Chocolate Factory that Loti talked about. Sadly it was already closed for the evening, but the place looks really interesting (and the ang mo chef/waiter or whoever looks simply delicious too!!! haha) and we will definitely check this place out soon! The gals took us to Cafe Iguana for their famous margaritas. The place was crowded but not packed and we got ourselves a seat. It was pretty nice hang-out place, not smoky as the entire place was open, no blaring music and pretty clean and decent (geez, I sound like an ah soh hor??? cannot cannot, I must learn to be more HIP hehe). I was trying to decide WHICH margarita to order as they have one whole page of their menu dedicated to this drink. With different concoctions I suppose. A check with the HIP gals who had been here drew a blank too and not knowing what to order i delegated this important responsibility of ordering to the HIP ones and just sat back to relax. We ended with the safe choice of House Margarita (mango) and 7-up for our "bus driver" (Roentgen). They also ordered some finger foods (nachos & calamari) which unfortunately weren't any good. I really really have lost touch in drinking as I could feel the effect with just one little cup of margarita (and I don't even feel that it is strong!!). So disappointed that I cannot even hold my liquor now ... boo hooo. So amid the drinks and food, we chit chatted some more. About the nearing of yet another year, how we feel about the new year, about whether we use diaries and how we use them (haha) and anything else under the sunmoon. We left the place right at midnight (like Cinderellas hor? :P) and went home thanks to the bus driver who sent most of us home.Thanks to everyone for the wonderful company!
Wow ..... this place looks super chic!!!
But it looks super high class too :P
Found this website on Happiness.. Hmmm ... quite interesting :)
PS Cafe .... So nice rite ???? I want to go!!! :P
Me looking for swimming coach.Requirements:- Preferably female
- Patient - I'm a slow learner and the last thing I need is someone who gets impatient with me or yells at me
- Non-Competitive - I'm learning a skill, not training for an event. So don't stress me out with training schedules pls
Simple requirements right ? So if you know of anyone, pls let me know.Thanks in advance :)
This Saturday, HWA is having a Year End Party!Unfortunately I will be unable to attend as I have bought tickets to a concert long time back. In any case, if any of you is interested, pls see here for details.
Too sian to write an account for my physio session #6.In short, doctor asked me to lay off for another 3, preferably 4 weeks before I try to run.When I run, will be to start with a 1.2km run followed by 1.2km briskwalk on the treadmill. Physiotherapists (both Derek and my original one) spent time analysing my running gait and couldn't find anything particularly wrong. Both are baffled by my condition. Original physio said she needs to think about my condition more. I got off the physio without having to do any of those silly balancing acts or strengthening exercises. That, to me, is the BEST thing that happened for my physio session #6 :PEvery week I feel like giving up going back to CGH, but every week I dragged myself there, telling myself "Maybe, today is the day I can see some light at the end of the tunnel". I just don't believe that I've already rested for almost 2 months and I'm still not well! Find that totally unacceptable. Is this a waste of my time (and annual leave) ? I'm really tempted to give up...Let's see whether I go for physio session #7....
People will forget what you said,people will forget what you did,but people will never forget how you made them feel.Maya Angelou
"
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
–
Albert Einstein
"
Never apologize for showing feeling. When you do so, you apologize for truth."
–
Benjamin Disraeli
Wooooo Hoooooooo!!!! HWA finally has its online donation portal - one that allows donors to donate via the Internet using credit card, internet banking or eNETS Virtual account.I'm so happy that HWA got this up! We suggested this option to them during one of our initial meetings with HWA and they accepted the idea and saw it to fruition! Well done HWA!To donate, click Donation from here and select Online Donation.:)
So the 4 of us got to Jaggis before 7. While walking to the restaurant, we passed by MANY restaurants along the way. Most of them were nicely & cosily decorated. We passed by The Banana Leaf Apollo and it was packed! Jaggis on the other hand was pretty empty. When we entered, there were only an indian and a chinese couple. I left the ordering of the food to the rest of the foodies while I snapped several pictures & took in the restaurant's environment. Its a simply & minimally decorated restaurant (think functional) with none of the frills I saw in the rest of those more upmarket looking restaurants.
As I don't normally eat Indian food (except for roti prata), most of the food dishes were new to me. I have to say the food is pretty alright and I even tried their yoghurt drink. Not bad at all!!
