Silly Tots...

Have you ever had some silly tots which logically and rationally you know it is silly to execute or even if u execute the results may not be satisfactory, but u just have this nagging thought and you just need to try it ?

Well, somehow I did.

Silly Tot 1
Last Sunday, I needed a swim since I haven’t really swam for 1 week for you-know-why. Since mom was at sis place, I wanted to spend time at home rather than go to the gym for my swim and practically spend a few hours travelling to and fro the gym. So decided to check out the public pool near my place at 8am (according to the website it opens at 8am) to beat the crowd. The last time I visited the pool was I think 2 years ago on a Sat. The place was soooo packed with people that my friend and I ended up yakking instead of swimming. So this time I told myself to be prepared for a similar experience, and even if it turned out to be indeed packed, I wouldn’t gripe that I have wasted my time because I would have experienced for myself and I wouldn’t even consider swimming at the public pool on the weekends in future.

True enough, when I got there, the pool was already super crowded!! -_-“ (Apparently the competitive pool opens at 6:30am on Mon, Wed, Fri & Sun) I decided to just try my luck and started swimming. They have split the pool into 3, with the middle lane dedicated for “continuous lap swimming”. Of course, I stuck to the left-most lane and did my breast-stroke. Don’t even dare attempt freestyle since I’m unfamiliar with the pool and I might just bum`p into on-coming “traffic”. Shortly after, this hunk of an instructor came with 2 kids and the kids started swimming. One of them was practicing her backstroke so I had to try my best to get out of her way. At one point I had to duck under the water with another man while the 2 kids swam towards us oblivious to their surrounding. Close shave! I tot ok, this is way too challenging for me … I might just drown! :P

Was already losing the determination to continue when I saw this pack of kids (mainly boys) jumping in to start their class -_-“ Haiz. … really don’t wish to vie with all these people for the use of the pool, its just so not worth the effort and since I’m a weak swimmer, I better get out of harm’s way.

So, in all, I managed a pathetic 20 mins and left. But ok lah, I reminded myself not to get frustrated coz I was prepared for the outcome and also at least now I KNOW I shouldn’t even bother hitting the public pool on a weekend :P

Silly Tot 2
Somehow recently, I’ve been entertaining this crazy idea to go for a lunchtime jog. I have absolutely NO idea why but the tot just kept popping into my head. So I planned for it and on Tues lunch time, I decided to just heck and hit the road though inside me I was really apprehensive (“so hot!!! Am I nuts?!?!?!”, "how to run?!?!", "will I faint?!").

The sun was out and I was like thinking people must be thinking I’m CRAZY!

I just ran the usual CBD route that I was familiar with. The route I used to run on Tues nite last year before I got injured. Wah, the place is now so messy, so many construction going on, I wonder how the sgrunners run that route every tues night! So dark! So dangerous lor !!!

10 mins into the run I was so regretting the run. I was tired, I was breathless. Some guy nodded & waved at me politely as he overtook me and trotted along effortlessly. I was trying to keep pace with him until he turned to take a different route while I carried on straight towards the pier. It took me so darn long to get to the marina pier where I took some water from the tap, rested a while before continuing the journey back, wondering how on earth I’m gonna return to my office in one piece.

I contemplated taking the short route back to CBD (i.e. going straight instead of turning right to the Superbowl Golf & Country Club at the first junction out of marina pier) but decided not to short-change myself. As I passed the country club, noticed this little banner outside that said “City Prawning & Fishing 24 hours”. Didn’t know they have that in marina, so next time if nothing better to do in the middle of the night can consider going there ? haha .. super bo liao

I was so tired from the heat (that could be just an excuse ?) or my inability to run that I ended up walking many times, at some parts I ran for 1+ mins only to be forced to walk as my legs were just so heavy and I was so breathless. Feeling defeated, I struggled the rest of my way back running and walking.

Along the way I met many other crazy people like me ... in fact ...
3 CRAZY ang mos ...
2 CRAZY Chinese ...
and 1 CRAZY Indian

all starting their run. And judging from the way they were running, seems like they do that quite often ??

When I reached my office tower, I was just sooo relieved that my ordeal was over. I didn’t even manage an hour run, it was a run walk of 50mins. But enough is enough … I think I have had the experience of being crazy. Will I do that again ? Ehm, let’s see when I start to go crazy again :P

Interview with Michelle Chia

Read about actress-host Michelle Chia in the papers today. I like her … gorgeous, jovial and very bubbly on TV. So was very keen to read about her in "the monday interview".

Was surprised to find that we have many things in common (in terms of our attitude lah, not looks definitely -_-").

Snippets from the interview that just described me to a T!

"genuinely not interested in socializing, let alone playing politics." - that's me for sure.

"some artists will fight for their chances. Not her. She works very hard but she won’t cut queues, act smart or go through the back door to get her hands on certain programmes" - again me. I remembered working my butt off and not getting any recognition. Someone then told me to work smart (find visible projects to do) and not hard. So as I age, i get more jaded. There is NO point in studying hard and getting sterling results (not that my academic performance is anything to rave about). A lot depends on luck, timing, network, aptitude and many more .. and most of them do not depends on ur academic excellence.

"sometimes, I do tell her it doesn’t hurt to stay a while longer to talk to people. But she won’t do it unless she’s required to. It’s always straight back home after work for her" - Bingo! Me again. I'm the one that dreads all those silly department outings, lunches & retreats. See lah, this kind of attitude and character, no wonder cannot be noticed ... forever the worker :P

this is what she said of herself which sounds like she is describing me ... "I’m the kind of person where, if you give me something, I’ll make the best out of it. But if I’m not given something, I won’t stretch out my hands to take it" – That’s just so me. Perhaps overly laid-back ? Or perhaps just our personality? Something like "locus of control" which i learnt back in school. Its a concept in psychology where some people think that external factors play a part in determining what happens to them while others think that everything can be controlled with their own bare hands. I’m definitely the former. Some people also call people like us the opposite of go-getters. I guess that’s also me … and perhaps that’s why I can’t be whining that I’m still bumming at my age and not achieve anything worth mentioning ? Its in a way my own doing ?

and the very last thing that she said "I don’t have enemies but I’m not the most popular person. I’m always the last to know about things, so people never come to me for gossip because I have nothing to gossip about". Wah!!! That’s just so me lor! This is true whether at work or in personal life. At work, I don’t mix with my colleagues. There is no bad blood, I smile when I meet them. I don't think they dislike me, but basically I just don't make any impression. I make minimal, obligatory small-talk when I'm in a confined area with them (e.g at the lift-lobby or in the lifts (which I hate!!!)) but I just dun like to mingle with colleagues. Full-stop. Somehow I just don’t feel comfy.

Haiya, so much in common in character, but why no similarities in the physical attributes ah ??? hahahhaha :P

Home Cook Dinner

Went grocery shopping @ Sheng Siong today .... Look at the extent of the kind of stuff they sell ... even live fishes! Very elaborate hor ?

This is stingray ... almost bought this .... but since kids wouldn't appreciate spicy sambal stingray, so decided against buying ...

They sell all sorts of vegetables ... we naturally grabbed many bags of these so that mom can cook me some yummy vegetables for dinner *beaming* :)






And the long awaited dinner .... seldom get to eat home cooked food now ... so really treasure the yummy food sis & mom prepared .... thanks mamee & chei chei !!! :D
sis even tried her hand at making the red bean pancake .... the skin turned out to be a tad soft and rubbery instead of the crispy on the outside, rubbery on the inside ... but its still good enough for us all! Especially when its home made :)

me is one happy and contented daughter & sister this weekend .. lalala :)

Penang Trip 9-11 Mar

Photo Collages

I realised I have been randomly snapping pictures more regularly nowadays. Pictures of anything and everything ... from the sky to the food to the stuff that amuses me ....

So many of these pictures but nothing that really made me want to blog about ... so the images continue to accumulate without so much of a mention. Rather than wasting the space and also not recording the thoughts that went through my head when I took whatever I took, decided to just make them into collages. At least I have a memory of these pics, without having to spend too much time blogging about it ...

Thanks to Bala who patiently taught me how to do photo collages. So patient I wonder why IT Helpdesk support isn't this good!!

So finally made a collage of my no-longer-so-recent trip to Penang....

Once again, thanks Bala! :)

Family Day

I had an enjoyable day with mom today. Brought mom out for dim sum lunch at Wah Lok (Yes!!! Finally got to try Wah Lok after hearing about it for sooooo long!). After the hearty lunch which left us stuffed and satisfied, we went shopping to work off the thousands of calories we piled on ... brought mom to Raffles City, showed her the never-ending queue for donuts at the RC basement and showed her The Soup Spoon where I sometimes go for lunch alone ... mom even helped me pick out some nice accessories. Seldom get to do such girly stuff with mom, feels good :)

Original intent to go for a swim in the afternoon slowly faded away (yes, laziness and coupled with wanting to spend some time with the family) and decided to join mom and sis family at the Ponggol Park for niece's school performance.

There was a heavy downpour in the mid-afternoon. Thankfully the sky cleared up and the sun was back in full blast right before the event started. While waiting for the performance to start, I roamed in the park and saw many grown men engrossed with their radio controllers. So what are they controlling ? ....

......
.....

They were playing with their miniature sailing boats. Quite nice to see all these little boats moving slowly in the waters while their "captains" steer them around a blue little buoy. But seriously, after a few minutes, I dunno what's the deal with this. How difficult is it to control the boat ? Issit that fun ? Imagine these men were there right before I was at the park, and were still there an hour later after the school performance ... *yawn* So fun meh ?

Though hot, it was actually a very beautiful day ... clear blue sky, all the trees and shrubs, too bad the temperature is hot. If only we had nice cool weather, it would be perfect.






After that brought the family to Hooked on Heads for dinner since they had no ideas where to eat. Bill came up to $73+++ for just 4 adults 2 kids. Just a little cheaper than last week when 9 of us paid just $88++ (and we ordered more then!). But prolly coz we ordered a fish, and drinks ... jack up the price. But I finally get to try their dessert. Their sticky rice with mango is yummy!

My sis loved the bread I bought previously from this traditional bakery shop called Singapura Bakery in Thomson. She was disappointed when she went this afternoon only to find the shop closed. I told her the shop should be opened at night and since it was along the way, we decided to check it out, and also to show mom this really interesting, atypical bakery shop. When we got there, the place was packed and in usual fashion, they were blasting ..... CNY music!!! Hahaha ... needless to say we grabbed many kinds (peanut, red bean, white lotus, raisin, choc chip, hot-dog) of loti, in fact more than we need :P One of the helpers came out with a tray of butter & sugar coated loti for all the customers to sample .... they were all so upbeat and alive and were joking with the customers ... the lively shop was such a stark contrast to the almost dead neighbourhood ...

What a traditional bakery! The people behind were busy baking and they were dishing out fresh-from-the-oven loti to sell! Those loti we chose were still warm, soft & fresh! Too bad I was stuffed from dinner, else I wouldn't have been able to resist popping the freshly made loti into my mouth! :P

We bought 2 big bags of loti, for just $7.50. Very nice to soak up the happy atmosphere there ... ;)But this time round the uncle never give us any free raisin bread ... think they too busy .. :P(And we were in for a pleasant surprise when sis found during breakfast the following morning that they had threw in 2 raisin bread free). So nice! :P

Satisfied day ... and an extremely satisfied tummy *rubs tummy happily* ... I can see cholestrol level hitting the roof :P

BuiBuiJazzy

Seletar Airbase

Layed off for over a week and decided to go for a trial run this morning ... just to see whether my legs are better.

I dunno about you but I get bored with routines. If I catch myself mentally going through what I'll be doing even before doing the activity, a sense of boredom and dread typically follow. I'll be crippled by this sense of sian-ness and my motivation level drops. This applies to running or gym or just going somewhere. So this morning I was having so much difficulty deciding where to run as I was sian to run the same HSP routes, but was also too lazy to travel all the way to the gym for a run ...

I told myself to vary the route this mrn to keep my spirits up. Promptly put on my sunglasses, cap & ipod and hit the road for a short run. Decided not to run straight up Yio Chu Kang to Ang Mo Kio like what I sometimes do so as to hit my favourable stretch of tree-lined road along Thomson. Instead I decided to revisit Seletar Airbase. Brought back memories of the first time I ran inside there with Teelee & Shut last year. Also the time we passed inside the camp enroute to Sembawang during the LSD to Sembawang. That time running seemed more effortless. Now, I just felt breathless less than 30 mins into the run and I had to slow down to a walk several times just to catch my breath (sigh).

Nice to run inside the camp though. Admiring all the nice colonial one-storey houses. A little like those houses in Dempsey road ... think these are rental houses ? Wonder how much they cost per month ... several thousand dollars ?

Saw another entrance at the other side of the camp, think its the real camp? Don't dare to run near it in case the guards point their rifles at me :P Its times like these I wish I wasn't running alone coz I dunno whether I was trespassing or not :P Of coz kiasi me would rather err on the side of error and u-turned and headed back the way I came from. :P As I left the airbase, I was too tired and had to abort the plan to run the bigger loop passing Sengkang and Ponggol which I originally intended. Instead took the same route back from where I came from ... Had to walk some parts coz was too tired ... even a malay ah pek overtook me at one point ... -_-" but I managed to catch up with him after my walk break to salvage a little of my bruised ego. His following right behind me also powered me to give my all and run the remaining distance back to the starting point at a decent pace ...haha ... thanks pak cik! :P

Total time taken (with walk breaks etc) - 1hr 10 mins
Total distance - I dunno ... <>
Felt some shin in the beginning of the run, and calf pain towards the end ... think its time I go for a deep tissue massage ....

Guess I can't deny that my running must have contributed in large part to my injury since I'm still having pain after so long ... do I really not have the genetic makeup for running? :P

As I was struggling in my run this morning, I was marvelling at how I could have done LSDs to the zoo in the past, or to run most of the way for the AHM 2006. They seem so impossible to me now ... are they a thing of the past for me ?

How to Stay Stuck in the Wrong Career

A friend sent me this Harvard Business Review article written by Herminia Ibarra, hoping that I will find answer to what I want in my career and life.

A very refreshing read ... it makes me feel like I'm not alone in my nagging doubts and my experiences, about my quest in finding my "true self", my taking the plunge only to panic shortly after etc.

According to the study, the problem why we remained stuck in the wrong career, lies not in our fear of change, lack of readiness, unwilling to make sacrifices (which are the common beliefs that many have when they fail to switch career). Rather, it lies with our methods, not our motives.

The writer, based on studies of people in the throes of career change, realised that change involves "Doing first, knowing comes later" and not the typical "plan-and-implement" approach we are all so attuned to.

In the latter, we try to find out about ourselves, what our likes/dislikes, our skills/experiences and exactly where we are going before acting upon it. In the former, we basically learn who we have become, in practice, not in theory. So there is a lot of trial and error, taking the time to explore and find out what suits us, what works for us (this may mean to take up some freelance, pro bono work and try for ourselves whether it truly suits us - and NOT to quit your day job!).

One important thing mentioned is that "Starting out trying to identify one's true self often cause paralysis". How true ... that prolly also explains why I'm still in ground zero. Haiz.

Lastly, there is NO one true self. We are many selves. It could be who we are, what we hope to become or fear becoming. These selves help mold us and decide on our career change.

The article explained about the 3-step to career change. No, its not some 21-day guide to change your career. Its is a careful & practical plan for those planning a career change to think and act according to what many others have done and successfully made the switch. Its gonna take lots of effort and lots of time (perhaps several years) before one can succeed in this ...

Nice read. Thanks Don for sending me this article! :)

Bad Habit

I ...
AM ....
TRYING ....
VERY ....
HARD ....
to
not return to my BAD habit.

Determination is waning .... HELPPPPPPP!!!!

Bad Luck

One colleague told me just today that her mom suffered a fall just over the weekend, and now need an operation. How unfortunate. One could be healthy and walking one moment, and the next ... The colleague's mother was actually at home, after returning from lunch with her children. She was doing some housework when she fell. Probably her age (actually not very old, just 60-ish) contributed to the seriousness of the fall. Was talking to colleague about medical bills and she said the operation will again set them back by few tens of thousands of dollars (the mom went for some other operation last year). Thankfully she has filial kids who would pool $$ together to pay for the medical fees. Imagine many other families who couldn't afford the $$ ..

Of course my mind started wondering about what will happen to me when I grow old. Really reminded me to plan & save for old age. There are always articles in the papers about retirement planning, about saving up for your medical bills in future etc. Just yesterday the papers (Invest Section) was talking about wholelife & term insurance. I always feel more depressed just reading and thinking about all these, coz I just felt so ill prepared ... am I sufficiently covered ? Do I have adequate $$ to feed myself when I'm old and jobless ? I always know I need to get my act together financially but I just dunno where to start. Was just talking to my financial planner recently, its true that as we age, the number of stressors in our lives increase .. we have so many more worries ... at one stage we were even comparing the amount of white hair we both have .. haha ...

Was online in the evening and learnt from Bee that she had a fall also over the weekend, and blacked-out. She got scratches on many parts of her body and even had some stitches near to her left eye. Was shocked to hear about her fall and we were just glad that there weren't anything major, mostly superficial cuts and stuff. Wishing her a speedy recovery!!

Envy

Anyone read Sumiko Tan's article in yesterday's Lifestyle section ?

I got a shock when I started reading the article. Was she reading my mind ??? How come we share the same worries ? emotions ??

This isn't the first time I could totally relate to her articles .. and while I just sit around moping and worrying about my future (or the lack of it), about my possibility to end up just collecting tin cans at old age etc, Sumiko is able to clearly articulate her thoughts ... I'm just in awe .. and more so coz we shared the same sentiments!

Anyone of you read the article and felt like us ?

一個人的行李

A friend must be sensing my recent frustrations and thought that this song is very suitable for me. Indeed, it does speaks a bit of how I feel ... Thanks, Jik:)!

戴佩妮 一個人的行李

作詞：Penny 作曲：Penny


心情好or心情壞 有什麼好假裝
反正天若真的塌下來 我自己扛

天氣好or天氣壞 有什麼好緊張
反正下一秒鐘的我 開始 開始流浪

我要一個人去東京鐵塔看夜景
我要一個人去威尼斯看電影
我要一個人去陽明山上看海芋 拍偶像劇

我要一個人去紐約純粹看雪景
我要一個人去巴黎喝咖啡寫信
我要一個人的旅行 一個人透透氣

向右轉or向左拐 有什麼不一樣
反正每一條未知的路 都有未來

我和誰在談戀愛 有什麼大驚小怪
反正下一秒鐘的我 早已 早已離開

我要一個人在希臘夢見蘇格拉底
我要一個人的通宵看完魯迅的背影
我要一個人呆呆的在浴缸裡 思考阮玲玉

我要一個人的北京探望孟姜女
我要一個人的書局和志摩談情
我要一個人的旅行 一個人徹底

心情好or心情壞 有什麼好假裝
一個人的旅行 一個人的行李
一個人的旅行 一個人的空氣
一個人的旅行 一個人到底

一個人的旅行 一個人的行李
一個人的旅行 一個人的空氣
一個人的旅行 一個人到底

有一個人在森林中漫遊的時候，
突然遇見了一隻飢餓的老虎，
老虎大吼一聲就撲了上來。
他立刻用生平最大的力氣和最快的速度逃開，
但是老虎緊追不捨，
他一直跑一直跑一直跑，
最後被老虎逼入了斷崖邊上。
站在懸崖邊上，他想：
「與其被老虎捉到，活活被咬、肢解，
還不如跳入懸崖，說不定還有一線生機。」

他縱身跳入懸崖，
非常幸運的卡在一棵樹上，
那是長在斷崖邊的梅樹，
樹上結滿了梅子。

正在慶幸的時候，
他聽到斷崖深處傳來巨大的吼聲，
往崖底望去，原來有一只兇猛的獅子正抬頭看著他，
獅子的聲音使他心顫，
但轉念一想：
「獅子與老虎是相同的猛獸，被甚麼吃掉，都是一樣的。」

當他一放下心，
又聽見了一陣聲音，
仔細一看，一黑一白的兩隻老鼠，
正用力地咬著梅樹的樹幹。
他先是一陣驚慌，
立刻又放心了，
他想：「被老鼠咬斷樹幹跌死，總比被獅子咬好。」

情緒平復下來後，
他感到肚子有點餓，
看到梅子長得正好，
就採了一些吃起來。
他覺得一輩子從沒吃過那麼好吃的梅子，
找到一個三角形的枝椏休息，
他想著：
「既然遲早都要死，不如在死前好好睡上一覺吧！」

他在樹上沉沉的睡去了。
睡醒之後，
他發現黑白老鼠不見了，
老虎、獅子也不見了。
他順著樹枝，
小心翼翼的攀上懸崖，
終於脫離險境。

原來就在他睡著的時候，
飢餓的老虎按捺不住，
終於大吼一聲，
跳下懸崖。
黑白老鼠聽到老虎的吼聲，
驚慌逃走了。
跳下懸崖的老虎與崖下的獅子展開激烈的打鬥，
雙雙負傷逃走了。

由我們誕生那一刻開始，
苦難．就像飢餓的老虎一直追趕著我們，
死亡，就像一頭兇猛的獅子，
一直在懸崖的盡頭等待，
白天和黑夜的交替，就像黑白老鼠，
不停地正用力咬著我們暫時棲身的生活之樹，
總有一天我們會落入獅子的口中。

既然知道了生命中最壞的情景是死亡，
唯一的路，
就是安然地享受樹上甜美的果子，
然後安心地睡覺，
只有存著這樣單純的心、少慾望、多一點赤子之心。

最近常常聽到朋友的親友去世的消息，
除了安慰了幾句外好像什麼都不能做了
恐怕有一天自己亦會成為別人口中的壞消息

所以你們有沒有好好的享受你在世上的每一分每一秒?

如果剛才你和另一半或是和家人為了芝麻綠豆的事鬧翻了

現在頭頂還在生煙的話

請你看看那晴朗的天空和那飄渺的白雲

其實你又錯過了美好的一天呀!

Easter Weekend

Didn't do much for the Easter weekend. Think PMS/T making me feel extremely tired physically and just wanted to keep to myself.

Couldn't drag myself to the gym on Sat so gave myself another day off ... just worked the tummy (with more sinful food haiz) and basically nuah-ed at home most part of the day.... reasoned that I should let my body rest too ba ... though will feel guilty for not exercising and eating like a PIG ... hmph!

After another hearty dinner on Sat and semi-hearty breakfast on Sun, decided that I should at least get out of the house before I go into hibernation mode. Which would be very detrimental to my mental health, so dragged myself out of the house to hit the gym.

I always enjoy walking along the quiet streets in CBD on the weekends. Just a few people on the streets, and with the morning sun and the breeze, really helps to just wake me up and remind me what a beautiful Sunday it is.

There were already quite a number of people in the pool (somehow the George St pool is constantly busy one :( ) but I managed to find a "lane" and started practising my swim. My free-style still SUCK big time. Got so breathless and this time even worse, feel like I'm gulping down water whenever I come up for air ... something which never happened. Think my tired-ness is showing ... nonetheless just proceeded and do what I can. Did what I could then decide to take a break to just chill on a deck chair and read my book. Very relaxing and what with the warm breeze, almost wish I could just lie there for hours! :P

Swam a little bit more before I got up to change to go for the pump class which I hadn't attend for over a week.

Didn't enjoy the pump class. Instructor was someone unfamiliar to me and I just didn't like her style. She wasn't motivating and her feigning lethargy and groaning into the mike was reaally irritating. Her routines were quite different though, and the tracks she used seem really old (i somehow recall one of the tracks from my PF pump days?!!? *faint*). I have to say though, that her pump was a bit more siong and I felt the pain on my arms and legs ...

I wanted to spend some quiet time reading my book so went to the nearby kpj for lunch and some reading. I had their roasted chicken with pita bread. Very yummy! But then the chicken with all its dressing must not be healthy ba ?? :P

Very comfortable just relaxing in one corner on the plushy couch, except that the air con was freezing!! What a tactic to ensure customers dun outstay their welcome :P But then again, the place wasn't crowded anyway haha ...

Did some walking around in Central before having dinner at their food court. My 2nd time trying their Yong Tau Foo and this time quite disappointed with the food. The veges look like they have been left out there for a very long time and the toufu with fish paste looked yellow. The fish paste was hard when I bite into it (first time I had such a yucky experience!!!) and the toufu actually tasted sour! Disgusting! Heng I never LS ! :(


All in all, glad I got my FAT lazy bum off the house and did some walking about, got some sun (actually more chao tah liao -_-") and some fresh air.

And now the Monday Bluezz begins ...

Layoff AGAIN!?!?!??!

Feeling the pain on my left shin again. This is bad. Felt the pain when I pressed down on 2 separate locations on my shin .... the same places where it used to hurt.
SHIT SHIT SHIT!!!!!

Suspect is my shoes ... was running with an old pair not thinking it would make such of a difference .... i could be wrong ...

Got to layoff again .... so much for wanting to resume my CBD run ... WTF!

Meet The Robinsons 3D

The last time I watched a 3D show was eons ago and so decided to watch MTR 3D at Vivocity.

Vivocity is still MADNESS with just wayyyy tooo many people. Definitely not a place for the faint hearted! Almost felt giddy just being there with all the buzz and activity *faint*

Movie wasn't that entertaining to me. I didn't quite enjoy it what with the blurry images (I can't place my source of grievance but just that the 3D images didn't look sharp and I just felt like I couldn't focus on the picture properly) and being too near to the screen (sigh, have to blame myself for booking such lousy tix! I should have just opted for seats along the aisle but further from the screen, then centre seats but closer to the screen. *whack head*) My lack of sleep for the past few days only exacerbated the situation and I fell asleep half-way into the show... so missed the part about the relationship of each member of the Robinson family ... -_-"
Anyway, dun tink I miss much la, a simple storyline .. nothing great I have to say. Almost contemplated walking out half way into the show coz glutton me was feeling v v hungry haha

Roentgen later commented that he is quite sure the movie screens weren't aligned properly hence resulting in the blur images. So chim ... trust our smart lokun to know the answers to such stuff :P *hail* Anyway, assigned him to lodge a complaint with GV so that hopefully we get our $$ back ! :P Oh, did I mention the screen went blank for like .. 10s in the middle of the movie ??? Not sure whether any of the patrons went to complain about it after the movie :P

Hopefully will catch a better show soon .... Spiderman next month ... should be something to look forward to ... also waiting for Ratatouille but that would be in June.

Movie kakis that joined in the fun include Roentgen, Renoh, Angel, Charmane & Teelee. Teelee still feeling under the weather. Poor guy. Seldom see Teelee sick. Pls take care and get well soon!

Cosmic Spin

The short work week hadn't make life easier what with my lousy mood and all ... so needless to say, my body and soul were just so glad for the reprieve on the Good Friday weekend.

Headed down to Paragon FF at 9am. Never been to Paragon and didn't had the time nor mood to check out the gym on their website before heading down. Was expecting an older, non-descrip gym so was pleasantly surprised when I saw that the gym was HUGE, quite new still, comfortable (the changing room was just like RQ or GeorgeSt). I was already lost even before I got INTO the gym! They had these gantries set up at the entrance where members were suppose to slide their membership card across a device attached above the gantry. I had to ask the front-line staff for help before I successfully got myself into the gym -_-"

The gym, shaped like a horse shoe, was well-equipped. There were rows of treadmills, elliptical & step machines on one side of the gym. Lots of weight machines and stuff. Definitely worth checking out! And surprisingly the gym was already busy early in the morning. Physically I was feeling really lethargic and so just did my strengthening exercises and just roamed around the gym while waiting for the spin class to start.

Spin class was led by one of my fav instructors, Rue. She is this very cool, tough-looking (not those sweetie pie type of gal), almost no-nonsense and those work-u-damn-hard instructor. Being a holiday, FF had special class schedules and Rue was gonna conduct this 75 mins spin class. I was really game to try the class despite my really tired body, will be a good workout to start the long weekend and to purge all the negativity in my body i reasoned :P

I was pleasantly surprised to find that the spin studio was not any like I've ever seen! It was pitch black with images of the planets & galaxies painted on the black walls. There were also UV lights and all, making one feel like he/she is in outer space. Very interesting concept and that lifted my spirits and made me die-die-want-to-try the spin class. Needless to say, thoughts of backing out of the spin class flew out the window :)

The class was full and thankfully I managed to register early. The whole experience in the darkened spin room was good. The semi-darkness made me less self-conscious, also less conscious of my surroundings and I was able to just listen to my own body and spin accordingly. I couldn't see where my resistance knob was at and so I didn't had to feel guilty about not turning up the knob high enough etc. Basically just spin according to how my body felt ... SHIOKZ!

Rue was GREAT! She was motivating, psyching the "team" (this is what the instructors will term us all while spinning. Sometimes they use the term "crew") up, cheering us on and throughout she was working so hard and yet still shouting out instructions to us without panting into the mike! SALUTE! And she has this very cute smile that didn't leave her face ... amazing! If only I could be half as fit as her! Will be damn happy liao lor!

That's not all, there was another, I suppose, trainee instructor that day that provided much distraction for me during the 75 mins :P This eye-candy of an instructor has well-toned and defined biceps with a pretty face to boot. Though Divey (yes, she decided to hit the gym for the spin class after a morning biking session on the road *faint*) thought he seemed gay-ish ? His instructor skills were anything to boast about but aww well, who cares as long as I get some distraction during my torturous spin class eh ? hahaha :P

Very enjoyable spin experience what with the cosmic experience, the great instructor & some yummy eye-candy ... the 75 mins almost seemed enjoyable "endurable"

After the good workout, we treated ourselves to some healthy buckwheat soba at the Simbashi Soba restaurant at the basement. Also had a toufu dish that didn't look very healthy ... but tasted all-so-yummy! Glad to be able to catch up with Divey a little!

Great workout with Roentgen & Divey. Thanks for the company ! :)

Questioning Myself

Am I just plain stupid ? Or are the people around me just THINK they know what they are talking about but in fact DO NOT MAKE SENSE ?!?!?! I really dunno.

I feel like they dun make sense, but they seem to speak with so much conviction & confidence that I question myself .... am I the one too pig headed to NOT understand their concept, their point of view ? Am I just the one that CANNOT MAKE IT ???? Am I just SLOW ???? How long do I need to be able to understand simple concepts that they have put through ????

I'm so lost ...

And i am feeling SF inadequate

Eruption

I know I need a break when I'm super duper f**king short fuse especially at work. And when I'm having an argument over the phone with incompetent people who absolutely just piss me off.

I just want to scream!!!!!!!!

MerapiJazzy

Falling Behind ....

Is it really april already ???? *eyes wide open*

Geez .... I'm falling behind in my targets ... Nope, I have not signed up for a course ..... only started reading up on some notes for this test I intend to go for .... progress is, as you could have guessed, slowwwww. Yes, I better wake up my idea, BUCK UP!!!!
Prolly I should just sign up for the test, so that I have the push factor to study hard for the test. If not, days passed and I will be blogging the same thing come May!

What other targets will I set for myself this month ?

Let's see ... some tots for now:

1. Take up kayak course. Have wanted to learn this for a while, but wasn't able to previously as I didn't meet the pre-requisities which is must know how to swim. Now that I can swim, I can finally go for this. Thanks to Kops for broaching this subject and getting me all excited about kayaking again! :) *bow*
2. Try CBD Run. Incidentally, just over the weekend, 3 people (in different occasions!) asked when I will return to the CBD run. I'm not sure as I'm not confident yet, to run the distance nor at the pace. I now run even more slower and shorter than before so I really do not wish to feel so pon chet too early on in the run (will make me totally lose confidence) nor do I want to spoil the sweeper's run with my super slow pace. So wait til I'm prepared bah. But hopefully I can join this month ? we shall see ...
   
3. Set some real targets for myself!!! I'm such a bummer !
   

Social Intelligence

Am *trying* to read this book by Daniel Goleman. Not an easy book to read (for me) as this book isn't as engaging and with an oft-wandering mind, I get distracted from the pages very easily :P

Still into the very first few pages of the book but found some interesting snippets that I just wanted to record down (to help me through my though process & also to help etched some of these into memory). Most of these are just the gist of what is said, and hopefully i'm representing them as accurately as I can ... if you are interested, pls read the book! :)

1. Mirror Neurons. "They reflect back an action we observe in someone else, making us mimic that action or have the impulse to do so" Think : When you are smiling, the whole world smiles with you. And you don't have to act to activate that mirror neuron, merely observing it can trigger the same neurons.
   What this means is that simulating an act (i.e. mentally rehearsing an action), is the same as performing it.
   


2. Meme. "Ideas that spread from mind to mind, much as emtions do". The notion of a meme was modeled on that of a gene: an entity that replicates itself by getting passed on from person to person". Anyway, what this means is explained in the form of surprising synchronicities between people. When such synchronicities happen, it feels like someone has read your mind. "Parallel trains of thought can lead two people to think, do , or say virtually the same thing at the same moment." "When we know someone well or experience strong rapport, conditions are near optimal for a confluence of our internal thoughts, feelings, perceptions and memories. We are in what amounts to a mind-meld where we tend to perceive, think, and feel in the same way as the other person. Such convergence goes on even when strangers become friends".


3. Altruism. The book cites an example where someone was in trouble but people passing by just walked right past, not even giving a hoot until someone stopped to look. Once someone stopped, others followed and in no time, this poor chap was tended to and provided the assistance he needed. So a critical factor at play in altruism is simply taking time to pay attention. "Our empathy is strongest to the degree we fully focus on someone and so loop emotionally"
   

That's all I can gather for now. Let me continue to try and read the book ....

Snacks with Love

Snacks prepared by sis ...

Yumz!!!!

Thanks sis! :P

Wise Words

hahaha .... had a very good laugh reading this ....

AMK FF

The first suburban Fitness First in Singapore opened at AMK last week. After some hesitation (can't decide which gym to go and what sports to do :P), decided to just give the AMK FF a try.

FF is located in the spanking new AMKHub. Its a small cosy gym packed with all the brand new equipment. They have the cardio wave machines that are now common fixtures in the newer FF gyms. Although small, it has 2 studios : one for the normal group classes such as Body Combat etc., and another, called Mind & Body (i think) is more for yoga classes etc. They even have Tai Chi classes on Sun mrn!!! Interesting. Will try it out soon :)

Thankfully most part of the gym is hidden or blocked from the prying eyes of the shoppers, except that some of the weights machines faced the FF entrance and so for some of the workouts I'm in full view of shoppers popping in to check on the club or just walking past the place. Not comfy for someone like me who treasures my privacy :P

Only grouse I have is that the club is showing all the Mediacorp shows on their tv screens!!! What is this ?!?!?! No cable ?? I sincerely hope this is because their cable subscription is not ready yet and not that because it is a suburban club they decided to do away with the frills *faint* Thankfully I was there on a Sat mrn and they were showing some fat-loss reality show on Ch 5 called The Biggest Loser or something, so its still quite bearable. Can you imagine working out to some crappy local production on tv ??? :P

The variety of fitness machines there are commendable. They are as high tech as those I have seen in RQ, where they have panels to indicate the number of repetitions per set. Very good indeed! Got to know from this trainer that they have sign-up 400 people so far and most of them will start their gym membership on 1 Apr. So I guess the floodgates will open then and AMKFF might be packed especially during the weekends. Will look see come this weekend and decide whether I will still head to AMKFF after Apr. Still have a few FF gyms I have yet to try out, but as they are in town (Paragon, Cathay and Millenia), the motivation for me to go is lower. :P

All in all, a nice gym, a nice relaxing workout ... very nice way to start my Sat :)

Habit

Following my earlier post about hard habits to break, some of you who has been reading my blog would have known that I've been somewhat religious in updating my "Days Off Habit" counter. As of today, I'm off the habit for 84 days. I'm glad that I've progressed this far without breaking the habit. I believe blogging about it played a very very pivotal role in keeping me off the habit. The fact that I blog about it, that my friends know about it, that I will have to explain about it if I break the habit, helps me to not go back to this bad habit of mine. With time, it gets easier to stay away from the habit and I'm glad that though sometimes I still think about the habit, the urge to go back to the habit has diminished significantly.

Think its time I take another step by not even blogging or updating about my progress. To take down this "Days Off Habit" counter from the blog. This is to help refrain me from being reminded about such a habit in the first place. And also to test my own determination to stick to not breaking the habit, without the blog's help. Do continue to wish me luck!

:)

Gold Class!

I had the privilege to watch the movie "300" in Vivocity GV Gold Class on Sat! All thanks to this shwee BOP who had FREE tixs to the show ... thanks to her excellent networking skills and kindly invited me to join her for the movies. THANKS BOP!!!!! *MUACKS*

Met BOP for dinner at Vivocity. The place was buzzing with activity and we couldn't find a restaurant that wasn't crowded or affordable enought to have our dinner. Ended up at the Food Republic which surprisingly we managed to secure a seat after a short wait! Food there looks interesting ... hope to go back there to try their other stuff ... prolly should go during the weekdays when hopefully it isn't so crowded ! :P After that we gals went to B&Js for our ice cream fix and between us we had a waffle cone with mint choc chunky & phish food. Yumzzzz! :)

We got to the cinema early and went to the lounge where we hung out with the rest of BOP's friends for drinks and food. It was relaxing to just chill and chat with this bunch of strangers over a drink, over some laughs. Hmmm should do this more often.

We then headed into the GV Gold Class theatre (fully booked by BOP's friend mind you, and because of that, he gets to choose the show he wanted screened in the theatre! at a premium of course ... wow! Whoever wants to hold a private function can consider this too!!! *hint hint*). This is one of the rare moments when I feel so high-class! We were just in awe with the plush couches awaiting each of us. The theatre is cosy with only 3 pairs of couches per row, giving each couple lots of privacy and space. The entire theatre covers 24 seats, means 12 couples can fit into the theatre.

Some of the people were already seated comfortably, couches reclined, footrest inclined and all when we entered the theatre. Both BOP and I gamely found our seats and started meddling with the recline/incline switches to get ourselves into comfy positions before the movie start. Though we were seated right in the front row, it was still comfy to watch the screen once we reclined our seats. It almost felt like you are at home lying in bed and watching a movie!! (ok, except that I don't have a movie screen at home, but the comfort is akin to being at home snuggling in bed ... SHIOKZ!!!) Can tell that BOP was enjoying herself and we were like two schoolgals having fun and new experiences ... its always nice to see BOP smiling and laughing and enjoying herself :) even more shweeee!!!!

Oh, movie was alright. I wasn't really excited about watching this show since I know its about some war, lots of gory stuff ... but then, who can pass off a movie at the GV Gold Class right ?? I didn't fall asleep (as I anticipated I would) during the show and well, we gals got to see lots of 8Ps in the show... *drool* Of course the guys felt more inspired to train harder to achieve those rock hard abs after watching the show hahaha

Once again, wanted to thank BOP for inviting me to join her at the movies! I've never tried watching a movie in GV Grand / Gold Class before, coz it just seemed too wasteful and too high class ... really a luxury reserved only for very special occasions ...

What an experience! :D

Busy ?

Not sure what I have been busy with but last week just whizzed past. Guess the early mornings didn't help as I would try to hit the sack early too to compensate for it ... that's why my life last week seems to revolve around exercise, work & eat haha! But hey! come to think of it, THAT's what my life is about most of the time! :P

Work front, lots of meetings ...
Social life front, lots of fine dining (the only thing that has slimmed down is my wallet!!!! & let's not even start on what has grown *CRYYY* )

These are what attributed to my weight gain hehe:

1. Ember Restaurant in Hotel 1929. A really small cosy restaurant with nice food with high prices to boot.
2. Noble House. Was there for a department farewell lunch. *sigh* Dunno why this colleague must choose such an expensive place to hold a farewell lunch. Food wasn't exceptionally good this time as they ordered an economical 8 person set (for a 10 person table!!! -_-") . But was told that their buffet is good. Must try some time :P
   
3. Merchant Court Hotel. Ended up there for a get-together dinner after our initial plan to have dinner at Brewerks failed because the organiser did not make a reservation !! Friday nite, dinner at Brewerks and he didn't even make a reservation!??!! Haiz .... where has this guy been living ? He conveniently attributed the level of "UNHIPNESS" to being a newly promoted Dad -_-" *yawn* The buffet spread is sad to say the least. Definitely not worth the $$ (but ok lah, for a dinner buffet it is considered cheap by hotel standards. Prolly explains the disappointing spread) I wouldn't even bother blogging about this experience much just that I wouldn't pay to go there again ... at least not in the near future ... But then again, I was told they are famous for their oysters & durian puree. Both of which I don't consume, prolly that's why this buffet is unappealing to me hehe
   
4. Greenwood Fish Market & Bistro. HOOORAYYYYYY!!!! Finally got to try out this much raved about place! Very nice cosy setup, but I was a little disappointed by the decor as I was expecting a tastefully decorated little restaurant .... but then again I guess I just have myself to blame. It's not named "Market" for nothing :P But food is good! Will try to blog about it when I have time ...

Its disgusting to have eaten all these fine food in the span of a week! and painful to calculate the amount of $$ I have squandered ! There shall be no such repeated episodes for another 2 weeks at least and in the meantime, I should just drink water and eat loti! hahahhaa .. yea right! :P

Another start of the week .... *groan* ... did u read the article yesterday by Sumiko Tan about "I hate Mondays" ? hahaha ...it said exactly how I (and I dare to say many others) feel about Mondays (and also the rest of the week...)

:P

Pursuit of Happyness

Great Saturday .... went to the gym and met up with BOP, Divey & Roentgen. Haven't seen Divey since KL Pacesetters! Been so long ... sigh, dun get to see her as often after she switched jobs so very happy to see her at the gym ... Even more surprised to see that the gals managed to persuade Roentgen to join in the spin class! Woo hooo!!!! I was late and was pleasantly surprised when I saw Old Bones on the bike happily cycling away beside Divey ... Aiya, forgot to buy 4D on Sat!!! :P

We later met up with Charmane, Cfred, Angelica_wonders & Renoh for the movie "Pursuit of Happyness" at Cathay. Wow wow wow! Such a long time since I met all of them too! (Think the last time I saw Angel was in SCSM while the rest was at KL Pacesetters too). Ever since I got injured I dun get to see the sgrunners gang as often as i would like to ... really miss those days when we could run and hang out ... aw well

Anyway, its really really nice to have this gathering with these young folks. Made me feel younger instantaneously! Nice yak over dinner and dessert. Interesting how our conversations flowed so easily, and got to know a lil bit more about Charmane's work, Cfred's lack of running due to his studies, Angel's dilemma on her area of study, that Renoh has a list of books to read that will keep him occupied for the next 2 years! *faint* Catching up with them really helps to brighten up my Sat and my weekend.

We had dessert at the Selegie soya bean curd stall and this is cute angel drinking Yuan1 Yang1 - haha, they didn't sell Yuan1 Yang1 so we bought 1 cup of soya bean and grass jelly each for her. So she drink from both straws to get the Yuan1 Yang1 effect - innovative eh ? :P

THANKS to Angel, Roentgen, Renoh, Charmane (aka bitch :P) & Cfred for the nice, warm company!

A very nice account of the day can be found here. Yet another well written blog entry from the lokun. :)

Lone Run

Took a nap after my fruitful day at the malls .... thankfully was woken up by an sms in the late evening and decided to head out for a short run before dinner.

Quickly changed into my running gear (before I changed my mind) and was trying to think of a route, distance, duration to run before heading out ...

As usual ... dunno where to run, so decided to just go with the flow do my usual anyhowz run, i.e. to run and decide where to turn at each junction.

This is the first time in so many months that I'm doing a road run alone ... didn't dare to be ambitious and told myself I'll run for 30-45mins ... and stop anytime I feel any pain. Ran towards Sengkang, wah, its soooo long since I last ran past Compasspoint ! Feel breathless very early on in the run and had to keep slowing down to catch my breath (ahhh .... fitness drop so much liao ... haha ... or issit just a sign of aging ? :P) I shall not attempt to describe the route that I took since DR (Directions Retard) basically just ran based on instincts and based on which direction she decides to turn at each traffic road junction. Several landmarks that I passed include Rivervale Mall & Rumbia LRT station.

Total time taken (with stop & walk breaks) : 1hr
Total distance covered : Dunno ... i suppose about 7km ?
Pain : So far so good .... had to remind myself not to pound on the pavement ..and to lift up my legs and try and land on my midfoot ... but that proved really difficult ... guess I'm not called kickjazz for nothing ... i tend to kick back then to lift up my legs .... is that right or wrong ? I really dunno ... but that's how I run ...

Feel a sense of achievement upon completing the run. Though the pace, distance, time covered is a far cry from what I used to be able to do, but frankly I just have to be contented that I can at least do a decent run around the neighbourhood without major pains. It beats trying to run and feeling the pain 10m into the run, and having to limp back to the starting point after less than 1km! (That feeling really SUCKS!!!)

I just have to remind myself to take it easy, not to up my mileage, to just keep to what I'm doing for now ... that at least I can run a little, rather than not be able to run at all. Just hope the worst of my injury is over ... and that at least I can enjoy the breeze and the running about from now on ..... really reminds me not to take the everyday things for granted. Running seems like something that everyone can do, we chase after the bus, the train etc. But when I was injured, I even had difficulty chasing after a bus! That was the lowest point for me. Looking back, I'm just glad I can now run a bit without pain and frustration :)

Hope it continues this way ... *crosses fingers*

Incidental Shopping!

Had a very good day today. Didn't manage to sleep in (sigh sigh) so was contemplating for the longest time whether to go to the gym or just continue to nuah in bed ....

As I had to go Bishan library to collect my reserved books, so decided to catch a ride with sis and family to AMK where I can catch a train to Bishan. Since family wanted to do some grocery shopping at the mega NTUC supermart in the newly opened AMKHub, decided to tag along to check out the place.

Wah! the place is quite happening! The line leading up to the car park was choking up the traffic (heard that it was free parking) and we had to find alternative parking nearby. The NTUC is like another carrefour or giant. Think I've been living in the "cave" for too long, always grocer shop in the nearby shop n save that sells very limited stuff ... so I was needless to say in awe of all the varieties of stuff there ... from the ice cream (Ben & Jerrys, hagen daz etc.), yoghurt, fruits, vege, snacks etc. etc.! How I wish I live just a walking distance from this megamart!!! :P Will feel super deprived from now on whenever I have to grocer shop in the nearby shop n save :P

Quite a number of eateries there like New York New York - surprised to see it there! can try it out next time, Soup Restaurant etc. Also quite a number of apparel shops that might appeal to the ladies ... not those typical franchise that you see in more of the malls (although the standard Giordano, Bossini are still available) everywhere .. so quite refreshing (though I can't say I like what they are selling haha) Did some shopping (yah, spent $$ again :P) before heading to Bishan for more shopping & books collection.

Ok, now that I have 3 books to read ... i better get some reading done (and less shopping & blogging) :P

Not feeling too well and although I'm hoping to get home as soon as I can, the very thought of "trekking" home via public transport really wasn't appealing .... thankfully colleague wasn't going to stay too late today and managed to get a lift home from her ...

Thanks to her, I now have something to blog about ....

Below recounts a conversation we had while on the way home

All names in this post have been changed to protect identities of all mentioned.

Straight-Talking Colleague (STC) : (exclaimed suddenly) "KJ!!!! When are you going to get married?!?!?!"
Me (KJ) : -_-" "Eh, STC. Such things beyond my control one leh ... "
STC : "Yah lah, but ... know you so long, how come you not even seeing any boy????"
Me : -__-" "Eh ..... I can't help it one rite ? hahaha"
STC : "Yah lah ... but you look at XX & YY (XX & YY are both young female colleagues of ours) ..."
Me : "Yah lah ... they are young and pretty mah .... "
STC: "Yes, and they are married already!!!! You are pretty too .... only that you are not ...*conversation trails off* let me complete the sentence for her ... young"
Me: -________-" "hahaha... well .... being married has its woes too what rite? "
STC: "That's true! Then no need to worry about being a parent volunteer etc."
Me: "Yup, and I can't even take care of myself. Can't imagine being a parent!"
STC: "Aiyo, you so OLD liao still cannot take care of yourself??"
Me: "........ (oops!)" :P (realised i can't win this haha)

And so this is what I have to endure to get a free ride home ... :P

Ok, so I tot I'm lucky not having to tolerate such bo liao questions during CNY .... but now i realise I have to tahan such talk on a day-to-day basis ????

This aside, in my daily work, I now recall being asked so many times by colleagues who DO NOT KNOW ME WELL, about the reason for my marital status!

A quick retrieval from my rusty memory bank ....

Incident 1
Culprit1 profile
Marital Status - Married
Gender - Female
Age - Younger than yours truly
Relationship with moi - Colleague, seldom talk, no business dealing
Scene - walking around killing time

Culprit1 : "KJ, are you married?"
Me : (shocked) "No"
Culprit1 : "Why you don't want to get married?"
Me : (wtf) "..."
Culprit1 : "Why you don't want to be attached?"
Me : (is this for real??) "..."

I concluded after this that this culprit who just created some noise is all vacuum in between the ears.

Incident 2
Culprits profile x 3
Marital Status - Married
Gender - 2 Female 1 Male
Age - All older than moi
Relationship with moi - Colleagues with business dealing
Scene - lunch

Culprit A : "KJ, you no boyfriend ah? Sure or not ??"
Me : "Yeah ..."
Culprit A : "how can it be ?? You too picky issit ?"
Me : "No lah ..."
Then all 3 of them started discussing about my marital status, in front of me ..... -_-"

Seriously ... I realise such conversation leads nowhere.... and they don't need my participation whatsoever :P So I became the listener while they analyse what could be wrong with me hahaha

Incident 3
Culprit3 profile
Marital Status - Married
Gender - Female
Age - Older than me
Relationship with moi - Colleague, NEVER talk, only said Hi/Bye probably once or twice
Scene - happen to be sitting at the same table during breakfast

Culprit3 : (suddenly leaning across the table to face me with her eyes wide open) "KJ, are you married?"
Me: "Nope"
Culprit3 : "Single and available or attached?"
Me: "Single .... er ... and available"
Culprit3: "Really?"
Another colleague chipped in: "Yeah lor, you have anyone to recommend to her???"

and once again I decided to extricate myself from the conversation by immersing myself into my plate of food ...

Thankfully I'm not affected by such queries (think my skin thick enough :P). I just find such talk very amusing ... and also what amazes me more is how direct some people can be .... does being married give them immunity to ask everyone and anyone whatever they like about WHY singles remain singles ? And what business is it of theirs anyway ? And more more importantly, what is wrong with being single ? I don't see anything wrong ? So don't ask the question as if being single make us any less of a human. I sometimes can even see that sympathy in their face ... oh puh-lease! Spare me that nonsense! I'm no feminist and I'm not about to burn any bras but pls! I really do not think that there is anything wrong being single and pls do not accord me any sympathy / empathy just because I'm single. Yes, it is good to have someone to turn to and though I wouldn't mind having that someone, but if I am not lucky enough to find one, that doesn't make me "handicap" in some way. And frankly, I'm not very envious of the married folks .... the kids, the families, the burdens, the committments ... guess what ? I'm happy just NOT needing to worry about any of those right now ... ok, so I will grow old alone ... but being married doesn't necessarily guarantee that you wouldn't either ...

Sometimes I just get irritated and griped about the current system .... yes, the Gov ought to support or offer grants to the families, the married folks etc. etc., but hey, I'm contributing to the economy too, and while the new mothers stayed at home to nurse the young (and thanks to them hopefully we can slow down SG's greying rate. And I applaud the moms for that dun get me wrong), we have to cover their duties above our own ... what do we get ? Hmmm ... no rights to our own public housing (until we are above 35 that is), no grants for singles (correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't see anything in this latest Budget that benefits the singles ?) But of course, I'm just griping ... others may have it worse ....
*shrug* ... I haven't done any homework with regards to what singles in other countries get ... so I really have no basis for comparison ... but as I grow older, and remain single, I just wish that the Gov can see us as equal beings too and cut us some slack ... we are contributing the same, if not more, just like any other married person ...

Aw well, so much for a ride home. My brain is now more active than it should be ... and I ought to be in bed 30 mins ago .... :P

A Little Sunshine

Sometimes you never know how your actions, no matter how trivial or insignificant, may be received by others....

sometimes it just takes so little to brighten up someone else's day ... and this post is specially dedicated to this someone whom, has touched and brighten up my days just by her sms-es to check on me after reading about my not-so-great days lately. We don't keep in touch much, and rarely get a chance to talk, but she took the trouble to drop me an sms to ask how i was, and to encourage me ... that really helps to cheer me up and reminds me that hey, it isn't so bad ... and also helps reinforces that no man is an island ... we all need someone, sometimes (if not most of the time)

To that, I would like thank her, for sprinkling those sparks of sunshine my direction when my world was looking a little too monochrome. Your acts of kindness didn't go unnoticed. Thank you, miffy.

:)
This also reminds me that little acts of kindness goes a long way. Reminded to be less self-absorbed in my own trivial problems, to be less self-centred. A little smile, a touch, a word of encouragement .... we never know who will be touched by this small little gesture.

Back

Yeah, back from my Penang trip since Sunday lah ... but been very tired and feeling under the weather ... and also been hit by this very serious no-mood-to-blog bug ... this explains why I haven't been as studious blogging .... hehe ...

so anyway, just a short post to say that I'm still alive and kickin ... :P (for those who even noticed my long absence!! wahahahahhaha! )

Away

Will be away for the weekend starting Friday (9 Mar).

Wishing everyone a fun weekend! Hope to have some fun stories or observations to share when I return :)

Happiness

"Practice choosing happiness as your first response to every experience in life."

—Barry Neil Kaufman

March already.... Don't think I achieve much in Feb *oops*.

Ok, at least I keep to doing my strengthening exercises. Though I didn't keep to doing it on alternate days, but hey, at least I'm still doing them ? hehe

Managed to cross the 5km mark on road running without much pain *HOOORAYYY* I'm still cautious and I will not want to push myself any harder than necessary. Keep reminding myself that its better to be able to run (albeit slowly) and short distances, than not to be able to run at all. I still enjoy being able to run out on the road ... it beats running nowhere, facing the tv screen in the gym. :)

Didn't manage to take up a course, but at least I have ear-marked the course to take. Must ganbatte and start my studying before I waste away haha

Now I have to start thinking of what I want to achieve in March. Hmmm .... so fast, is it Mar already??? Must plan stuff so that I have something to look fwd to ... else everyday is just like any other day and I just feel like i'm living a very boring existence haha :P Think people don't feel that way coz they always plan stuff, or have interesting things to do/look fwd to .... I have to buck up!

Til Next Year ...

I always love CNY, the mood, the anticipation ... so like a kid, its with a tinge of reluctance that I bade CNY goodbye yesterday, and till next year ! :P

Had the opportunity to finally visit FON's place as part of the CNY visiting and THANKS to FOC for making us yu sheng! Wow!!! So honoured to have someone make yu sheng (sans the yu haha) for us!! It was very yummy and all of us had multiple servings ;) But ok lah, very healthy stuff so dun have to feel guilty :P

Women & Men

To all the bachelorettes out there :)