The One

We fit each other well. There weren't any baggages.

No nagging pain...

No burden ...

The spring in my legs.

The weightlessness that I feel.

I feel renewed.

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Announcing my new solemate ....

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Mizuno WaveRider 10












Yes I know. I started off in WR and now I'm back after 2 years ? What's with that ?

Well .... its with the trial & error, the pain & anguish with each change that I realise which is still the best. Sometimes in life, you just have to try a few to know which one suits u most... and without the bumps, you wouldn't realise which is the one for u. (I'm only talking about shoes tho hehe)
Its almost like coming full circle. I know some people didn't think Mizuno is good, nor for long distance running, nor that its durable blah blah. Yes I get that. But what to do ? My very wide feet just feels snug in it. ;) And anyway my distance is a yawn so distance is definitely the least of my worry now ;)

Ok, its my very first run in my brand new shoes so its still too early to say whether I will have problems with it. But so far I feel very comfy in the shoes. And the bunion and left toe haven't started whining yet. *cross my fingers*

And I'm finally wearing a pair of female running shoes! I've been offered men's shoes because of my wide feet and the salesperson always assure me that it doesn't matter to be running in a men's shoes. Well, the person I talked to (whom I still think know what he is saying) told me otherwise and even condemned the fellow who sold me Kayanos :P Anyway, I'm glad I went back to him to seek his advice coz he seem to know what he is talking about. Let's see how it goes though ...

Tonight is the first run in over a month. I'm glad I arranged to run with someone, so I couldn't back out of it. I seriously lack the discipline and motivation, so thanks so much for not minding to run with the fat old lady. :) It was a cool night since it had been raining since afternoon, so made the run extremely comfy and easy. The company definitely helps to make the run so much less mundane. Running alone to and back the track is really no joke ... can bore u to tears :P

I need to run more! :)

Temporary Freedom

First time in my working life that I have leave to clear before the FY (previously the balance could be encashed but not anymore). I forced myself to take leave from today onwards for a couple of days ... and anyway I needed the break.

Woke up with a headache (yes, I realised I always have headaches whenever I am not at work!!) but managed to go to the library to return my long overdue books. It is wonderful to have the library all to myself (almost). The reading room (called the Quiet Room) was deserted for once and I spent some peaceful time (oh what a joy!) reading. Shiokz! This is an even more economical way then reading in a kopi joint! :P

Also managed to catch a movie at Vivocity with a friend. Wow, when was the last time u managed to catch a movie at $6? Not me!! So was pleasantly surprised when we realised there was a promo if we paid with the HSBC card (offer valids for Mon-Wed only - in case u r thinking of going too). We caught The Spiderwick Chronicles and it was pretty entertaining.

Not sure why but I've taken leave on and off but today was different. I felt more carefree and happy to be out on a weekday. So liberating. Probably because I have company today so the joy was shared haha ...
Some thoughts came to me today ... its been so long ... maybe I shld do something about it ...

Ok anyway ... time to kick back and relax somemore ... ;)

The Pillars of the Earth

Increasingly I found myself not finishing the books that I borrowed. I think its age or the diminishing intelligence (haha!) that I often do not finish a book either coz I just find them a bore or I just don't find them engaging.

Several months back I read in the papers about this journalist's sentiments about not having the time to enjoy her favourite pastime - reading. And even when she does read, it is for the purpose of work, not leisure. In it she mentioned a few books that she wanted to read and The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet was one of them.

I made reservations for this book (Bless NLB for the very useful and convenient feature!!!) and got my hands on it couple of weeks back. The story, set in ancient times in the midst of civil war, is an excellent read. Its a long time since I picked up a book and dread putting it down. As this book is wayyyyyy overdue, I just spent yesterday finishing up the book. (yes I know, i should be out running instead of lazing in bed reading .. guilty as charged! :P)

This is apparently one of his most popular books and I'm not questioning this claim! Can't wait to lay my hands on the sequel, World Without End.

KL 7-9 Mar

I just came back from my department retreat in KL.

Initially was concerned about the possible massive jams at the checkpoint no thanks to that JI fugitive, and the M'sia elections added to the concerns. Safety was of utmost concern in many of our minds ... but everything had been paid for and the big boss decided to go ahead ... so everything went ahead as planned.

Thankfully the jam at Tuas wasn't as bad as I imagined. It took a while for the coach to reach the checkpoint, but other than that, everything went smoothly and all was fine & dandy.

Talking about the coach, everyone was embarrassed about the quality of the coach we were in. While stuck in the jam at the customs, we were all comparing the other coaches lined up behind us and we could only laughed at our own "predicament" and the lack of class in our mode of transport :P We even joked about tearing away the tag pasted in front of our coach identifying our organisation to avoid further humiliation! Ok lah, it was fun just laughing at ourselves.

The retreat wasn't exciting ... there really wasn't much to do there (shopping was atrociously boring & the food sux big time - talk about spending loads on their restaurants, I think I rather have our own hawker food or cze char :P). But it was good to spend some time with colleagues and chat about stuff other than work. And good to use the opportunity to know some of the newer colleagues. Imagine there are some whom I don't even know their names!

The trip also brought back fond memories about the last time i was in KL - Pacesetters 2007. I still remember fondly the evening we were stuck in a massive downpour that came unannounced and got us drenched. We had to seek shelter in this little hut right outside a construction site! And guess what, I was just recounting this very funny incident to one of my colleagues (who is also a very dear friend) that i realised that this construction site is now a brand new shopping mall which opened like just 3 months ago! My hotel is very near to this mall so everytime I passed by this mall on my way back to the hotel, I will always smile to myself and recall the fond memories I had with this gang of good friends then. How time flies ....

We flew back on jetstar / tiger airways (yes, budget air some more!!!! *roll eyes*) and its my first time on one. It is truly no frills and the air craft seems a tad old but still ok lah ... nothing that got me very worried except when taking off when the plane rocked from side to side. It got one of my younger colleagues worried and my friend and I just laughed it off. As my friend said, if anything were to happen, it would be quick. hahahahah

Oh, and my group won the first prize in one of those games which earned us a $300 dining voucher! Yippeee! Can grow more bui! :P

All in all, a good break. Thankfully the streets in KL were safe (pretty quiet actually, we figured many have returned to their hometowns for voting?) and we didn't encounter any issues or scares there.

I didn't know that !

Below is what I received in my mailbox ....

To those who always use ez card. Like to bring to your attention on local bus service provider.

Normally, when you board the bus, you flash your ezlink card and move in and when you get down the bus, you flash your card again at the exit door (located at the middle of the bus). We all
know that if we forget to flash the card, full fare will be deducted from the card.

Below is something not known to public:-

But if you alight from the front door (the entrance) and you flash your card while exiting without informing the bus driver, the card will capture another entrance fare instead of exit fare thus meaning that two full fares will be deducted from the card as no exit was being captured for the
two entrances.

For example, you board a crowded bus at Pasir Ris (where it terminates at Jurong East) and decided to get down ten stops later. If you flash your card at the front door without informing the
bus-driver, a second entrance fare will be captured instead of exit fare thus you are paying for two full fares ( 2 X $ 1.90! = $ 3.8 0 ) instead of one fare (approximately $0.83).
This is a useful info. Here's the solution:-

Go to the "big" machine (ie machine for U to top up the card) located at the MRT stations.
1) Insert your EZ link card
2) Press the function key "Check card"
3) Press "more"

The above function will show U the last 20 transactions. Information on the fare deducted, bus no, boarding time and the boarding and alighting point will be reflected on the screen.

Hope the above information is useful to U.
Please pass this email to people you know so that they will not pay extra charges for nothing and
burn a big hole in their pockets. !

Last but not least, call the hotline line:
1800 767 4333 when the incorrect fares are deducted.

Die lah, and I do this all the time without realising :P

Sick!!!

Again!!!
YES!!!
ARGH!!!!
I'm so freaking sickly nowadays!

I planned to run tomorrow and now .... *pull hair*

Lost

I lost ALL contact, tasks, calendars, information in my phone.
Save for some crucial numbers that I have kept in the SIM card, I lost everything else. Yes, and I mean EVERYTHING!! OMG!

All this stems from my trying to setup my synchronisation between my phone & pc and I unwittingly deleted the wrong thing! There was NO warning about the consequences of clicking that button at all :( ARGH!!!!!!

Anyway, I could only blame it on my own stupidity. ARGH!!!!

I was hoping this is just a nightmare but no ..... it isn't. CRY. I'm lost without my schedule, my upcoming appointments .. my friends' contact and their birthday ... no reminders, no notes .... oh no ... just the thought of rebuilding everything ....

So if you are reading this, pls drop me a line (via sms, msn, email) with your contact details .... THANKS!!

Humpty Dumpty Run

Just couldn't get my lazy bum off to run for the past week. Finally thought to run to work .... since I have no excuse to not going to work each day, so thought I will plan a run to office.

Reluctantly dragged myself outta bed at 0510hrs. Got ready in super quick time ... was not even 0525hrs when I was ready to go. Too early I thought so I dilly dallied for a while before heading out and started my run at 0541hrs.

In my haste to leave the office the night before, I forgot to bring along the map so was hoping I know the way to the office. It should be easy, but never trust a DR .... I can never trust myself with directions and in my experiences, my instinct in the direction to take is always WRONG! :P So armed with my ezlink card & cash, I felt more assured. When I started the run I was asking myself "Will I end up taking public transport -either cab or bus to work? :P

The run was laborious ... :( Not a good start as I felt tired very early into the run .... I was worried but I told myself I just have to carry on, even if it means run/walk I would still have to proceed. As I turned into Queensway, I tripped on the edge of the pavement which sent me flying ... I was trying hard to keep my balance but failed and was left sprawling to the ground. Argh! (#*&$)(*@&()&!$#$ Thankfully it was still early and there wasn't anyone to hear my cursing :P The fall scraped the side of my right knee and both my palms but thankfully they were merely superficial wounds.

Yesterday happened to coincide with some chinese prayers or something so there were pockets of burnt incence papers along the pavement as I ran past the long Jln Bukit Merah stretch. Hope I didn't step on any of those ... if I did, pardon me .... *pray pray*

I reached my office in a few mins past the hour and decided against covering longer. Don't kill myself and save for another day ba.

I plotted the route and it actually ended in 8.82km. However, in the spirit of the CNY, I decided to extend the distance to an auspicious 8.88km! Hahahah .... HUAT ah!

Let's hope i will have the discipline to do this again real soon.

What an inspiration!

I was watching this programme on Ch 8 last night on active senior citizens.

One of the featured was this 77 years old uncle who runs marathons, and started a delivery company after retirement.

After 20 years of running (he started running after retirement), he had over 80 marathons under his belt ... and still going strong!!!

Gosh .... I'm not even half his age and I couldn't even meet his energy level & enthusiasm in life !

He is such an inspiration!

CNY Run

Thought I could hit the gym on CNY day 1 since I need not go visiting. But mom said no as my siblings would come by for a visit.
Ok .... since I couldn't sleep, so I went out for a run. I happened to pass by the Rochester / ACS area on my way home the day before (when the sky was still bright & sunny) and thought the stretch leading into the place was very nice, so thought to run there.

The roads were close to empty, the weather was good. I started the run at about 7:30am and slowly make my way out. I was wondering how long I can run since my running has been so irregular.

I passed by Rochester ... then ACS, but decided against running in that deserted lane - partly because I was afraid there might be dogs guarding the place, and also I wanted to run further hopefully into NUS or Kent Ridge ... which at that point I had not decided yet ...

Slowly trotted along - I realised I tend to run faster on the road then in the park connectors ... possibly coz the latter is just so boring and I tire more easily.

I ran into NUS ... surprisingly there were still people in NUS ... some possibly (mostly the non-chinese) might still be heading to the labs for their labwork etc. Studied in NUS for 2 years and stayed in the vicinity for so long but not once have I ran inside. The slopes proved too much for me and I had to stop many times to catch my breath.

It was a relaxing run.... ran towards Ulu Pandan Road and saw this guy also out in his run .... didn't take much notice until we got closer and realised that he is one of the gym instructors!! Surprised! I managed a "Hi!" and struggled along with my run. Didn't want to stop & chat coz I didn't want to interrupt his run anyway ...

I had to stop when I hit the minor roads before Mt Sinai as the slopes were too much for me. By then I was feeling the pain on the top of my right foot. What a queer place to have the pain!! Is it the slopes ? I do not know ....

Anyway, I run walk the rest of the distance back home and finally reached the starting point in 1hr 10mins. Total distance covered should be much less than the 10km recorded because me the DR might not have plotted the route correctly! hahahaha



I really think I should buy myself another pair of shoes. Hopefully it would reignite my waning interest (seriously there isn't much left!) in running :P Seriously, think my current pair of shoes is doing me more harm than good ... I think I shall listen to myself, and revert to Mizuno WR.

鼠年行大运！

KJ wishes everyone ....

新年快乐
事事顺利
财源滚滚

To those studying .... 学业进步

To those slogging ... 步步高升

and most important of all ... 身体健康!

I want to ....

go to Chinatown to soak in the sights & festivity of the CNY ...

go to Takashimaya to check out the CNY goodies ...

go shopping for some CNY clothes ...

Pls let me get well soon ....

Counting ...

4 days & counting ......
of non activity, no exercise, no gym ...

I'm SICK AGAIN!!!!
#*($&#@)&@#&(&()&#)(&@$(@#&(&@#$(&#(*&#$(&#$(&

What a lousy 2008. In 3 weeks I've been sick 3 times

WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fri Nite Out

Dinner on Fri night was at One Fullerton. It was an un-planned dinner ... worked til 9+ and friend picked me up. At 9+, where can we possibly have dinner at ? Driving aimlessly, friend commented about that little building just across from One Fullerton. I got excited because I remembered running past that place and always wondered what its like there.

Unfortunately for us, when we got to the place (Btw, the place is called The Fullerton Waterboat House), seemed like there was some private function on-going. Just our luck. There was this French fine-dining in the same place but its too upmarket and high-class for my liking ... so we decided to have our dinner at One Fullerton. By then it was already 10pm and too late for the buffet (thankfully! :P) so we ordered ala carte.

Ordered the spinach pizza, sushi moriwase & their cuppicino tiramisu. Pizza was so so. Sushi was ok lah good. Fresh lor. Tiramisu is YUMMILICIOUS! And at $10 and such a HUGE serving. Its such a steal!!!!

We next headed to Equinox for drinks. The last time I was at Equinox was like donkey years ago. We just had a drink there and chatted a bit. The place was nice, with a good view of the area. Too bad they closed very early ... asked us for our last order at 130am. -___-" And the waitress said I looked familiar, thought I had been there before. Guess I must have a super common face haha Friend was worried of being caught with alcohol in his bloodstream, so we ended up at Tong Shui for some "cleansing" before heading home. What a good Fri night. Been a long time since I'm out giving myself a good treat.

Short Run

Checking back my logs ... my last run was in 22 Dec. More than 1 month ago!

As I was on course last Thur and Fri and wouldn't be in the office, I had no chance to hit the gym. Hence, I had to drag my unwilling body out for a morning jog.

I was so not looking fwd to the run and was thinking how much I could cover. Just the thought turned me off and I just wished to snuggle underneath my comforter ....

It was a slow and easy run and the fresh morning air helped keep me from heaving. I reached the 2km mark still feeling fresh.

Anyway, I decided not to push myself too hard and ended the run in 54+ mins covering a total of <8km.>

I could really feel the ache after such a short run. My legs were feeling a little sng in the afternoon. Guess the spin classes do not help to build up the legs at all for running. Yup, diff set of muscles I know ...

By the next morning the old nagging pain on my left toe each time I ran was back to haunt me. I decided not to torture myself and just did a slow 2km run, followed by a 1km walk before running the rest of the 1km back to the starting point.

Wanted to plot my short run but couldn't find the plotting feature in Streetdirectory ? Am I blind or that has been taken off the site ? Mapmyrun doesn't show the route that I run leh ...
Oh, I'm soooo out of touch ...

NY Resolutions for everyone ?!?!

Got to the pool this mrn and was shocked that there were about 4 to 5 swimmers occupying most of the lanes!! And its MORNING!!! This never happen before. I'm normally the only few (at max 3 people) swimming in the mrn. Thankfully I managed to squeeze into a lane, and thankfully still after just a few minutes the hunk that entered the pool just minutes before me left! With a bod like that I thought he was a good swimmer, and thought siao liao, me would be drinking in lots of pool water whenever he swims past. But turns out he is a worse swimmer than I am and couldn't last more than 5 mins in the pool. The pool slowly cleared and by the 50th min or so, I was the only one in the pool. Shiok!!!

Intended to spin during lunch. Got to the gym about 10mins before class and THE CLASS WAS FULL!!!!

What's going on?! Yes, I've had rare occasions when the class was full, but that's always AFTER I have signed up. This class is getting so popular ? Or is everyone trying to stick to their new year resolutions, and hitting the gym religiously?!?!?!

Hope this trend doesn't last as I would just end up not even hitting the gym. More excuses to slack & grow fat

Run ? What's that ?

Been toying with the idea to go back to running .... but haven't coz no motivation to.
Just couldn't drag myself out to even do a short run.
Was even contemplating to go BG run, but didn't know how long the distance .. and considering i have not ran for so long, how to run at an acceptable pace with the rest ?
Will end up they have finished the run and I'm probably still 20% into the run. So no point joining group runs now, might as well run alone ?
So there goes the cycle. Can't run in group, so run alone. But run alone, no motivation.
Hahahaha ...

How can I get back my interest in running ? hmmmm ...

Terminal 3

Met up with friend to check out tour packages at the travel agency. We both have leave to clear, $$ to spend but no clear ideas/plans as to where to go. So got some of the brochures and shortlisted a few places before taking a queue number to check with the counter staff on those packages.
Met a friend there ... its the season of bumping into acquaintances. Met 2 other ex-classmates on Fri. Both I just pretended I didn't see. haha, yes, me = dao. Can't really be bothered to strike up a conversation.

Anyway, my friend and I narrowed down to 2 possible places to visit : Turkey or Japan. Both are still pretty cold, so aiya, not sure whether its a good time to visit. Though there would be a good chance that we would get to admire sakura if we choose the latter.

Was telling my friend about the new T3 and we both just gamely decided to head there after checking out the tour packages.

The sky was turning a dark grey and by the time we reached the airport, it was already pouring.

As we took the train, we reached T3 and was greeted by the buzz at basement 2 - where all the cafes & shops are. There were many of those shops you see at our usual malls like watson's, ntuc fairprice, candy empire, helen (the accessories shop), sunglasses hut. For the food they have the Kopitiam food court, yakun, secret recipe (it looked really small and open, not really a place i would want to sit down at), popeye.
We walked around a bit, headed to Level 3 and 4. Level 3 has more higher end restaurants like Crystal Jade Shanghai restaurant (something like that), Harry's Bar, Brewertz, Gelare, Dian Xiao Er etc.
Level 4 is the departure viewing gallery. Again the place was crowded - think many families took the weekends to bring their families to the spanking new T3 as a family outing. As it was pouring outside, the visibility was low and we couldn't see much of what's out there except for the wing of the SQ plane.

Feeling peckish, and wanting to try popeyes (my friend has tried but not me), we headed back to B2 for some popeyes. I behaved atypically by deciding to eat at popeye though the queues were freaking long. Think everyone just patiently queued coz there isn't any other outlets here in SG. Its either try it now or come back to T3 some other day. I chose the former. After queueing for a few minutes, I realised the queue wasn't moving. The service was just extremely SLOW. They have abundance of food (not that the bottleneck was at the food production), just that somehow the front line staff just taking their own sweet time. But ok, the food was ok. Definitely better than KFC!!! They have this nicely baked "biscuit" which is actually quite soft to the bite. Especially when its just hot from the oven and you peel open the biscuit, mmmmm ... heaven.
The chix was also soft & tender & not at all oily. So unlike KFC that is tough and totally disappointing. I made a mistake in my order and hence didn't get their cajun fries. Instead ended up with coleslaw :( If not for the snaking queue I would have definitely gone back for the fries. aw well .... another time then ...

Was reading Hungrie Pijjie's blog and realised they were there too. They also had popeye's so you can read about it there ... hehe

NY Resolutions ?

New Year passed in a flash ... and its already 2nd week of 2008.
Been feeling down lately, more so than usual ... and lost ....

Was at the gym this morning, and someone commented about her new year resolutions. Then it struck me that its a brand new year, and I haven't thought about what changes I want this year.
Not that I ever stick to my resolutions ... but I didn't even attempt to make any. Then I had this small little conversation with myself that goes like this ...

"NY Resolutions? What's the point of making any if I'm not going to stick to it ?"

"That's such a defeatist view. If you don't even try, you will not even have an iota chance of succeeding"

Considering that I'm having some health issues, I think I ought to seriously look at how to improve my health. That shall be my objective for the year : To improve my health.

As for the action plan ... got to put more thoughts into it.

New Experiences

Sometimes I don't understand how bosses work. Tell me one thing ... but when the appraisal came, wrote another. Nothing bad about what he wrote, but it gives a not so accurate representation of what I want. Was a bit perturbed. Dun want to confront him in the open, so dropped him an email instead. He didn't reply but I had to wait around coz the appraisal thingy must be completed by today. After waiting around til 6+pm, I told him him I sent him an email. Then he sort of smiled sheepishly and I explained how I interpreted the report. He then agreed and said he would amend and re-send to me.
The revised version was a slight improvement. Not ideal but well, just have to make do lor.

But I'm proud of myself for speaking up. Just the day before he was telling me to be forceful in stating what I don't want to my big boss. So ok lor, I'm just heeding his advice and practising what he taught :P

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Never a fan of what xbox or psp (though I had toyed with the idea of buying one previously), so naturally I'm not in the least attracted by Nintendo's wii. Finally had a chance to play with it on Fri nite. Haha, quite fun. Its all those simple, no-brainer games that requires only hand and fingers coordination. Very enjoyable actually and we played til past 1am, it helps keep the Z monster at bay. Even strike at bowling ... woooo hooo!
_____________________________________________

My friend's apartment has a nice pool. Plan was to wake up and hit the pool BUT as usual, KJ the lazy pig just admired the pool from afar, and never got around to doing it. :P
*tsk tsk*
_____________________________________________

Went to NTUC Finest @ Bukit Timah Plaza. Been wanting to check it out but never got a chance to til Sat. Finally!! Felt so sua ku. But I have to say I'm not impressed with the variety there. Its not that fantastic afterall. The overseas produce isn't all that interesting. I think I got more satisfaction shopping in NTUC @ AMK Hub. More spacious, exciting and definitely livelier! But it sure is a LONGGGG time since I last stepped foot into Bukit Timah Plaza. Think the last time I was there was several years back when I went to visit my ex-lecturer and we had lunch at Bukit Timah Plaza. The place still retained its retro "charm". I'm surprised such a dated plaza can survive til today. Brings back memories of the times mom and I would be there shopping for some necessities ....

We had lunch at this nondescript stall that sells instant noodles. I didn't get my chance to try the korean 炸酱面 that I have been meaning to try (after watching all those korean dramas) so when i saw this stall selling "black noodles", we thought to try. We also ordered the ramyeon noodles. Thinking that this stall is manned by a korean, I would get some authentic food but alas, realised that upon taking our order, she promptly opened 2 packs of instant noodles and started cooking. Haizz, disappointing.

Nontheless, a very enjoyable Saturday. And now back to the grind of everyday life....

Starting the Year ...

I was so glad I didn't have to stay late on NY eve. Plan was to go for a swim & shower ... wasn't feeling right since the night before and after few mins of the swim, I was completely breathless. Not a good sign at all. I struggled for another 30 mins and gave up when the pool continued to be packed and one AN decided to swim beside me.

Went to watch I Am Legend. I enjoyed the show!

Still wasn't feeling right so went to see a doc in the evening. Darn, NYE and seeing a doc. Hate that. Doc said I probably have the viral infection as he sees an increase in such incidences lately.

Spent the whole of New Year's day in bed and drifting in and out of bed (though the med doesn't cause drowsiness). While people are starting the year doing the Ultramarathon at MR, I'm just nuahing at home. -__-" This is not good, not good at all.

Hope I feel better soon.

MBWA

A term I learnt from my big boss recently. I think this is again one of those army terms ? Probably the guys will know better.

Anyway MBWA meant Management By Walking Around. My interpretation of his explanation was : to manage by walking around, "feeling the ground" so as to see, know, understand what's going on.

It was sort of like a wake up call to me. Though he wasn't referring to me when he talked about MBWA, but I thought it was very relevant to me. To manage a project, I have to be in touch with what's going on. I can't constantly hide in my cubicle and work through emails (which is what I'm most comfortable with ... which makes me think I previously should have continued being a programmer! haha!). I have to MBWA, I have to get out and see the people, talk to them and gather the latest news and info.

I tried that out yesterday with a small selected group of users who are friendly and kind. My first baby step.

A good lesson to end the year. *thumbs up*

Happy New Year

Since I'm likely not being able to do any posting on NY Eve, so like to wish everyone including myself a Happy New Year!

D Day

Lots of frustration when you have no say over timelines etc.
Anyway D day is 31 Dec.
Whether I can survive or be condemned would happen on Monday.
But seriously I'm calm about it. I just fighting fires and doing whatever I can.

My every waking hour is spent in the office. I go home just to eat and sleep.
Work long hours, no rewards nevermind. I still have to pay my own cab fare every night. Can't claim (i think). So it effectively means work harder, get paid lesser. Quite frustrated actually.

Anyway, this explains why I am in no mood to do anything nor talk to anyone. No mood to reply to any emails let alone check on those facebook notifications / requests etc. I couldn't care less what is going on around me. I lose energy to exercise. I just eating and pigging and not exercising much and just growing more obese. What's new yeah ???

I need a break fast. But Phase 2 is hot on the heels after D Day. Let's see what happens on Mon first. Maybe I would have to clear up my cubicle by 1 Jan. hhahahahha ... frankly, I wouldn't mind that at all. :P

Counting Run

Got home near 2am this morning and had difficulty sleeping (don't you have that problem once you passed the bedtime ?). Was hoping to catch up on my sleep before I go to the office at noon but alas, bio-clock roused me at 0640hrs! Arghhhhh! Couldn't sleep so after much contemplation, finally dragged myself out for a run.

I've wanted to do an LSD around the west (to BG, to MR or to Labrador Park) but with my lack of training all these ideas have to be shelved until (if ever!) I get my motivation for running back. So for now, I can only stick to the short runs along the canal near my place.

I had no watch, no ipod, nothing to entertain me for the run today (as I left everything in office). I didn't plan for a run considering I was at work til late. Life is always such a contradiction or irony. Week after week I would bring my sports barang home thinking I would do something over the weekend, but week after week I just lazed at home. The one week I didn't bring my stuff back, I actually got my act together to go for a run! -_-" Anyway, I digress :P

The morning air helped to clear my body of the toxins (or so I felt or like to think :P) and I just took a leisure jog to and fro, and covered 4km. Went for another round and I had to start counting my steps in between lamp posts to keep me going (hey, this method works!). On my return trip back, I changed to counting the number of trees lined by the side of the path.

I dunno how long it takes to cover this 8km but it doesn't matter. It felt good to be out and taking in the morning fresh air and getting some sunlight. What a good way to start the day (before the pigout MUAHAHAHAHA)

Hopefully I can get my act together and do an LSD soon.

Lost my heart rate monitor transistor about a month or two back at the gym. So now dun even have a HRM. Should I go get a replacement ? But seriously I don't really need one. So now my polar watch is doubling up as an expensive watch.

Where am I headed ?

Wed - knocked off at 0045hrs
Fri - left at 0140hrs
all this thanks to some ridiculous deadline.
But I'm not the worst of the lot since the vendors are the worst hit.
Just feeling so tired ... and again wondering where I'm heading in this ...

And now I'm back in office on a Sat afternoon, wasn't feeling well this morning but no choice, got to come ... Right now I'm still waiting for my vendors to get the stuff fixed ... i'm just sitting here wasting my time. Oh actually I have loads to do, but I'm in no mood to work.
:P

I don't feel the holidays season at all ... though I have this fruit cake, gingerbread man etc from Marriott Hotel right in front of me.

Yawn ... here I am in office, while someone is enjoying in Genting lor ..... :P

My New Beau

Two years ... that's how long we have been companions. We have never been apart for longer than a few hours. He is always there for me, reminding me about my tasks, my schedules and friends' birthdays and important dates.

He is always there to act as my "listening ear" when I just need to pen something down. He's the one who help to capture happy memories so that I can post them here ... I've scratched & bruised his face so many times that I have to give him a makeover several times over the past 2 years.

Sadly, he has aged and getting crankier. He has failed to wake me up for important functions (almost missed my flight if not for my bio-clock kicking in!) in the past and ignored phone calls and sms-es. The last straw came when I couldn't wake him up from his slumber ... I knew its time to say goodbye ....

__________________________

After many "frustrating" discussions with good friend about which new phone to get ... I finally got myself the HTC Touch Enhanced on Saturday. Actually HTC Touch wasn't my choice. My ideal would be HTC TyTN II. But since the latter costs a lot more (and I mean A LOT!), I guess I have to stick to the former. The former is sleeker, inferior in processor speed as compared to the TyTN II but guess I will have to live with it :P
And best of all, I paid only $21 for it! The price w contract was $398. With a trade-in of $200 (I almost couldn't trade in the old one because it wasn't able to power up properly and the customer officer said I couldn't trade in. I told her it is working fine and I don't see why I can't trade in for such a small defect and after consulting with someone else, she relented. WHEW!!! Both my friend & I heaved a BIG sigh of relief!). I also used my Citibank-M1 bonus points of $107 to offset the phone. Hence I only paid $21!!!
Am very proud of myself for being thrifty and not splurging on a new phone.
Though the processor is still slow, I am not worse off in terms of functionality. So I'm not complaining.
Let's play with the new beauty for a while more and see the verdict ...

:)

Spa Botanica

Thanks to a kind friend, I had the chance to pamper myself and mom at Spa Botanica last Saturday.

As it was my first time there, I wasn't sure what to expect. Didn't know what facilities they have (except that they have a pool). When I made the booking two days ahead, the receptionists that I spoke to wasn't friendly. They weren't helpful in suggesting the kind of massages or therapies based on my needs and simply pointed me to the website -_-" so I was quite apprehensive about going actually. Was thinking that the staff there would be equally snobbish, so wasn't expecting much.

Thankfully we were pleasantly surprised as the staff that we met that day were all polite, helpful & friendly. They set us at ease and the environment & ambience definitely helped. We were asked to change into their robes and shortly after, mom was whisked away for her massage. I didn't wait that long before I was led to the second storey for my deep-tissue massage. Got to say it was painful and after a while I had to ask the masseur to go easy :P But it was a good massage nonetheless as I told her about my stiff right shoulder, which I somehow pulled something on Thur during my morning bodypump. It was sore and I was having problems with the whole range of shoulder movements. Though it was much better by Sat, but bet the massage would help to release some of the tightness that I've been experiencing. She said its the usual work hazard for many of us, hours in front of the PC. Definite cause for stiff shoulders.

The hour passed quickly and in no time I was done. Mom and I just relaxed and enjoyed the tea. The pool was actually very nice and inviting, too bad I didn't have my swim suit with me. Its a short pool but deep. The depth ranges from 1m to 2m ...

As the massages cost less than the value of the vouchers that I had, there was a balance of < $30. Previously over the phone the unfriendly recep did not offer any suggestions on what I could use the balance on, and simply said that I could only use the vouchers for treatments and nothing else, so I was resigned to the fact that I would be forfeiting the balance. So I was again pleasantly surprised during payment when the staff told me about my balance and asked whether I would like to shop at their shop and pick up something which could be used to offset the balance. So mom and I walked around the small shop but there weren't anything that we particularly wanted to buy. I don't like aromatherapy so the oils were definitely not something I would get. The rest of the products for the skin were way too expensive. We finally decided to just get their cleanser and while the staff was working on the cash register, I found this beaded hand pouch which I thought was nice and though pricey, it was only slightly above the balance that we had left. So decided to get the pouch instead. Was waiting for the staff to tell me the difference I had to pay (which was just a few bucks) but she just said it would be complimentary. Nice :) She was also a doll in helping to check on when the coach would arrive to bring us out to vivocity.

It was a very nice experience and mom truly enjoyed it. Its her first time in such a nice spa and she totally enjoyed herself. Am glad that I could bring her along and pamper her for once.

Ricciotti & Brewerkz

Went Ricciotti at Riverwalk after work on Fri nite. By the time we got there it was already close to 9pm. The place was almost packed but we managed to get a seat in the open. Not a good spot but well. Both of us were more keen on the desserts and were prepared to skip the mains and go straight to the sinful stuff. We flipped through the menu but couldn’t quite decide what to order and hence signal a waitress over. Asked about what she would recommend since its our first time there and she promptly suggested Soffiato (warm choc cake with choc chip ice cream). Ok, what else ? What mains would she recommend ? Everything drew a blank from then on. She was completely clueless and she honestly told me so. So I asked her to send someone who knows over to help us. The next waiter who came was no better. Soffiato was still the recommended and after that it was again a blank. By then I was getting bitchy and after a few more queries which he finally replied with “Everything here is nice”, I gave up and just ordered the Soffiato. Forget the mains we thought. For all we know it isn’t worth it.

Soffiato came. Nothing fanciful, just a small rounded cake like thingy with a scoop of ice cream by the side. The ice cream tasted toooo milky to my liking. The cake was well, just a warm chocolate cake. Nothing amazing if you ask me. What’s the big deal ? Why could something so unsignificant be their signature dish ?

We then decided to try something else and ordered a Cannoli (tube shaped chocolate pastry stuffed with ricotta cheese, citrus fruits & pistachio nuts). We didn’t enjoy that, cheese just isn’t something I enjoy. The service there sucks really ... we would have expected more from a Garibaldi chain.

The only saving grace was that all desserts went at half price after 9pm. So was glad this unsatisfactory experience didn't cost us.

Thereafter we went to Brewerkz. Somehow my friend likes to go there though to me its just another drinking hole. While waiting for a table, we headed to the open area behind the building to watch those radio controlled kites (Go Fly Kite) fixed with multi-colored blinking light bulbs in action. The group there in similar GFK polo shirts were playing with the RC kites while distributing phamplets to random spectators like us. Its kinda nice watching these kites flying about but how fun is it after a while ? Doesn't it get boring after a while ? :P

Pig out some more at Brewerkz ... glad I managed to relax and unwind after yet another long work week.

Highest bridge in S'pore links Mt. Faber and Telok Blangah Hill

I'm so excited when I saw this news on TV!

Can't wait for this to be completed and then I can do a run there :)

Weekend

Just another random posting considering I haven't had the time to blog for a while ...

Fri nite worked late due to some issues at work. Thankfully issue was resolved in time for the launch, but it meant holding a few vendors back from their company function. Someone asked whether it is necessary to hold them back since they have been working so hard, but my point was we have come so far, this is something that can/should be solved. So why not ?
Awww well *shrug*

In the still of the office I heard loud thumps coming from outside the window ... I suspected it was the sound of fireworks but was too busy trying to clear whatever work I could that it took me a while before I finally got my buttt off to check out the sound. I was happy to see that indeed it was fireworks and since there weren't anyone around, I just sat by the window enjoying the beautiful fireworks for a good few minutes before it ended. What's the occasion last Fri ? Why were there fireworks ah ?

On my way home happen to see two friends whom I haven't seen for a long time. Must be carbo-loading for the marathon on Sun *hiak hiak*

Managed to sleep in on Saturday and felt more rested. As any other weekends for the past couple of months, I always had grand plans about hitting the gym or going for a run during the weekends. But those plans never materialised haha. This past weekend wasn't an exception :P Sis and niece decided to pop over and we were all excited about receiving them. Just the night before I dreamt about my niece since I haven't seen her in a while! She just came back from HK from a school trip and even got me some HK wife biscuits. Isn't she a doll?? :)

I decided to go check out the Arena warehouse sale and convinced my niece to accompany me to check it out. Managed to get 2 (ugly but) cheap swimsuits for $20 each (what a steal!) and a pair of goggles. So at least I wouldn't have to worry about disintegrated swimwear (which happens to me oh-so-frequently!) for a while. Hooray!
I haven't been to the Henderson, Bukit Merah area in like ages! So was happy to be just walking around the area and reminiscing. Was telling my niece how I used to hang out there when I was in Sec school :P The place is now rather deserted ... but for someone like me who enjoys tranquility, I kinda enjoyed just walking around the neighbourhood :P

I then brought her to the Bukit Merah library and we spent a while there browsing and picking up the books we want.

I started reading this book Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office: 101 Unconscious Mistakes Women Make That Sabotage Their Careers and thought it was very interesting. Finished it yesterday and shall go get the book so that I can keep it.

Great ...

Just Great.

Got to the office at 7am to pick up my gym stuff ... and realised I didn't have my pass with me. So I'm stuck outside the office, can't get anyone to open the door for me. AND I MISSED MY MRN ME TIME CUM THERAPY (aka exercise).

Yes, that sure puts me in a lousy mood. Ended up eating at Maxwell. Pig out some more lor.

How do you know?

Been so very busy during the weekdays, and I have no access to a PC during weekends. That explains why I've not been blogging.

Work is sapping me ... and I'm just so drained. Everything is NOW, drop-dead deadlines ... all due to some re-org and everyone wants something new implemented yesterday.
Even projects that have been in a stalemate suddenly started running ... its really bad timing ....

Anyway, I feel like i'm just being pushed around. I'm not focused and when things go wrong, I get blamed. And I myself feel bad. I keep questioning myself, blaming myself. "Must be I never put in my best", "Why didn't I push harder?". I feel like I'm not putting in my best, but is it really true ? Or just that I can't possibly know everything ? Or I can't possibly do everything? Or are they all just lame excuses ? everyone around me seem to be doing much better than me. Or again is it just my own self-esteem ? Am I being too hard on myself ? Or am I being too lax and giving myself all these lame excuses??

Someone recently told me the reason why she quit. When she dread whatever she is doing, and she knows she wouldn't put in her best. That's how I feel all the time. But so what ? I still have to be practical. I need to work, and in the meantime buck up or find something I will put my best foot forward. But what's that ? Or am I simply just having a lousy work attitude ? So no matter what job I do, if my attitude is lousy, I wouldn't do it well anyway.

Ok, enough venting. I have to get back to work.

Disturbed ...

I've been very busy at work (yes, u saw that right... what a surprise eh ??) lately. So much so I didn't have time to blog, not that I have anything much to blog.

Life is very much the same except that I'm busy busy busy, and I'm not sure why, extremely tired. My workouts are suffering tremendously because I just dun have the energy to spin, nor pump nor swim nor anything! I felt so drained.

The reason why I'm blogging is coz I skipped gym this lunchtime, and after lunch, and still disturbed over what I heard this morning, decided to just pen this down.

Was in the gym in the morning and one of the instructors told me she used to be 10kg overweight! Look at her now! So svelte & fit! You would have never known! The thing is she said she used to run, and also spin morning, noon and night. *fainted 1000 times over* Well, being an instructor, she still exercises 3 times (or more) each day. I used to think I only know one crazy fellow who would exercise 3 times (or more maybe?) a day. But recently as I get to talk to people @ the gym, seems like there are many people who see no problem doing that. And these are people holding day jobs just like myself!

Question to myself is, will I do that ? Can I do that ? I mean, is it not bordering on madness that people exercise (at high intensity mind you, not some stroll in the park) so hard 3 times (or more) each day ? Is that why I'm fated to remain fat because I wouldn't have that kind of energy and discipline to do that ? I keep thinking over and over why people can do that while I can't. Why am I such a slacker? I get sick and bored of the same exercise. Even like now, I dread going to spin class as the same routines will play in my head and I would just groan at the monotony. So how do they do that ? "Its in the mind", the lady instructor said.

Just yesterday I was talking to another friend about my ill-discipline in controlling my food intake. Its in the mind too she said.

Yes, I am very sure I lack the discipline, and the self control. How do I psych myself ? I know not yet. But I have to somehow train myself ....
I need to emulate these people. To be disciplined enough in whatever they do (not just exercise I'm talking about). But to be focused, to train oneself to perservere and not give up so easily or get bored so easily .... this is one tough training ahead for me. Perhaps its all this not being able to stick to routines that is causing me so much grief in my daily life ... I have got to change ... I have to be like them ... able to do the same thing over and over and over again. Prolly just like what some would argue, "you don't get bored eating right?". So based on the same premise, I shouldn't get bored with other aspects of my life - including my gym routines, and my life.

Yes, I'm perturbed, disturbed. But more importantly, I know I have a problem and I need to change. Maybe I'm being too easy on myself, I always give myself excuses, to give myself a way out. Whereas for the disciplined ones, there's no other way. Just one way, one way to the goal. That's what I lack.

Time to NOT pamper yourself so much, KJ. Gotto toughen up!

Cycling Marathon - Mission Accomplished

Yes, we did it! :)

All five of us, Charmane, Roonz, Bala, Teelee & I joined other five cycling teams and started our 7-hour spin challenge at 1015hrs.  In front of us were the 7-hour GroupX challenge where the instructors from Fitness First (FF being the organiser of this charity event) led the participants in exercises ranging from Body Attack, Body Pump, Step, Combat, Yoga and the like.

I thought that with minimum resistance, I wouldn't have problems spinning for extended periods of time.  But I wasn't prepared for the pain sitting on the bike and I felt the pain and lethargy setting in very early on in the marathon.  I had to constantly alternate between standing climbs and seated spin throughout the challenge.

The challenge for myself in this event is to cycle as much as I can.  Though most of the funds have been raised, but a good friend has offered to donate for the duration of the time I spent cycling.  Ok, so you might say that no one (apart from my team members) will know how long I actually ride, but no.  I have my integrity, and I wouldn't lie just to get a few extra bucks.  It is also a personal challenge to myself.  I'm never an athelete, and the only riding I do is during the spin classes in FF.  So this is like a challenge to myself in finding out how long I can last on the bike.  My target : 5 hours with 30mins rest in between.

It was good fun just being with the team, chatting and laughing and entertaining ourselves while spinning away.  The team beside us, made us of one of my fellow gym mates and his friends, were also spinning away furiously beside us.  My gym mate, whom we never spoke in these many months we attended the same class, was actually very friendly and jovial and joked with us on and off.
Helps to keep the boredom at bay.

Got to thank our many friends who came by to support us while we sweat away.  THANKS to Kops, JT, Tao, Taz, Aichai & family !  Appreciate you folks taking the time off your precious Sat to come see us and cheer us on!  *bow*

Also wanted to thank my dear team members for readily agreeing to take part in this challenge (you people rock!) and for allowing a rookie like me to spin as and when I asked so that I can raise more $$ for CCF!!

I managed to spin a total of 5 hours and stopped at 1700hrs.  Though there is still 30mins more to go before the end of the challenge, I decided to call it quits as my left leg was starting to really hurt by then and I didn't want to risk an injury.  However, I'm glad that I managed to meet my target.  Yay!

The challenge ended at 1730hrs and all six teams did it!  Although there was no doubt that we could complete the challenge, it still felt good.

And we each received a certificate of participation ...

We were supposed to wash up at the gym and wait for the party to start 2 hours later.  However, most of us were beat so we decided to just have a quick dinner at the food court nearby before heading home to rest.

A very very big THANK YOU to all our supporters, and to the many of our friends for donating. We couldn't have done it without the support from all!  

Its interesting how this whole thing came about.  Just recently I was thinking to myself that I have yet to do a project for charity this year.  Something which I said I would do following the wonderful experiences I had from the Go The Extra Mile project for HWA last year.  It was shortly after that thought that I got to know about this Cycling Marathon.  Its interesting how things just fall into place in just a few msn chats and in no time a team was formed.  I'm also surprised & happy that I managed to collect over $800 in donations this round.  

I'm glad I managed to do something in 2007 for charity.  Definitely a highlight in 2007 for me.

All photos courtesy of Kops.  Thanks for taking pics for us (as none of us brought our cameras along) 
:) 

Unexpected

I received a call last night from an acquaintance whom I met 7 years ago during an overseas trip. As fellow Singaporeans in a foreign land attending the same conference invited by the vendor, we got along well. However, we never keep in contact after returning to Singapore. So you can imagine my surprise when this said acquaintance called me last night. I think he could distinctly sense my suspicion and uncertainty about the purpose of the call and had to reassure me he wasn't calling to sell me something (like insurance? haha). Yah, perhaps not now, but he might be staging something for the future "attack" ??

We exchanged pleasantries and did some catching up about our lives and despite sounding friendly, I was still guarded (hey who wouldn't??). I can't shake the notion that there is something more to this. The whole thing just seem so ....... unreal ? Maybe I'm just being the 小人 and eyeing him with my own prejudices about human nature :P

Will people really be so kind to call and catch up ? After a 7 years break ? I know I wouldn't. Its just not me. But that doesn't mean others wouldn't. Anyway, through the conversation I just told myself to relax, but somehow I also didn't want to let my guard down, to risk hacking away the defensive wall that I have put up. I guess I'm overly paranoid ? But I just hate feeling stupid thereafter, when I thought someone is being kind only to realise later he/she has his/her own hidden agenda. Then I felt so foolish and naive. Ah well, anyway, just some musings about something unexpected that happened.

And recently I also wondered ... when people ask you "how's your week so far" (or something along that line), they basically just wanted to to tell you about their week ? And not really keen in yours ? That's how I felt when I bumped into someone (that I dread) in the pantry and all she could do was rattle on about her week and stuff. She just found someone to absorb her ramble, and that person sadly, was me. :P

K, random musings ...

Cycling Marathon Latest Update

Hooray! Just got the confirmation that we are in!

Fund raising begins now ...

Hope everyone will be supportive of our efforts to raise $$ for CCF :)

Ready to Go!

Hooorah!!!! We have formed our team!! *victory sign*

Thanks to the indian chief for helping to find us our 5th rider ... and also coming up with our team name .... Team Jiak :P

We are ready to go ... now let's just hope that our team got selected coz they only looking for 4 teams for this event.

*prays*

Thanks to the double Rs (you know who u r :)) for so promptly pledging your support & funds. Really really appreciate your altruistic & kind gesture! *BOW*

Cycling Marathon

3 stationary bikes. 5 riders. 7 hours. $500 (min).

A few of us would be riding for charity this coming 27 Oct from 10am to 5:30pm.

We will be raising a minimum of $500 and we are still lacking one rider to join us in this meaningful event.

None of us know what is in store for the 7 hours, except that we will ride and all proceeds will go to the Children's Cancer Foundation. I'm lucky to have found 3 other like-minded friends to join me in this "marathon" of sorts, and I'm in awe of how readily they agreed to help out. No questions asked. Just "Ok!" or "On!". I like such decisive-ness! I myself am not so decisive. I have to learn from them!

Hope we will be able to raise the min $500 for the team. We are already prepared to fork out $100 each in the event we couldn't raise the sum.

But the most pressing need now is to find ourselves one more team member to join us in this charity event. If anyone is keen, pls come forward. Just drop me an email or meebo me (just chat on the meebo box on the right hand frame) :)

Weekend Down Memory Lane ...

A Friday dinner turned into an unexpected 2N stay at the ol' place.

Had a long overdue, anticipated, much desired home cooked dinner. Needless to say, it was healthy and YUMMILICIOUS! Vege & toufu soup with thick slabs of steamed cod. What else can KJ asks for ? The green bean soup dessert makes me a happier gal. :D

Woke up feeling happy because I've been thinking about having breakfast at Ghim Moh for the longest time and I finally got my wish after this long. Walked to the market with mom and found the food centre thronged with people. Many of the stalls were doing a roaring business and I had difficulty deciding what to buy. Not so much due to the vast variety of food but it was just tough to find a decent stall that doesn't have a long queue! There even was a shop selling chee cheong fun with this LCD screen playing some advert of their CCF! win lor ... CCF only leh -__-"
Finally settled for some homemade bao which are yummy (the chicken bao was oh-so-YUMMY with the chunks of juicy chicken - so unlike those disgusting ball of minced meat of unknown origin in those mass produced buns. The red bean bao - which was oh-so-tiny but oh-so-delish! the paste just ooozes out when you break it into two ... HEAVEN!) Only bought 1 each as I wanted to try other stuff from other stalls. Unfortunately, it was way too crowded for comfort so ended up just buying prawn noodles for mom and mjk for myself. The MJK no longer tastes as good as before. Its smaller in size *tsk tsk* and the loose peanuts filling just doesn't stick to the kueh and they just sort of made a big mess when you try to bite into it ... u taste more of the kueh then the peanuts, which have either been dropped back into the plastic bag, or onto the table. There was also way too much sugar in the peanuts mix making it taste more like sugar than peanuts and hence it lacks the crunchy peanuts taste. The kueh however is still as nice and soft. Next time can I just ask the uncle for MJK kosong ? :P We ended our breakfast with a bowl of ah balling. The green tea tang yuan was overpowering and taste too much of artificial flavouring. Mental note never to order that flavour again (auntie said is a new flavour). I still like the sesame and peanuts paste best. Shall stick to those in future.

While buying some groceries in the nearby supermart, we met my uncle & auntie. Wow, what a coincidence! They actually called my mom out for breakfast but she was already out with me, so they came over to our place after their shopping to chit chat.

The rest of the day passed by peacefully, just eating, sleeping, watching tv (its a long time since I watch ch 8 and u and cna!!! I have to say they really have boring shows!!! CNA saved the day with Japan Hour and I Do! Let's eat ... where I enjoyed some good tv time with mommy haha)

Next morning, a last minute decision brought us to Commonwealth. The place has changed a lot. It is now buzzing with activities what with the newly opend Sheng Shiong and a food court right beside it. But no, mom and I were not there to eat at the food court. We wanted to reminisce by having our brekkie in the old food centre. But alas, when we got there, realised that the food centre is really quiet. There were only a few stalls open and the yummy fried fritters stall wasn't open for business yet. We finally decided on having porridge only to have the owner exclaimed that they were all sold out -__-". No choice, we ended up at the newer food centre for some laksa, yam cake and chee cheong fun. The laksa was quite nice. Best of all it had the makansutra certificate and yet there wasn't a very long queue and the service was damn fast! Sometimes i wonder whether the stall owners deliberately slow down their pace so that the queue gets longer to form this fake impression that they are very popular hence making more people queue up for their food -_-"
Anyway, while we were about done, an older lady joined us at our table. Mom easily struck up a conversation with her (that's typical of my amicable, friendly mom) who happens to be teochew too and we happily chatted for the duration of her meal of porridge. She is a spritely old lady of 70 plus, full of wisdom and positivity. It was a good chat with her telling us many of the life's simple yet important lessons. Lessons which I think my mom really need to learn and remember. In a way, meeting this old lady was almost a God-sent. Almost like heaven planned this for us because just that morning, we were having a rather serious talk about some stuff and I could tell mom was troubled and worried. But after hearing from the old lady, she sort of relaxed and agreed that she had to learn to let go. Let's hope she remembers that!



While walking about the area, realised that the place, like us, have aged. We went to this traditional bakery which we used to frequent many years back and chatted with the owner a bit. The business has deterioriated ever since some of the blocks were vacated and the residents shifted to the newer flats. The newly opened Sheng Shiong and food court didn't help and kept most of the crowd away from them, which was older and further in from the main road. They used to get some business from the church goers in the weekends but with the newer establishments, that was gone too. Kinda sad to see this old neighbourhood slowly wasting away ..... just like how some older people feel .... well, the shop owner was hoping that few months later the crowd would return after the novelty of the new establishments wear off ...let's hope so :) I sure do not wish for the authorities to tear down these old neighbourhood. We need some of these to keep our heritage ... our memories ...

The picture above - newer blocks form a backdrop against the older structures ...


The old food centre - now losing its shine and popularity but still retaining its old charm ...









Dinner was at this other food court, again surrounded by all these aged two-storey buildings. This is more like a senior citizens neighbourhood ... I wonder how long these buildings will stand before they are demolished ...


Its a weekend full of eats ... and rest ... and also lots of thinking .... actually feeling very heavy hearted over some of the stuff I have to think about ... kinda stressed out. I'm worried but yes, I know worrying doesn't help the situation ... Deep breath KJ, deep breath ...

Running = 5km

Yes, that's my weekly mileage now.
No motivation to run.  Feel so sian just the thought of going out to run.
I struggled last weekend when I attempted a run.  I had to huff and puff my way home ... legs were like lead.  Total distance covered ? Less than 7km.  Disgusting.

So I'm not running .... I've reverted to being a gym rat.

Too bad.  

Multigrain Rice

Just got this multi-grain rice from Sheng Siong last night, and sis helped me to cook it today.
Turns out to be a treat! Its made up of five types of grains though I'm not sure what they are :P

Definitely a good substitute for the plain white rice or brown rice.
:)
Yumz!

Facebook

What's the fuss ?

I wasn't in the least bit keen to join another social networking community online what with friendster and all.  What's the deal really ?

Anyway, a friend sent an invite recently and the newspapers also dedicated a whole one page of the Sunday Lifestyle section on it.  So I decided to just spend some time playing with it, so as not to be too out of touch with what's popular out there.

I feel silly sending drinks to friends, sending hot potatoes to get them out of my hands, playing scissors, paper, stone, biting friends and turning them into vampires (??), decorating their garden, scribbling on their superwall ... ok ok, u know the drift ... definitely better than I do since I'm a newbie in Facebook! :P ....
I am selective who I send the above to tho, coz I think some of them will just find me totally BO LIAO for doing that! So I only send to those who had sent me similar invites/requests ... in an attempt not to seem overly childish :P

But I have to say this Facebook gives me time away from work.  It doesn't take more than a few seconds to enter into a food fight with someone, so it helps to offer that momentary distraction from the drone of everyday life.  Other than that, I haven't find the real appeal yet.  Maybe I'll get hook to it too, maybe sooner rather than later ?
I dunno.

But until then ... buy me another margarita and throw me another basket of that KFC ! :)

Random

No desire to blog lately. None.
Was doing some random housekeeping of the pics on my dopod and found some yummies that I thought I would just put it up as a random post for memories sake. (So long didn't blog and I encountered problems with the picture layout ... can't arrange them! argh)

4 Sep
New Harbour Cafe & Bar
Weekday drinks sesh with Al at this little place near my workplace. We wanted to go Tuckshop after reading about it somewhere ... but the place was crowded and noisy (filled with youngsters) and we would have to wait for a table. Wanting some place quiet for a peaceful meal, we walked about the area and found this interesting, quiet place (which the shop name escapes me at the moment) that sells beer and finger food. Beer was good (ok, I dunno much about beer so left the ordering to the alcoholic). I was in this fries-craze phase lately so ordered their chips. They came in this dim sum container. The chips were YUMMILICIOUS! There weren't many patrons, just a few of us so definitely a good place to chill and talk.

7 Sep
Had dinner at the Jerry's Bar & Grill. Been told that they serve great food, and their fiery wings (or whatever you call them) are to die for. So gamely ordered that plus a few other dishes including their burger. Not one who fancies burger, clearly that wasn't something I would have ordered. But I guessed I have been missing out on the burger coz I really adored it! Its not those fast-food chain burgers I'm used to. I'm now a burger convert, with the juicy sauce permeating the insides of the burger and making the burger soft to the bite and yet juicy when your teeth sinks into the insides of the burger, with the meat chunks. Its just heavenly.
Verdict for the wings - ok lah. Its spicy, but nothing to rave about. Friend wasn't impressed.

12 Sep
Prego!


A user at work invited me and another colleague to lunch at .... Prego. Yes! Prego! Suaku me has never been there and of course I was luffed at by colleagues who had dined there many times -_-" ah well, doesn't matter. My skin has thickened in the course of the years hehe
Not one who fancy italian food, pastas, spaghetti, liguini, rivoli blah blah ... they are just carbo to me.
The only thing I bothered to take a shot of was the dessert. Nicely put together.