Picture Perfect Sunday

Received a few SMSes from Tiwazz this morning, asking if I'm keen to go Jalan Besar for a swim. But I had gotten up late (about 10 am) and it was going to rain, so I declined.

At 1.40 pm, I realised that I was supposed to meet some of the SgRunners at 2 pm at Hotel Rendevous. It was still raining and I didn't want to be too late, so I hopped into a cab and told the driver to get me to the hotel doubly-quick. Bad idea. There was a terrible jam along Orchard Road, and I ended up taking 30 mins to get there at a cost of $10.20. I could have gotten there faster by MRT and for less than $2. :P

Met Tiwazz, Eunice, Balasing, Meteor and Philip there. After settling down in the Coffee Bean, Eunice shared with us her pictures taken in Turkey and Greece, and later Balasing showed us his photographs of Tibet. The pictures were very well-taken, and the "live" commentaries very engaging. :) Maybe it's time I bought myself a camera too - and go on a nice, relaxing holiday to somewhere exotic and far-flung. It's been a while since I last went on a picture-snapping spree.

Evaluating Friday and Saturday

Was swamped at work on Friday. Some of my colleagues were on leave, and the workload kept piling up. More work, less manpower...you get the idea. I didn't manage to meet up with the folks from Club Rainbow in the end. They had planned to watch an 11.30 pm movie after dinner and drinks, but I told them I wouldn't be able to make it. And true enough, I only packed up and left the office about 12.30 am. :P Went back home, had dinner, watched an old Hong Kong kung-fu movie until 2 am then went to bed.

Soon Saturday daybreak arrived, and it was much better. I got up at 8 am, had some breakfast, then went for a swim at Mt Faber SAFRA. I didn't warm up in the children's pool this time, but leapt straight into the adult pool. I kept to the right side of the pool where it was shallower, and did a few laps. When I felt sufficiently confident that I wouldn't drown, I moved over to the left side of the pool where it was quite deep mid-way along the lane. In total, I covered about 16 laps in the pool. Very slowly, very clumsily, very inefficiently, but I did it. :D

Then I headed to Great World City for lunch with the SgRunners, including Astrogirl, Kellylim, cfred84, Andy, Kickjazz, JunieTang, T@z, aichai, roetgen, shutehelup and Tiwazz. After which we proceeded up to Level 3 Golden Village Cineplex for X-Men 3: The Last Stand. Joining us there were also Run3, Fd, fattybombom, TheLonelyRunner, ActiveLifestyleDude, Philip and Bee.




The movie's storyline was weak, the special effects were not particularly spectacular, and it was tragic seeing so many X-men and other mutants losing their powers and/or dying one after the other. :( Won't go into the details, lest I ruin the experience for those who haven't yet watched the film. But on the whole, I was thrilled nonetheless. Guess it's because of the adrenaline that's been building up inside me since news broke about the movie's screening. :)

Two takeaways from the movie, worth further reflection. First, the point about whether being a mutant (read: being different) is a "disease" which needs to be "cured". It's all about making a choice between valuing and celebrating diversity or maintaining the old order and uniformity. Do I judge and try to change people who are different from me...or just different in general? I think it requires a conscious decision not to do so because it runs deep in our human psyche to prefer things which are familiar and common - and therefore "safe". Second, am I the master of my emotions, or am I enslaved to my spur-of-the-moment feelings? This is something that needs to be managed this carefully, particular at the workplace, where frustration levels can run high.

And also one brainless thought...why did Wolverine still have his pants on during his final encounter with the Phoenix? ;)

Blister!

Went for a jog after work today. Was hoping to do a 7+3 km route around the Botanic Garden-Nassim Rd area, but after 4 km into the route in my Adidas Supernova Cushion, I had this huge blister forming on the inner side of my right foot. :( I didn't want to make it worse, so I slowed down to a walk and headed back to the office. :( Sigh...

But on the bright side, thankfully, exciting events are piling up for me for this weekend, and I'm looking forward to it. :D

Fri
Evening (after work) - Dinner and drinks with my fellow befrienders from Club Rainbow

Sat
Morning - Swim at SAFRA Mt Faber
Afternoon - Lunch and then X-Men with the SgRunners, then gym with Kelly

Sun
Morning - Run with Stacey and her friends (either 10 km or 21 km)
Evening - Chit-chat session with Balasing and Brokie about travelling to Tibet

I'm also trying to get myself out of town with the following international running events... :D Hope I can get the leave approved for them...
* Penang International Bridge Run, 30 Jul 06 (21 km)
* Angkor Wat Half Marathon, 17 Dec 06 (21 km)

And having wings would still be nice...

(from Marvel.com)

Wings

If only I had a pair of wings like that...that would be incredible... Can't wait for X-Men 3 to open at the cinemas...

Tiring but enjoyable weekend

Got up at 6:15 am this morning to go to Queenway Shopping Centre to join the SgRunners for the Laksa Run at 7 am. I was still feeling rather tired from my China visit, but I was in good spirits, this being my first run in a long, long time.

Ronnie was the coordinator for today's run. Roetgen, Bee and Tiwazz were also there. We started at 7.15 am, and went on a very leisurely pace down Queensway, and cutting across the grass patch, over the railway track until we emerged at the Portsdown junction. From there, we continued down to Sci Park and then Kent Ridge Park, where Ronnie and I did two loops arond the park. That was great!

But after that, I felt very tired, and my left calf was starting to cramp up. It didn't help that I felt extremely dehydrated. There weren't any vending machines in Sci Park which had drinks in them, which was terrible. In the end, I managed to buy myself a can of 100 Plus from a vending machine in a construction site near NUH. Thanks Tiwazz, for loaning me the coins!

After the drink, I felt really recharged, and ran strongly through the NUS route, where there were some enjoyable slopes. After that, when we had completed the NUS route, we backtracked our way back to Queensway - and bought myself another canned drink - and then headed to Alexandra Village for brunch at almost 10 am.

We really took our time for the run. 12 km in a shocking 2 hours! But I'm not complaining. :) We did walk for quite a bit, especially during the part that I felt really thirsty and tired.

I had hoped for some ice kachang at AV, but the shop uncle said he wouldn't be able to sell any until 11.30 am. So there :P Anyway, I ordered a huge mug of lemon juice and another glass of iced milo, and had a bowl of porridge and two strips of chee-cheong-fan. :)

Chatted with Bee, Tiwazz, Ronnie and Roetgen some more for a while, then went home, showered and called a cab to go and pick up my kid from Club Rainbow for the Camp Sunshine Introduction Tea.

Intro Tea was fun, we did lots of coloring, and even built a plane. Gurmit Singh was the guest-host, and he really made everyone laugh :) Finished the tea at 5.30 pm, and by the time I sent my kid home, it was 6.15 pm. I was feeling really drained after yesterday's exertions at the pool and gym, and for the run and intro tea today. I almost fell asleep on the bus back home just now :P

Tiring weekend, but I really enjoyed every moment of it. :D

Haven't had a weekend like this in a long while

Haven't had a weekend like this one for a long while. Got up at 10 am, had a late brunch. Went out, posted some letters, headed down to Mt Faber SAFRA to practice my swimming. Felt confident enough to try the adult pool. Did 2 laps. Not a very long distance, but it's the first time I've tried to swim there on my own. it's an achievement that I didn't drown ;) After that, went down to California Fitness @ Raffles Place for a short but intense workout. Hit the delts and tris. Got home, had dinner with my parents. Feeling a bit tired, but it was worth it.

Photos from China

Took some pictures while I was in Shenyang and Shanghai. But my photography skills have degenerated as it has been almost three years since I last used a digital camera. :P I'm hardly familiar with all the different functions :P


Ladies-in-serving coming out to welcome us at the Imperial Palace in Shenyang, Liaoning Province


Close-up shot of some of the ladies at the Shenyang Imperial Palace


The Singapore Garden, one of the many spot locations at the Liaoning International Horticultural Exposition


A view of the Shanghai Skyline from the 3rd storey of the Shangri-La Hotel

Back from China

After a hectic week in China, I'm finally home. It's been quite an experience. Although I didn't get to run along the Bund, I did get to spend some time with my colleagues based in Shanghai, and built up our friendships, which was good. Had a good flight back to Singapore also...watched Hoodwinked and Casanova on Krisworld.

Shanghai

Just popping in to leave a quick post. I'm now in Shanghai. Was in Beijing and Shenyang a few days ago, but I didn't have time to blog when I was there. If my schedule allows, I may go for a run along the Bund (上海滩) tomorrow morning. Work here is quite tiring, and I sometimes type away on my laptop until 2-3 am in the morning, but the hotel rooms are great and I can get a real comfortable sleep, even if it is just for 4-5 hours each night.

Shanghai is a fascinating and vibrant city. I get a great view from my 21st storey hotel room window. Took some pictures, and will upload them when I get home. And I do look forward to coming home soon.

Blue

For some reason, I'm feeling blue. Maybe it's because I am overwhelmed at the prospect of packing my suitcase, or maybe it's because I feel so out of touch with the rest of my friends, or maybe it's because I'm just too caught up with chasing after the vain things in life.

Going back to the office at 7 pm later...need to sort out some paperwork...

Finally, a quick blogpost

Incredible. I survived yet another high-impact week at the office. I progressively broke my previous record, leaving for home at 0026 hrs, 0139 hrs, 0151 hrs and 0252 hrs on Tuesday through to Friday. And that's not including the fact that I was back at work on May Day (Monday), and also spent another 10 hours in the office yesterday (Saturday).

Chee Kong and company went out for beach volleyball on Saturday. Pity I couldn't join them. And this morning, by the time I go out of bed (with a terrible headache), I had missed all the Sunday morning runs. Lorraine and Sally are going out for dinner/supper later this evening, but I won't be able to go along either.



I am keeping my fingers crossed that I can last through the next two weeks. I'm flying overseas in a few days' time for official duties and won't be back until later in the month. May the Lord grant me the strength to push on, and also the humility to accept His help, and the wisdom to recognise that it is He that is working through me.

May 1st - A Day for Labour

Woke up in time to receive an important email from work, so I had to process that right away, after which I hurried down to Harbourfront to meet the other SgRunners who had completed their morning run to and outing at Sentosa. Lots of people there, the usual suspects such as TLR, Fd, Brokie, Taz, SportsVenturer, Hedgehog, Ironmandreamer, Leh-lio Girl, xsuanjing, Nemo, Cokiee, etc, including one new face, Zhiwei. I chatted with DO quite a bit about his NTUC Dualthlon yesterday and collected two running singlets from Kelly. Later on, Kelly also passed me her book entitled "Running Injury-free" which will definitely come in handy :) Thanks, Kelly! Everyone was in good spirits and enjoying the holiday, so that was nice.

After a while, we dispersed, and I headed back to the office for some work. Thanks to my mum who packed me some lunch and sandwiches for tea break, I managed to keep my stomach full from 1 pm until 7:30 pm. Then, I packed up and headed for home. I don't feel entirely rested, but it was nice having the office virtually to myself on a public holiday so that I could really focus on my work without the usual daily distractions, e.g. the usual endless flood of emails, phone calls, meetings, etc.



But ouch, my Temporal Mandibular Dislocation (some sort of jaw pain) is still giving me problems...I hope I get better soon!