PooHBeAreEs JOuRnaL

sundown marathon 31 May 2008

2008-06-03T21:43:00.007+08:00

My friends either did the 84km or 42 km. I wanted to spare myself from further agony during this stressful period. So I gave the challange a miss. Smart! I signed up for the 10.5km corporate relay with my colleagues instead.

Posing with the light sticks

Start of race at 8.30pm

After the run

Guess what we were doing.....

The results are out. My timing should be 01:00:36:53. It had to be either I was hallucinating or my timing was unintentionally swapped with my teammate (and hopefully he is not reading this. LOL)

I think I will try the 42km night run next year.

End of the Week

2008-05-23T23:56:00.000+08:00

Yep. I actually did zero OT hours this week, just as I had originally planned. But, the irony is I guess I have to compensate all these hours in the weekend. And my source of motivation at work, if it still is, would be on leave for this whole week.

Anyway, last evening, all plans to work the extra hours was abandoned. I joined my ex-colleagues for a dinner get-together and drinking session at VivoCity. As usual, our conversation never failed to revolve around her, with ex-koala boss ever so agitated whenever we are on this subject. LOL.

This is the first Friday I joined them at MacR. Ok, for some reasons, we ran only 7km and we ran extremely slowly. And then, the usual dinner til over 11pm. I quite enjoy this routine, but how do I balance this interest with work I am still trying to figure out. And I am not as passionate in running compared to the rest, with my motivation generally only limited to 2 major factors. One of it is to slim down! This is the third week into my running schedule, and a friend actually told me yesterday, ' You-seem-to-put-on-a-little-weight'. OMG!!!

Distraction

2008-05-21T23:39:00.004+08:00

I went for the 6pm MacR 10km run and then dinner. MX concluded that all my excessive complaints about work recently is simply because I am distracted. Sigh. It is not entirely untrue. Although, M who seems to be of a different breed of employee altogether, is still totally amazed how I can work till 11pm on weekdays.

Fine. Whatever it is, my conscience tells me the 530pm resolution will not get pass the 3rd day....

530 Resolution - Day 1

2008-05-20T21:26:00.002+08:00

I did leave the office at 530pm sharp today. Not to be misunderstood that I am the irresponsible sort. I rather work very hard from 8.30am to 5.30pm and complete what is possible and spend the rest of the night doing non-work related stuff. It does not sound too idealistic, I hope....

I will leave on the dot again tomorrow. Looking forward to the run and, there is something I wish to find out.

Long Weekend

2008-05-19T22:38:00.011+08:00

It was an extremely vexed Friday, the one which just passed. Minus the report I owed boss which I still cannot resolve at the end of the day despite trying my utmost best, everyone seemed to be chasing me for things. For a moment I thought I was a slave to these people! And then the grand finale of the day had to be when I was informed by her that my QS would be taken away from me to do her project. This would be the third person from my team since this year. Ok, I had made up my mind to leave the office on the dot starting from tomorrow since it seemed to be implied I am so super efficient! Yes I am complaining a lot, and indeed there is a brighter side of things, but I just don't feel like looking at that direction. So what.

Work aside, on Saturday morning, I left for my biking trip to Pengarang with four other friends. It was to be a leisure biking trip and we were looking forward to having a cheap and good seafood feast in the town.

Departed at Changi jetty at about 11am

Cycled for about 20km to the small town for lunch. It was a scorching afternoon.

Continued our way for about 10km more to the resort

The resort where we stayed. Checked out the beach, showered, chit chatted and we headed back to town for the seafood dinner. Dinner for 5.

The next day, we cycled back the same way, again under the scorching sun, and then back to Singapore by bumboat. A short and simple but enjoyable trip.

Monday, the Vesak Day public holiday - back to the office. Had agreed to meet boss with my other teammate at 9.30am for a discussion to resolve the same tabulation. Working from 9am to 9pm, I guessed we did what we meant to finally. The very fact that the boss is there to guide and assist to solve the problem makes me incline to disregard a large portion of the disgusted feeling. Sigh...but my resolution to leave on the dot from tomorrow onwards still stands.

Then after all the excitement at work, my 2 friends who offered their private investigation services sms-ed me consecutively which made me burst out in laughter and then felt a bit disturbed. I was surprised I was actually bothered - about the something which was conjured almost out of a joke. How unpredictable our emotions and mind.

Tired

2008-05-15T23:02:00.007+08:00

...past 11pm and just after a gathering with 2 good friends. The last thing I want to do now is to go through all the files I had brought home and do up the tabulation for the meeting with boss tomorrow morning at 8.30am.

Much as I very very much would like to live up to the expectations of this greatly respected character always, I think I just need my sleep for now.

Work harder tomorrow then.

Wednesdays

2008-05-14T23:21:00.010+08:00

I have decided! I shall run at MacR every Wednesday evenings. Not sure what my boss have got to say though....

Ok, of course this is nothing compared to that Mon- 10km run, Tue- swim, Wed- 13 km run, Fri- 17km run, Sun- 60km bike and 17km run regime. Gosh! But well, at least I start somewhere towards the few-wanna-achieve-targets.

And yes, I ran today! But the irony is, the 15km run must had gone to waste after the very sinful satay-BBQ fish-fried chicken-hor fun late night dinner :(

3 Horrid Things

2008-05-13T21:25:00.009+08:00

Don't write like a doctor when you are not and expect your poor subordinates to read your illegible handwriting. They have better things to do! Oh yeah, the wonder you are the best person to do the hospital project.

Being very busy the whole day but nearly accomplishing nothing at the end of it is not very promising. Brain overutilised. Might as well give up and go home.

Finally, I got this monosyllabic reply from someone which makes me even more super irritated.

Worst Tuesday ever.....

The Distance So Far

2008-05-12T22:34:00.005+08:00

I figured out I am going to be the dullest person on planet earth ever if I continue spending excessive hours working. Yes. I was working working and working while I was away from blogosphere. How boring!

22 April 2008. My rekindled interest to run and bike consistently throughout the week. Come to think of it I am quite proud of myself: total distance of 150km bike and 60km run in 3 weeks. Of course this is insignificant as compared to the others I know. Well, as for swimming, still no thanks at the moment.

And the saga continues....

The Box of Bird's Nest

2008-05-11T23:28:00.003+08:00

Even when you think you are sure to be right because the whole office is doing it, the boss can prove that the particular office procedure is wrong.

Acks. I lost a bet with him again. This is the stake.....

And I-REFUSE-TO-BELIEVE-I-WOULD-NOT-WIN-THE-NEXT-BET-WHATEVER-IT-IS. Although theoretically, the boss is always right.

Titiwangsa Trek!

2008-03-13T22:01:00.000+08:00

10 days of holiday ahead! A break from work! Yay! Of all things, I opted to go on a 7 day VERY challanging trekking trip with 5 other friends to Titiwangsa, Malaysia. Something I wanted to do since a long time ago just for the challange - those Gunung Tahan kind of trek. Will be back on 26 Mar 08.

We all met up last Sunday at C's house to distribute the food load

The weekend we went to Seremban - Day 1

2008-03-11T21:52:00.011+08:00

Our initial plan, with a supposedly bigger group, was to trek in Gunung Ledang over the weekend. But the trip had to be cancelled when we subsequently learnt that it was closed due to the pre-elections. Then having heard so much about Gunung Angsi in the blogosphere, under the influence of yours truly, we decided to make an impromptu trip to Seremban just 3 days before.

1 Mar 08. On the early Saturday morning, we braved the rain, and we braved the massive jam because of the stringent checks due to the terrorist escape episode, and we made our way across the causeway.

We also decided to be adventurous in the midst of all the lack of planning. We are renting a car to drive ourselves to Seremban. Woohoo! How exciting!

So we began our journey on the road after lunch and getting all the administrative matters done. May and I took turns to drive. For the both of us, it was the first time driving on the Malaysian highway. But anyway, everything went quite smoothly in general. Except, we detected a burning smell from within the car at some point of time which some of us dismissed as it was just us being paranoid. And on a few occassions, the accelerator was not generating the corresponding speed when stepped on. This, we speculated it to be some minor technical faults of the not-so-branded car. Then, we realised the fuel tank was emptying way too quickly. The car would had stalled in the highway if it had not been that the petrol kiosk appeared just in time. Phew!

We concluded that there was indeed something wrong with the car when it finally failed us just after we entered the Seremban toll. At the maximum possible speed at 15km/hr and dying on us every 200m needing a restart of the engine in the busy roads, I took the driver's seat apprehensively with a very pounding heart. We made several calls to the car rental company. Haggle. Haggle. Haggle. No results. We also debated on where would be a safe place to park the car. Anyway, with tremendous effort making our way around in the dying vehicle, we chanced upon this decent hotel with carpark facilities. Thank God!

After checking in the hotel, taking our shower, and making further arrangements with the car rental company it was already about 8pm. We were then ready to set out to meet Jonzz at the hotel lobby.

He drove. So the 4 of us hopped into his car. Where did we want to go? Well, we said the supermarket because Colin wanted to buy instant pancakes. Jonzz, I believed was baffled, but he suggested we go to Jusco in Seremban 2 anyway, before dinner. Along the way, we saw the roads were flanked excessively with all the election posters and flags. And Jonzz was explaining the layout of the Seremban roads, that the town was small, the location of his school, his church, his house, the park, the museum, blah blah blah. In the short span of time, I guess I must admit he is a better guide and driver than I am. LOL. Well....and we are all still waiting for his Singapore trip travelogue.

Jusco turned out to be a large shopping mall with an impressive tenant mixed and bustling with the weekend crowd. It was quite a contrast to what I had the impression of the small and tranquil town. I was fascinated by the supermarket. Don't ask me why but most Singaporeans would be. HaHa. Colin did not find what he wanted and the queue was long. So we decided to come back again the next day.

Dinner was at this Chinese seafood place which I heard so much about from Jonzz and gang. And there was this Marmite crab I had told them I wanted to try since a few months ago. This was what we had:

After a satisfactory dinner, Jonzz dropped my friends back at the hotel and we headed off to meet Kok Hon at a Mamak stall. My first time meeting Kok Hon. I am actually not very good with "strangers", but because Jonzz was literally talking non-stop that night, there was hardly a moment of awkward silence. I told him I appreciated it. Although I remember clearly he said he is a quiet person by nature. HaHa.

We chatted over our hot drinks. Kok Hon and I updated about ourselves since both our blogs are almost dead, and the 3 of us spoke generally about other bloggers we know. Not sure if this is considered as blog-gossip. LOL. Oh, and while we were chatting, the person from the car rental company who was on his way from JB to Seremban to replace the vehicle called my handphone to ask for directions no less than 5 times. Naturally, Jonzz was tasked to direct him, in his somewhat fluent Mandarin. HeeHee.

We called it a night at the Mamak slightly past midnight since all of us would have a long day ahead. Jonzz briefly showed me his church, his neighbourhood and his cute and friendly dog Scooby. In the end, we had to lead the car rental guy in person because he still could not locate the hotel despite the numerous calls. Ok, we realised partly because the lake we were talking about the whole night was hoarded up and could not be seen from where he was!

Ok, finally we got the car replaced. At 1am, although Jonzz had kindly offered, the prospects of making the extra effort to wake up at 630am no matter how nice the beef noodles and siew bao would be was extremely remote. On consensus, we declined the offer. With the personalised map from Jonzz, we would make our way to Gunung Angsi by ourselves the next morning.......

Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2007

2007-12-04T23:40:00.000+08:00

Updated on 10 December 2007:

Firstly I forgotten to sign up this year for the event. Then, somehow half-heartedly, I managed to take the place of a friend who happened not to be able to make it for race. So much for the unenthusiasm. I trained, but I guess not as hard and I did not clock in the acceptable mileage in preparation for the full marathon this time. Not that I did last year. Haha.

It brought back some interesting memories as I was reading my post on last year's marathon. Also, the experience participating in the marathon a second time is certainly very different from the first.

2 Dec 2007
3.30am: Had to drag myself out of bed. Sigh. You would not consider taking part in a marathon a significant event when you had done it the first time. If there is anything significant, it's probably the pain that you remembered. LOL. I shall refrain from being so negative.

4.3oam: Met up with MX, GG and C at the Marina Square carpark. Dad was so nice to give me a lift there so early in the morning. After getting ready our stuff and doing the must-do-business in the toilet, we made our way to the start point. There was already a huge crowd there. The place was bustling with life with the few thousand runners. We made our way nearer to the front to the "below 4 hour marker". HeeHee. Well, at least I do not feel the least nervous this time.

5.30am: Start of race.
0-10km: I always enjoy this part of the race. Early in the morning and the temperature is pleasantly cool, and at the start you always have the energy to laugh and chat; which was what MX, C and I did. Met a few friends along the way too. And I was most surprised to see Raymond who said hello to me from behind at the 10km mark. Urrrghhss. I knew immediately I was at the wrong pace I saw him! Too fast at the start, that is. But how to gradually pick up speed in a marathon I do not know. Seems almost impossible to me. Got to go consult some experts.

11-20km: Passed by City Hall when there was this lady who called out my name. That's my ex-boss' wife. Interestingly, we were introduced briefly before and all the subsequent times we met were in the middle of such race events like this. MX, C and I continued to run at the wrong pace. Well, I knew it was wrong for me, at least. Looking at my watch, I felt as though I was doing a half marathon instead. HeeHee. But still, it's kind of nice to be seemingly fast.

21-30km: I hated this stretch. The never ending East Coast Park loop. After a while, I lost MX and C because expectedly, I cannot keep up with their speed. And one main difference this year was I embraced the deep heat and the whatever-spray stations, which I totally shunned last year. And the power gel, I never believe in them. Well, mainly because I hated the taste. But now I think they are a great help. I was ignorant before, I guess. Pain pain pain. The knees and ankles. What a torture!

30-40km: Slowing down significantly. Focusing on the pain when I really should not. The sub-5hr target did not entice me at all. Haha. I decided to walk when the 5 hour pacer overtook me. Walk walk walk. The pain was not overbearing. Neither did I suffer any cramps. But seeing so many people walking, I joined them. Unlike last year, I was proud and absolutely refused to be seen walking. I believed I walked a total of 4km this time.

41-42km: Nevertheless, the strategy to conserve energy was a good move, I guess. It is great to be seen that one is still strong and running energetically especially at the end of the race and where the crowd began near the Esplanade and Padang. Ok. I felt motivated to run again. So I ran :)

Last 195m: Surely, one is obliged to sprint with pride at the ending point where strangers who made up the crowd are cheering. Of course, I did that. HaHa. Completed the race in 05:12:46. Surprisingly, it was better than last year, despite the fact that I walked a good distance. And that my legs were quite ok this time. Maybe it is good to walk?

We met up with Chia and GG near the end point. Also saw a few other familair faces here and there. It did strike me indeed I got to know quite a number of avid runners just in this year alone. So, am I motivated to do more and better amist all these sports enthusiasts? In fact, someone just asked me about ironman today. Nah. I am not that sort at all. I would be content with a sub 2 hr half marathon and a sub 5hr marathon. Hopefully, I will be able to achieve these target next year, and then I will retire. HaHa.

.... .- .--. .--. -.-- -... .. .-. - .... -.. .- -.--

2007-12-04T23:25:00.000+08:00

To be updated......

Powerman Lumut 2007

2007-12-04T23:01:00.002+08:00

11 Nov 2007

See results here. Run 1 [5km] 0:30:54; T1 0:01:35; Bike[30km]1:13:20; T2 0:01:17: Run 2[5km]0:32:09 = 2:19:17

New Balance Real Run 2007

2007-10-28T23:26:00.000+08:00

Road 12km Sand 1km Trail 1km Runway 1km
One run after another..... The good thing is, I don't have to pay for them :)

Did the run in 01:38:02: -

I nearly did not want to wake up at 5am this morning. OK, no choice cos meeting MX, SW and C.

There is no running on sand. Everyone kept close to the grass patch. Cheating! LOL.

I hated the last 2km stretch when the scorching sun was shining right at my face. I need my sunblock n sunglasses!

After the run, my feet were bleeding cos of abrasion from the new trackshoes:(

And I think I feel highly unmotivated to blog these days ;P

Great Eastern Women 10K

2007-10-21T23:42:00.001+08:00

To be updated.....

Nuts About Donuts

2007-10-21T22:59:00.000+08:00

19 October 2007

A two-hour wait for donuts had became a norm in little red dot with the opening of Donut Factory. There are always long queues at its outlets. Unbelievable.

I am not a great fan of these sweet and sinful doughs. And I will NEVER queue for it. Chanced upon a more intelligent way of getting hold of the orders. Home delivery. Haha.

Ok ok. I know I am not doing justice to these sought-after donuts with my poor photography:P

Happy Birthday Caleb

2007-10-21T22:34:00.000+08:00

16 October 2007

A resplendent buffet spread of seafood and international cuisine at AquaMarine, Marina Mandarin. What a way to spend a Wednesday night. Stuffing our faces with food.

Hey, hopefully, we will be gym buddies again, instead of pigging-out buddies. And remember, you owe me one. LOL.

Happy Birthday!

The Bull Run 2007

2007-10-13T23:50:00.000+08:00

First, the reason why we are involved: Our project client is one of the corporate sponsors of this iconic charity fun run in the Central Business District and they had extended their invitation to the consultants to participate in the event. Being the super duper supportive quantity surveyors that we ought to be, and because we are a fun loving and sporting bunch, we easily gathered 16 enthusiastic participants for the 3.2km Fun Run and 2 teams for the Gateway Team Challange. Impressive eh? :)

12 october 2007

4:30pm All ready. Waiting for taxi . Yes, we get to leave office early :)

4:45pm Outside the Supreme Court. Pinning our bibs. Errr...not too sure why we did not wait until we cross the road to the Padang to do so.

4:48pm The lovely Comm team gals:)

5.15pm Overall group photo in front of the BFC booth. More than half are from our office. Haha. Someone is obviously in the wrong top :P

5.20pm More group photos.....

....and another.

5.44pm Fun at the carnival stalls. Hoop a cone.

....spin and win.

5.52pm Resi team buddies.

.....more photos.

Borrowed the bull caps from the CapLand guys to pose.

6.05pm Still waiting........

6.12pm Warming up. We are wearing the same T-shirt and representing the same corporate sponsor but no idea who are these people:P

...wait a minute....we know him :) The only nice and sporting PM who was represented.

6.20pm Gathered at the starting point. Realised that the renowned island resort project was also represented. Saw Ben and Min and we chatted briefly. MC was proudly leading his troop all the way to the start line but overshot and was kept outside by the barrier. LOL. And this is the man who used to keep asking me for chicken rice!

6.26pm Flagged off for the 3.2km fun run. Finally. It had been a long wait.

6.43pm Completed the run in about 17 min. Got out the camera for more photos:)

... at end point.

and of our footwear.....

.....with a cute participant of the doggie race.

Cheap thrill.Hahaha
Next, the Gateway Challange at 7.30pm.

6.50pm Dinner. Scumptous spread of buffet at our booth. And free flow of champagne. Wow.

Hopped over to the CapLand booth to catch up with an old friend..... The past, the present and the future and Mr DB. This photo taken by his wife. LOL.

7.29pm Gosh! We realised that the annoucement for all 10 teams of the Gateway Challange participants to gather at the stage already happened 5 minutes ago and some of us were still at the booth! Sprinted all the way to the stage. We originally had 2 teams from our office, but the other team was too late. Anyhow, one team proceeded but in all fluster and confusion. It was hilarious.

1. We ended up at the wrong team twice.

2. We had 6 members when we are supposed to have 5. The marshall was confused by us.

3. At the Thailand station, the team member dressed herself in a male costume when she was supposed to be dressed in a female one.

4. At the Indonesia station, the team member's sarong fell off. When told by the marshall to restart the station activities, she blatantly ignored him.

5. We kept laughing and giggling hysterically.

7.45pm That's us. Team BB. Guess what? We came in last. But because we kept laughing non-stop and posing endlessly for photos, we were mistaken by the marshalls and photographers to be the winners! Haha.

8.10pm Cheers and goodbye! It was a fun and interesting Friday evening.

conquer the waves

2007-10-11T22:16:00.000+08:00

Again, this is a backdated post:P

Last Sunday, MX and I decided to be extra nice. We went to ECP very early in the morning to support C and C who were taking part in the Fuji Xerox S'pore Open Water Swim 2007, 3km event.

It is kind of a nice feeling not being a participant, especially in any swim event anyway. No stress. No butterflies in the stomach. Just stand around, take photos, chit chat and cheer your friends on. Next time I will remember to bring a picnic basket. kekeke.

Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2007

2007-10-03T21:02:00.000+08:00

The website reads:-

Registration closed!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TREMENDOUS SUPPORT!Registration for the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon is now closed due to overwhelming response. This year, we have garnered 40,000 runners. That is a 30% increase of participants from 2006. The organising team thanks you for your support.

Do refer to our website for more marathon updates. We look forward to seeing you at our start line on 2nd December 2007

And, I realised I had forgotten to sign up!!!!! Grrrggggg........

Weekends Should Be Like This....

2007-09-30T20:29:00.000+08:00

Time to work out. 10km run and 60km bike. Oppss...missed the biking session today:P

Time to catch up on lots of sleep.

Time to laze around at home. Watch DVDs, chat on MSN and other online stuff.

Time to attend service.

Time to catch up with family and friends. Have dinner at home or outside like this. Heehee...realised it is always Jap food.

Time for retail therapy. I bought this...

...and this, this and this. Oh my....how long have I not gone shopping! I feel so deprived.

Time to go to the movies. Even it is most crappy like this one.....

AS LONG AS IT HAS NOTHING GOT TO DO WITH WORK.

PB Equations

2007-09-26T22:56:00.000+08:00

[SUM2007(Oakley + Kenyir Lake Tri + PD Tri + OSIM Tri + AHM + RealRun + BullRun + GE Run + Powerman + StandChart)]
= Bionic PoohBear :O

[SUM2007(Blogspot + Blog surfing + MSN + Yahoo + Hotmail + MarsExchange + Veoh + YouTube + BaiDu + Friendster + Facebook)]
= Online Addict PoohBear ;)

[SUM3Q2007(DLS + MBFC II + AD + Missiles + Arrows + OT + CP1 + DP + BQ + HKM)]
= Workaholic PoohBear :(

[SUM2006(Msia + Thaild + Vietnam + Spain + Morocco + Doha) + SUM2007(HK + Msia + Msia + Msia + HK)]
= Travelling PoohBear :D

All other equations in invisible font :P

Funny (Part 2)

2007-09-23T20:05:00.000+08:00

Rain or shine, my stamina still sucks. But at least, I did not end my biking session this morning feeling like one of the starving population of a third world country. Instead, we all came back totally drenched from the heavy downpour. It was equally pathetic. Nevertheless, I am still inspired by this weekly activity.

By the way, someone PLEASE NAG AT ME TO RESUME MY WEEKDAY (AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK) GYM REGIME.

***
Ok, now back to the topic for this post.

Today, I discovered some more amusing things about my dearest team:-

We sleep talk at night about work.

We get all excited and hyper when boss email us. (kekeke....)

We design our MSN display message to read:
"Super super stressed day"
"Busybusy day"
"Work in progress"
"Sometimes taking deep breathes does not help"
"I am going to faint"
"gan chiong!!!"

And of all things, boss always buy us Yakult. We happened to love Yakult. We suspect he is either super observant or it is because he does not know what to buy because we keep telling him we are on diet, we are very health conscious and we dislike snacking (*bullshit*)

Funny

2007-09-22T23:32:00.000+08:00

I am amused when I observed the following in my team:-

We check our mailbox constantly for emails when out of the office.

We MSN one another to discuss about work when out of the office.

We SMS one another about work when out of the office.

We blog about work.

We think that working overtime is fun. (I nearly fainted when I hear this one!)

We have one common idol.

We run and not walk in the office.

We suggest that we hold hands and pray when we are desperate.

We speak in an insane manner and laugh loudly whenever we are stressed.

I hope there is nothing wrong with us.

***
The usual Sunday 6.30am biking session tomorrow. Time to ZzzzzZZZZzz.

Another Gathering

2007-09-20T23:42:00.000+08:00

Backdated post updated on 22 Sep 2007

Working overtime constantly is definitely very unhealthy and I really dislike the idea. But sometimes I guess there is no choice. Those insane characters with their almost impossible deadlines! It has to be by God's grace and favor, that no missiles launched at our side (for a reason only known to a few of us). Hope they never will.

I left on the dot yesterday for a gathering; was hesitant at first but the deciding factor was that SH dropped by the office to pick me. Heehee. Someone reminded me that my blog is about food, food, food recently. Ooppps, here is more. Taa Daa.....

This was what we had yesterday. Buffet Chongqing hotpot buffet. Nothing much to comment on the food except we ended up overeating as usual. Urrrgghhhss. This is bad. And I had not been working out consistently recently. But that aside, it was a great time of catching up on the good old days. Well, our conversation never fail to drift far from a certain subject, which after all was what that brought us together 7 years ago. A certain few got so carried away lamenting on the same old issues that Chickado (the someone who always claimed I killed his blog) had to remind us not to wash our dirty linens in public. Anyway, I can only conclude that ignorance is bliss, at times. And oh, thank you Chickado for generously picking up the tab!

I also learnt that night, that there are more people reading my blog than I thought. I still think whatever I blogged is fit for public viewing, except now I try to refrain from posting people photos in here (influenced by someone, I am *trying* to embark on my for-friends-only friendster project). And one disclaimer, whoever reading this blog, it is important to note that PB is certainly NOT trying to apple polish anyone. Thank you.

Midnight Feast

2007-09-16T21:17:00.000+08:00

Finally G, A and I managed to pick a day whereby everyone is free to meet up. The session was set to be on last Friday at 10.30pm at Brauhaus in Millenia Walk. The time and venue was to accommodate G's schedule. This good friend cum ex-colleague of mine is now the boss of his own shop. Wow :)

Anyone who happened to be at the Esplanade and its vicinity, do drop by at the The Naturalist. Be assured you will be received by two very charming, friendly and helpful co-owners. The shop has a wide array of natural skin, body and hair care products from exclusive brands such as La Clinica, A'kin & Primavera and also its own customised products. I am a supporter of the La Clinica make-up remover and facial scrub myself. (Heehee. Doing some free advert here.)

I hung around in G's shop on Friday until closing time and then we walked across to Millenia Walk, and then finally changed our minds and decided to settle for supper at the 24 hour HK Cafe at Marina Square instead. A was still with his colleagues at a nearby pub so G and I started the pigging out session without him.

G: I am super hungry. I can eat a lot.
Me: Me too.
G: Let's order this, this and this.....
Me: Err...it's already midnight. I think we are going to put on weight.
G: Don't care lah. Already fat.
Me: Hahaha. Ok.

So we ended up stuffing our faces with all this food between the two of us. Urrghhhsss. I feel sick even thinking of it now.

Blended lychee drink

Instant noodles with luncheon meat, egg and veg

Chicken curry, with extra serving of bread

Dim Sum: carrot cake, chicken feet, seafood roll, chee cheong fun

A joined us later. This ex-boss of ours never fail to make us roll in laughter with all his sarcastic remarks about some issues. And he is constantly telling me about certain villians I need to guard against. On one hand, it may seemed like a wet blanket, but then I think I do need these reminders at times to bring me back to planet earth. Right. To a certain extain, I agree I am too airy-fairy:P

Sunday night. Acks. Back to work again tomorrow. How I wish weekends never have to end.

Back-To-Normal-Week

2007-09-13T22:36:00.000+08:00

Work is hectic in the day but no more late nights, at least not for this week. Phew. FINALLY, the consolidated report was submitted to the client today. Missiles would be launched in all directions, maybe tomorrow, depending on how long the fault-finding process takes. Urrghhss. Dodge. Defend. Whatever. Most importantly, trust in Him above.

Our team had this dinner treat from the big boss last night, thanking us for all our efforts. WooHoo. Japanese food. Endless servings of sashimi, sushi and other side and main dishes. And sake and desserts. Looks like the 1kg I lost during the ordeal would be put back again in no time. It was indeed a nice get-together session after all the hard work (and more to come). And oh, I gathered that most of us are all getting more and more impressed with idol boss. Maybe we might just end up setting up a fan club one day. Haha.

~~I will update with the photos tomorrow.~~ I got the younger gals to take photos of the food with their handphone cameras, with the bosses wondering what a strange bunch we are! No one explained because NO way the bosses should know about blogosphere. LOL.

Updated with photos. Check out the contemporary Japanese dining here.

Yey! It's Friday tomorrow. Work aside please. I have my weekend planned out already: catch up with friends for dinner and drinks, watch the movie Hairspray, go on a shopping spree, facial, haircut and treatment, and the usual 10km jog in MacR, and 60km bike. Nothing should jeopardise my plans. I hope.

Tempted

2007-09-11T22:37:00.000+08:00

Incompetency is not exactly a bad thing, sometimes. I observed.

Except, I never want to ~~be a loser~~ NOT have a spirit of excellence in anything I do.

Was It A Relaxing Weekend.....

2007-09-10T23:12:00.000+08:00

I was supposed to spend my weekend recuperating from the insane work schedule and was fully prepared to stay at home and snuggle up in bed, in the company of the laptop and TV and unread book. However, things were not meant to be and plans made were to be changed. Well, sort of.

We were summoned to the office by boss on Saturday for a lunch meeting (which basically means please come back to work). Ok, it was not really that bad because all was needed was just about 3 hours to tidy up the report, for my part at least. Dad, Mum and Sis came to pick me up in the evening. I dutifully had dinner with them as the daughter and sister I should be, and updated them on the week's happenings for my presence was almost non-existent at home last week.

After dinner, some friends called me to join them for the movie Hairspray. Although I wanted very much to catch this retro musical movie for some time already, I decided to give it a miss this time for the prospect of lazing at home was definitely more promising. And surprise of surprise, I actually planned to bike with my friends at 7am the next day. So much for a recuperation weekend. LOL.

It was plain stupidity on my part on Sunday. I overslept and was in a frantic to get ready as M and S were already waiting downstairs for me. Acks. There was no food at home, so I just gulped down one miserable bottle of original flavoured Yakult (my fav drink. NOT Vitagen) and rushed out of the house. It only struck me that I-must-eat-something-because-we-are-going-to-bike-60km when I felt extremely hungry after about a quarter way through the Upper Thomson Road-Mandai- Sungei Buloh-Lim Chu Kang cemetery route. Hungry and no energy. I was cycling like a tortise and H was so gentlemenly to follow patiently behind me. Anyway, I survived the entire trip but it was absolute misery indeed. And, someone jokingly reminded me to think up of another excuse for next week. Arrghhs.

On separate note, as I was biking along the route with some of the places once so familar to me, and now with a group of new friends, it just came to my mind that it was really not necessary to dedicate a large part of my life to any one person then, at least, not if it is not meant to be. Neither hard feelings nor regrets. But being a person with little inclinations to mend broken relationships of any sort, maybe our paths will cross again in a different way someday. Maybe.

The rest of the Sunday was spent sleeping at home. Too exhausted. Skipped Jap class and church, again.

To conclude, I think it was a not so relaxing weekend afterall. LOL.

Work Marathon

2007-09-07T22:59:00.000+08:00

I had no time to blog. I didn't even have time to sleep. Work. Work. Work. We did not step out of the office until nearly midnight everyday, and it was an overnight event on Sunday and yesterday! Arrgghhss. Who to blame? It was due to poor planning right from the start.

We definitely would not had make it for the deadline ("extended" deadline from Monday for reconciliation of cost) if not for a boss who literally guided us step by step through the whole process. He never went home before we did on any one occasion last week. I can go on and on praising him but I think I better not overdo it:P

There is always the excuse that this project is supposedly the most challanging one in the whole office blah blah blah, but I still cannot overcome my reservations that we need boss to set things right even at the micro level. Sigh. If I were him, I would had lose my patience and started yelling at people, but on the contrary he remains postive all the time. It was stressful but we were all still laughing and joking while working in those unholy hours of the morning. No choice. Trying to make the best out of the situation. And he sincerely thanked us for the efforts and long hours put in. Super impressive.

Important lessons learnt:
1. Monitor and make sure intermediate deadlines are met.
2. Identify and put to good use each individual's strengths. Take note of weaknesses.
3. Organise and delegate. Ideally, a good leader guides and supervises only.
4. Ensure motivation and continuous learning process of each individual.
5. Know how to manage your immediate superior.
6. Do NOT over-dramatise your weaknesses aloud.

Need to bear in mind the above because I absolutely do NOT intend to put in so many hours at work. Hopefully this hectic period would be an occasional thing.

By the way, I backed out from the KL trip last minute today. Reaching home at 9am this morning, I could hardly imagine myself going on the trip this afternoon. Apologies to ME and Sbanboy and probably a few others whom I am supposed to meet up in KL tomorrow. Will find some other time to do so.

Yay! Deadline met this morning. Need lots of sleep this weekend. And hopefully, lifestyle is back to normal again:)

Making the Difference

2007-08-31T23:29:00.000+08:00

My team had been slogging over this certain deadline submission from day to night in the office the whole week. Super exhausted. That explains the lack of updates in my blog. But actually it is not all that miserable. Despite the longer working hours (with overtime paid of course. heehee) there is certainly great job satisfaction, compared to the times when I was constantly lamenting about boredom, just very recently.

Imagine this. Everyone else wants to avoid getting involve in the ~~shit~~ challanging project, but you volunteer to take it up anyway, with everyone advising you against it out of goodwill. You turn a deaf ear. Well, sometimes if you want something bad enough, you'll probably make sure you get it with all your best efforts put in. But then, you definitely know it has to be a miracle from above when the seemingly most unpromising set of circumstances somehow turn around to be most favorable.

From lack of direction to a most excellent leadership because we have the best boss in the world.
From very low morale to a most highly motivated team.
From almost no teamwork to a cohesive team who supports and enjoys working with one another.
And everything just gets better each day.....

And despite the very stressful and challanging situation, it is evident that we are still optimistic and cheerful. Yep. ATTITUDE is the utmost important in anything one does. It is very flattering when a young colleague from the another team made this somewhat innocent comment, "So nice. I can hear you all joking and laughing so happily always although we have similar deadlines to meet. How do you all do it? We are always so tensed up all the time here." He received no direct reply, but the answer lies in that the team leader holds on to a set of invaluable principles which makes the difference :) So far, the cost plan preparation process is harmonious. No unpleasant clashes. No screaming. No shouting. It is well under controlled. Heehee.

So much about work. Hopefully after the deadline submission on Monday, this interim hectic period will come to an end and time to get back to the normal lifestyle again. Actually, I am quite amazed that I agreed to join my friends for the 6am cycling session tomorrow, then go back to office. In the first place, hope I can wake up in time.

Somehow can't help saying, God is so good indeed! :)

Singapore Bay Run 2007

2007-08-26T20:03:00.000+08:00

02:13:03hr (slower than my debut run last year a good 19min. Acks.) Click here for results.

Neither sad nor disappointed. I ran at a very comfortable pace amidst the crowd. Not motivated to push myself further because of the insufficient training although the sub 2hr target was still somewhat on my mind. Hmmm....I wonder if MN0154 was there at the run this morning or he was too lazy to drag himself out of bed.

I made up my mind today to register for half marathon instead of the full one for Standard Chartered in December, and I MUST complete it within 2 hr:)

Waking up at 3.30am is already a great achievement in itself, followed by running the half marathon, Jap class, then church service. Super tired. But the only complain is I would be nursing this bruised toenail again for the next few months. Sigh.

The evening news just reported that there is a young guy who died after completing the half marathon. Especially if you are a participant yourself, it is definitely a sad thing to know. Wonder why there seems to be quite a number of fatal casualties in sports-related activities these days.

Idol Boss

2007-08-21T23:07:00.000+08:00

You know you have the best boss in the world when:

- he knows his job and has a solid familiarity with all your tasks;
- he is intelligent, strategic, focus and gives clear directions;
- he displays a high degree of emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills;
- he inspires and motivates by example and encourages continuous learning;
- he is firm but he does not drive his point across by intimidation;
- he has integrity and is direct and straightforward;
- he is open to feedback and communication;
- he places great emphasis on teamwork;
- he does not participate in office gossips;
- he looks after your welfare;

Everytime he walks into the partition, it seems there is a ray of light shining in, literally.

Jay Chou's Movie : Secret

2007-08-19T22:57:00.001+08:00

When M asked me last week if I wanted to catch this movie, my reply to her was, Yeeeeks. I don't like Jay Chou. I am definitely not a fan of the so-called Taiwanese prince of pop. Anyway, we did end up watching the movie yesterday (ironically suggested by yours truly) and I happened to like it very much. Just realised it is categorized as a teenage romance movie. Bah.

1. The romantic storyline is interesting and unpredictable. Nothing close to those crappy Taiwanese soap operas.

2. The piano performances in the movie is impressive and inspiring. I want to get the soundtrack.

3. Probably also because I have not watch a movie for some time already, the last one being Harry Potter. Yucks.
***
I got my Jap exam results back today. The one I was so stressed about. 83/100. Phew. I believe the paper was intended for a 100% pass rate. JLPT would be a different thing of course, which I would not be planning to sit for this year. Too many things going on. Need to slow down a bit.

This reminds me of the award Jonzz gave to me last week. Bionic woman. LOL. No comments on that. Now after giving out so many awards to us bloggers, I think Jonzz also deserves an award himself. I will definitely ponder over it and confer an award to him. Any suggestions?

Updated:
This award is for Jonzz:)

Wanderlust:Redang 2007 Part 2

2007-08-16T23:11:00.000+08:00

11 August 2007
I can count the number of times I watched sunrise with just both my hands. Heehee. Despite the fact that I was the most enthusiastic the night before and I tried to entice all my friends to wake up early the next morning to catch sunrise, I refused to get out of bed at 6am the next morning:P

Some photos of sunrise taken by my friends while I was still asleep.

Time to set off to snorkel after breakfast. Gosh. I am already so tanned after one day on the island. Surely going to be many tones darker after the morning and afternoon session of snorkelling :( :( :(

That's the boat to bring us to the Marine Park.

What a crowd!

First, some photos above water.

Fishes, fishes, fishes everywhere....

.....because of bread.

Say cheeze:)

And this is me.

Some underwater life. I have no idea what they are.

My fav group photo.

Wanderlust: Redang 2007 Part 1

2007-08-15T23:11:00.000+08:00

9 August 2007, Thursday

For once, it was a hassle-free experience crossing the causeway. No jam. No queue. It was so quiet and empty at the immigration that the bored officers on duty took an interest in initiating small talk with us. Well, we must had appeared to be those very unpatriotic citizens leaving the country on National Day night.

The coach at Larkin Bus Station departed at 10pm sharp. Apart from us, there were only four other passengers. We managed to occupy two seats each for the 10 hour long journey. Wonderful.

10 August 2007, Friday

The coach arrived at Merang Jetty at about 7.30am. Washed up, had breakfast, then board the ferry to Redang Island.

The one and a half hour ferry journey was most unpleasant, if not torturous. I would prefer taking a speed boat anytime. The sea was really choppy. After a while, almost everyone on board was feeling sick after a while; turning evidently pale, breaking out in cold sweat, and starting to throw up. It was a sight. Although I did not suffer from any of the effects of sea sickness, I was definitely not feeling too comfortable either. Hated the journey.

Finally we reached our destination. Redang is indeed a very beautiful and relaxing place.

The afternoon snorkelling session was cancelled for safety reasons because the current was too strong. Instead, the resort organised a 3 hour trek across the forest to Berjaya Resort near the village. Nevertheless, it was good fun.

After the trek, we tried to do some swimming. The current was indeed very strong.

Will post the snorkelling photos another day.

Back To Work Monday

2007-08-13T23:04:00.000+08:00

I only reached home in the wee hours of the morning today. What an enduring long journey. I will definitely opt to take plane next time. Anyway, after taking a shower and unpacking my stuff, it was nearly 3am. While waiting for my hair to dry, I decided to check my office emails to gauge the chances of not turning up for work. 92 unread emails. I went through the first few and realised I had a deadline to issue a report out by 11am today. Bah. There goes my chances of any MC, urgent leave, or whatever. No choice. Switched off my laptop in resignation and went to bed immediately. Holiday is over.

***
The Redang trip was indeed very fun, and I enjoyed the company very much. Sometimes do you wonder it is so divine how different persons cross your path at different times of your life. Some stay on forever, whereas some are just a passing chapter. But all for a good reason and purpose, at that moment. On this, I count my blessings. Anyway, just some thoughts. I think I have digressed. Heehee.

I will post my Redang photos tomorrow. Heading to bed now. Still feeling the post-travel fatigueness.

Try Out These Tests

2007-08-09T09:42:00.000+08:00

Just for the fun of it.

Yay! We will be setting off for Redang tonight. And guess what, my trip would be sort of sponsored. Why? Because I sacrificed by not celebrating National Day. Spent the night of the eve and today working working and working. At least I get to work at home, and someone just reminded me this morning that the number of claimable OT hours would be able to cover my Redang trip. LOL. Anyway, Boss needed some revisions to the report and presentation slides. I am not at all unhappy to do it for him, and the urgency was due to the fact that my whole team would be on leave on Friday. Well, my other boss was errr......soooooo exceedingly kind. She granted all our leave application and decided to go on leave herself too. Shrug.

Now, time for a good break. Snorkelling, taking photos and all. Am bringing my track shoes along as I am hoping to do some jogging there. Excited.

To all my Singaporean friends, HAPPY NATIONAL DAY.

On Baking, Running and a Mid Year Resolution

2007-08-06T23:23:00.000+08:00

My team mates seemed to all turn into some domestic goddess. It is this new craze. For the past month or so, someone will bring some kind of cake to the office, "Hey, try this. I baked it yesterday." Pumpkin cake, blueberry muffin, chocolate cake and all types. We would gather around to share the cake, discuss about the recipe and praise the person for the job well done. And there is even this dessert recipe book lying conspicuously on one of my colleague's workstation.

Just today alone, we get to enjoy these. Contributed by 3 different persons. Heehee. I know why people put on weight in this office.

That is about food. On the other hand, some of us are also into sports. Heehee. That's the saving grace of all this calories intake. In fact, I just did my 5km run with a colleague this evening. The few of us are also trying to organise training sessions for those who are participating in the Marina Bay Run. Cool.

***
Now imagine this. Someone is super blur. The someone unwittingly asked you to read and interprete a SMS which is definitely NOT meant for your eyes because the sender had composed the message with intended sarcarsm targetted at you, behind your back. And the someone still naively went on to enquire if the sender had sent you a similar SMS!! Gosh. The someone only realised the blunder after some time. Too late. You are already fuming mad but you cannot admit that it is because of the SMS nor can you appear to be in any way annoyed with the someone nor the sender. So, other innocent parties who came along the way bear the brunt of it when you conjure up some reasons to yell at them. Spectacular.

Mid year resolution: Need to be less blur. Do not convey unintended messages which end up confusing everyone else unnecessarily. It happened a little too often recently.

Full-Rate Overtime

2007-08-05T21:38:00.000+08:00

WooHoo! Finally I can put away my Jap notes for a while after today. The paper is very ok. Well, it was a full miserable day of plain memorising yesterday. Sigh. It was indeed very last minute but not by choice. I really meant it when I said it was STRESSFUL. Silly isn't it? Afterall, it really is just an extra curriculum programme with no significant implications.

***
I must say that consultant quantity surveyors are the only category of Uni graduates who are ~~extremely underpaid and overworked~~ entitled the privilege of being paid overtime. The company had just made the announcement last Friday that payment for overtime would resumed to full rate (previously was half rate) but capped at 60 hours. Yay! But then again, I am not really enticed.

How many hours of overtime should anyone clock on the average a month which is considered within the healthy range? There were some negative feedback about the 60 hours capped and I wonder why. I want to do minimum overtime. Being the teamleader can I expect my team to work late whereas I am the earliest to march out the office? Sigh.......

And this reminds me that I have to start training for the half marathon which is just 3 weeks away. My resolution is to run at least 3x 5km and 1x 10km per week by 26 August 2007. I want to achieve my target timing. No more procrastination. MUST start training tomorrow.

Stress Stress Stress

2007-08-02T00:38:00.001+08:00

I used to find it strange that some colleagues have the tendancy to email work related stuff late at night. They are either workaholics or trying to show off they are diligent. Well, I just emailed a report across to boss just now at 00:31. I could have waited til tomorrow, but I didn't. Not sure if it implies I am also trying to show off. Well, maybe.....

I had to leave office at 5.30pm sharp today to settle some personal stuff. Reached home at 9pm, settled down, then at 10pm continued where I left off the report - with lots of distractions in between, then finally got it done.

Yes, this is the same old procurement strategy paper I had been working on since weeks ago. The problem doesn't lie with me. The more workshops and discussions we have with the external parties, the more options and the more complicated the report progressively gets. And I have a bad feeling I am going to grapple with my first ever provisional BQ contract in my entire life starting from next month. (Apologies to my friends who are not in the construction industry. Anyway, just need to know that to a consultant quantity surveyor, BQ = nightmare.)

This is not meant to be a complaint post. Just needed to release some stress. If it is work alone it is still ok. In fact, in a positive sense, work has been challanging and I did learn a few things in the process. But at the some time, I am always reminded of the Jap exam this Sunday. My progress is ZERO to date. Really not a matter of life and death, but I seriously am too proud to fail no matter how insignificant it is. I am still wondering if I am able to take leave on Friday to study.

And by the way, apart from the races, I had not gone to the gym or did any form of workout for 3 whole consecutive weeks! Sigh. Half marathon is 26 days away. Not started to train yet. At the same time, totally unrelated to this post, there is also this other thing bugging me. Dislike the feeling. Ggrrhss.

Ok, and I better do something about my time management starting next week. And I really don't know why I am still blogging away.

Chewing gum comes in useful when one is stressed

Getting To Redang

2007-07-29T22:14:00.000+08:00

Grrrhss. It seems to me that the whole population in lit red dot is flocking across the causeway on 8 August night because of the long holiday. Kuala Terengganu included as one of the top destinations, I supposed. My friends and I need to get there to catch the ferry at Merang jetty to Redang island. But we asked almost all the bus companies and they all gave the standard reply, "Bus is full already" :(

By the way, Sbanboy thanks for suggesting that I go book Redang Pelangi Resort. It was quite last minute and it turned out that all the other resorts are full except for this one, and we managed to reserve 2 quad rooms. Yay! At least we settled the accomodation.

The hurdle now is how to get there. Anyone has any idea? The last resort is to drive, which we all very much prefer not to. Sigh. Last minute planning hence all this hassle :P

Update: Bought the bus tickets to travel on 9 Aug night instead. But no tickets back to Singapore on 12 Aug. Haha. Maybe we are going to be stranded there.

A Triathlon To Remember

2007-07-29T21:31:00.000+08:00

Osim triathlon is today. I bet everyone knew it was going to rain. And it did. Wanna guess what happened? I find the whole thing quite amusing.

MH, Colin and I met up at Eunos MRT and made our way to the event site. Our race is the 15th wave at 12 noon. Fine weather so far. By the time we arrived to check in at the transition point at about 11am, there were already participants from the earlier waves in the swimming and biking leg of their race.

11:oo: Number marking by PB.

11:05: It started to pour.

Participants who were waiting for their wave start seeking shelter. I was holding my umbrella while taking this shot. Smart move to bring my umbrella ah?

The rain got heavier and there was an announcement that all races would come to a stop for safety reasons. So all the swimmers, bikers and runners already on their race route were led back to the transition point. Gosh. I certainly wouldn't want to be in that position. Imagine all the efforts go down the drain.

Met up with the rest of the gang who were already almost halfway through the race and had to turn back. We all gathered and chatted while waiting for the organiser to decide on the next move. Neo told us that he swam one loop and was told to return to shore, and that the sea was really choppy and the situation was quite chaotic. The officials were shouting and a few kayaks capsized. I feel it is right to stop the race. Safety is still the utmost importance no matter what.

11:45: The skies cleared a little and the heavy rain became a drizzle.

Muddy. Muddy. Muddy. Urrghhssss...

An announcement was made that the race shall resume from 12:30pm. All the Olympic distance categories race (except the elite category which had already all been completed) shall restart all over again. BUT........

There will be NO swimming.
The 1.5km swim leg shall be replaced by 400m sprint on the beach. LOL. I find it quite comical. Ok for the individual race. But can you imagine the poor swimmer in the relay team came all the way here to do a 2 min run? kekeke

Sprint with all your might to the transition area....

The 40km cycling leg shortened to 20km.

The track was really slippery. Witnessed at least 5 bikers falling off their bikes when I was waiting for MH within the 30 min or so. Scary.

There is MH first time doing a bike leg on her new racer. Nice pic! And she did her 20km in ~~45min~~ 00:47:37. Well done ger.

And I did the running leg. 10km shortened to 5km. Heehee...I am quite glad actually. Can run less :P Colin paced me for the last 2km (although no pacing is allowed) and I kept repeating to him the whole time, "Colin, say something to encourage me. Say something to encourage me." :) Managed to do the run within ~~28min~~ 00:27:14.

That's our relay team. Heehee...in case you are wondering. No, our swimmer did not suddenly become much thinner within a week. This is Colin, not Chia :P

So funny right? Our triathlon relay became a duathlon relay sprint. Think we did it in ~~1hr:15min~~ 1:14:51. ~~Got to~~ Check the online results. I feel the organiser did the right thing. At least, safety is not compromised and everyone (although quite a number went home) get to participate in the race, even though not the full one, eventually.

One more medal to my collection :)

Triathlon relay events shall come to a close for me this year. Looking forward to do non-relay (non swimming) events.

Lunch Meet-Up

2007-07-28T23:09:00.000+08:00

It is a working Saturday night for me. Finally got part 1 of the report done up and emailed across to Dumbledore (Ok, I know I am not being very subtle here). Am not complaining. In fact, it just took me about 2 hours or so to tidy up the document after he made the effort to go through the main points with me last night instead of leaving me in the lurch. Thank God for a very competent and intelligent boss. I must say I feel very motivated at work, but only limited to working hours only. I am not a workaholic for sure.

***

I met up with Jubilee and WhiteQueen today. (The Singapore expaits who were working in Bangalore then each has a X-men nick, if you are wondering.) Both of them happened to be in transit in Singapore. Jubilee and Magneto is stationed in Lahore now, and WhiteQueen would be relocating to Abu Dhabi from next Wednesday to take up a spa director position in an upmarket hotel. I decided that overseas stint is not for me at the moment, but I feel really excited for them. I promised I will make plans to visit them in Lahore and Abu Dhabi next year, probably with the rest of the group. WooHoo....free accommodation and all. Hope it will come true this time as WhiteQueen is complaining we all agreed to visit her in Sibu but never did. Grin.

Lunch at Ichiban Boshi

Crispy tuna sushi

Softshell crab handroll

Beef Sukiyaki set

Potato croquette

Edamame

Acks. All this Japanese food reminds me of my Jap exam next Sunday which sad to say, I have not even started studying. The thought of having to memorise those hiragana words gives me a headache:( Now, I guess I need to remind myself why I wanted to take up the language in the first place.

Addicted

2007-07-26T23:06:00.000+08:00

It all started with the marathon last December. Then I ended up participating in one event after another. Not something I planned to do. But yes, it is good fun! Although strictly speaking I am not really an avid sports person. I tend to say more than do :p

Oh, Osim triathlon is this Sunday. I am doing the 10km running leg relay. So no stress this time. Heehee. Our wave start is at 12 noon. So horribly late! No thunder storm nor scorching sun please. Anyway, I went to collect the race kit yesterday afternoon and I bumped into Neo. He just completed his individual olympic distance triathlon race last weekend and now he is all set for another full race this Sunday. Wow.

Taking part in such events in Singapore is not cheap. Paid S$74 each for a relay event and got this race kit: T-shirt, time chip, race tag, power gel, sample brochures, etc. Heehee...They also provide a marker pen. Unlike in Malaysian races, the swimmer participants here have to mark the numbering on their bodies themselves.

I decided that I shall remain a relay team participant for all triathlon races in future. Not going to try swimming. Anyway, no more relays for the rest of the year. Must concentrate on training for my run. And maybe I may join the duathlon in Lumut in November. 10km run, 60km cycle, 10km run OR 4km run, 30km cycle, 4km run. Someone said the sprint is for kiddies. Arrgghhs. And everyone else is telling me to sign up for the full one because they would be. Scared I can't do it. Maybe I will decide after the half-marathon next month and after a few more sessions of bike training.

So what is the motivating factor behind all this? I don't know. I just find it very addictive and fun :)

***
Something hilarious happened today. I was in a formal meeting at the client's office this afternoon and I met my ex-project manager whom I worked with previously when I first graduated from Uni 7 years ago. Somehow, he believed himself to be my mentor because I was very impressionable then. I only knew today, coincidentally he is the client rep of this project I am currently working on. He walked into the meeting room just now and greeted me with a pat on my head (as if I am some young kid) in front of everyone! For goodness sake lor.

Port Dickson International Triathlon 2007

2007-07-23T22:04:00.001+08:00

22 July 2007: Woke up at 5:30am. In fact, we did not sleep the whole night. Tormented by stupid mosquitoes when the air-con broke down. The apartment was horribly run-down. Grumble. Grumble. Grumble. (NB: Not using this as an excuse for tri timing okay)

07:23: Pre-race photo taking time.....Number marking. Chia, our swimmer.

The same relay team as Lake Kenyir. We called ourselves the Amatuers team.

Me and my bike.

07:40: Headed to the beach.

Ladies participants from Singapore.

Getting ready. Am sure glad I am not swimming.

08:18: Jason Hsieh from Hong Kong is the men's champion in the elite category. I think he is good-looking. Too bad this picture is too small :)

08:20: Final and 5th wave start for relay and ladies category. Way to go, Chia!

08:30: Headed back to transition area. Chatted with some of the other relay team members who were also waiting for their swimmers and we were all irritated with this marshal who kept shouting at us rudely to move away but did not say to where. Funny man.

08:47: Chia is back! I started off the bike leg. Nervous. Nervous. Nervous. The first 10km was a breeze because of the flat terrain. Spotted Linden on his red Cevelo bike and was drafting behind him for a while. Bah. Too ambitious. He was way too fast for me, so I continued on at my own pace. At least for this race, I did overtake some bikers. Still struggling a bit with the undulating terrain but not as pathetic as Lake Kenyir.

Meihan and Chia took some photos...... Empty transition area. Bikes are on the road.

Race banner. Somehow they look rather similar for all of the Msian triathlon races.

09:52: Bikers making their way back.

Meihan waiting nervously for me. I will be waiting for her at Osim :)

Dark and gloomy skies. But this is "excellent" weather for us. Thank God I will not get many tones darker after this race.

Now, back to my biking..... At the 16km mark, I heard someone calling out to me at the other side of the road in a most cheerful manner. That was Raymond. Wow. He was evidently very relaxed and pleased with himself. That guy must be in top form:) Thanks. Thanks for the encouragement.

I reached the halfway u-turn point after about 40min. There was a drink station where they handed out....errr...rose syrup drink! LOL. Nevermind. Anyway, I had to stopped to drink for say, 5 seconds. Those who passed me by shouted out to me, "Come one. Don't stop. Keep it up!" I don't know why but I explained I had to stop because I cannot balance while drinking. Bah. I think I sounded dumb.

The last 20km was interesting. There was another relay team biker on his mountain bike and dressed in T-shirt and bermudas. Thought I could easily overtake him but we ended up on a mini-competition all the way back to the finish line. He was good. I will never look down on mountain bikes. It was quite amusing though that he kept attempting to overtake me and I just drafted behind him, especially at the uphills. Haha.

It started to pour very heavily the last 5km. I cycled with all my might while the mountain bike guy kept following behind closely.

10:17: We reached the bike-in point together. 01:25hr. Grrrr....Chia and Meihan nearly missed seeing me because they were filling up a survey form. I had promised Meihan to do the run with her earlier. BUT, it was the last thing on my mind then. Heehee.

Neo at the transition point and starting his run.

The rain stopped so Chai and I started waiting for our friends to capture their pics near the finishing line.
......Yap
...Paul. He came in 2nd for his above 50 year old category. Prize money is RM1200!

11:11: Yay! Here comes Meihan.

Completing the running leg in 54min. Well done ger! Got to set this target for myself in Osim too:)

Post race photos. Proud of my teammates:)

Me and Uncle Poon. A top form veteran triathlete. Heehee. He agreed to be my biking coach.

Fun with flags......Singapore

Swiss.....

China.....

12:10: Pouring again as we wanted to make our way back to the apartment. The coach will leave at 1:30pm.
Wet. Wet. Wet.

***
Not sure about the details, but really sad to learn today that a participant passed away during the event yesterday in the swim leg. Heartfelt condolences to his family. All my friends and triathletes, do take care and train and do the sports safely.

Back From PD

2007-07-22T22:29:00.000+08:00

What a rainy weekend it had been! Was drenched in the rain yesterday and today. Wonder if I can get MC tomorrow :P

Just a very short update for now. Our relay team managed to do a sub 3 hour this time round. Yay! Hurray for my swimmer, runner and myself. I was still somewhat struggling on my biking but managed to come in at 01:25hr this time. I am quite ok with it but really still got to improve a lot considering the rather flat terrain. Nevermind, amatuers will get better each time :) Anyway, this PD race is definitely less nightmarish than the Kenyir Lake. Phew.

Met participant 452 there. He must have gotten rid of all his pre-race blues by now. I cannot imagine him giving up his bike ever. Haha. Will leave it for him to blog about it himself. Hey, congrats! I will email you the photos tomorrow.

Did not get sleep at all last night because stupid mosquitoes. Super tired. Got to head straight to bed now. Will update with photos tomorrow.

REMINDER

2007-07-19T23:56:00.000+08:00

I really ought to be sleeping at this hour but I am just too full and a little overwhelmed by the conversation we had. Just got home from a gathering with ex-teammates stuffing our faces at the buffet table. Sigh. The triathlon race is this Sunday and I had not been doing any form of exercise this entire week! I was either too lazy or engaged in some pigging-out session with friends.

Since last month, I actually put on 1kg. BooooHooooo. Nevermind the working-out sessions. It is a known fact that exercise only contributes to 40% of weight loss, whereas food intake 60%. I knew I had not been watching my diet. Well, maybe I am allergic to carbo. Haha.

Anyway, I was having this discussion with my ex-teammates just now. Statistics has shown that doing overtime and stress contribute to weight gain. At least, this is true in our office. We know of colleagues who were clocking excessive overtime and under tremendous stress put on at least 4kg within the span of a year. Damn scary. Not applicable to me at this moment since I had been complaining about boredom at work for the past year.

But Koalaboss reminded me just now that the project I am handling now is gearing me towards that direction. Nooooooo!!!!!! This is NEVER going to happen to me!!! He had been ~~scaring~~ warning me since the day he knew I was going to embark on this project. On a serious note, I know he is actually quite concerned that OF ALL PEOPLE I chose to be under the jurisdiction of a Professor Dolores Umbridge (if you just watched the Harry Potter movie, you might have an idea). It is like as if I had gone mad or what. But nevermind, I genuinely like what I am doing now and there is a way to resist all bad and horrible characters, coming through wiser and stronger, and with integrity intact. Anyway, no worries cos Dumbledore is there. And also in God is where I draw my wisdom and confidence.

I had this bet with Koalaboss. By December this year, I would NOT have put on any weight and will look radiant and fresh, even IF I need to clock many hours of overtime (God forbid) and under tremendous work stress (God forbid) for the next few months.

Aiyah. It is JUST a job. And for many many other reasons, I am quite certain I will win the bet. We will see :)

My Fav Gal

2007-07-17T22:47:00.000+08:00

This is my good friend Mic's kid, Carys. Babies are cute. And Baby Carys is super duper cute. I am booking her in advance to be my flower girl. If, the timing is correct :)

Bike Lights, Sponsored Races and Harry Potter Movie

2007-07-16T23:24:00.000+08:00

Yep. That's what they are. Front light and back light for my bike. Nice and compact eh? Compared to those yucky bulky ones I used to have. I got them for S$20 each. It's certainly a good buy.

Guess what. As one of the efforts to raise employees’ awareness on the importance of health and well-being, my company is going to sponsor us to join the Singapore Bay Run 2007. Yay! I am going to get my registration fees reimbursed. Looking forward to being sponsored for Standard Chartered Marathon 2007 and all the other triathlon races too. Heehee.....must go and persuade my colleague who is in charge.

And I just got home from watching the latest Harry Potter movie - Order of the Phoenix. Although I am not a fan of Harry Potter movies nor books, I actually watched all of its movies to date. Well, the Order of the Phoenix, is just...well..... plain BORING. The only thing I like about it is my favorite character Hermione Granger, who has transformed from a very adorable to an absolutely pretty and charming young lady since the first series. And well, my ticket is FOC, so I better not complain :p

Saturday Cycling

2007-07-15T20:42:00.000+08:00

Ironically, I wake up earlier on weekends than on weekdays. Yesterday morning, we had an early start at 7am and we cycled to the zoo, passing by MacRitchie Reservoir, Lower and Upper Pierce Reservoir, then Upper Seletar Reservoir. It did evoke some nostalgic feelings as I used to cycle quite often along the same route a few years back on my mountain bike. I must say how time had progressed...

And, either I did not notice in the past or in the recent years there is a significant increase of sports enthusiasts in little red dot. Every few minutes, we will pass by cyclists or runners who will nod and smile at us along the way. How friendly.

We stopped by at the famous prata shop along Upper Thomson Road for breakfast. Yeh. Putting back all the calories burnt after the workout :( Then, we made our way to the bike shop at AMK to service our bikes.

The shop uncle checked out my odometer and said, "Wow. Only cycled in total 160km." Sigh. This is so true. But as much as I want to, it is impossible I devote too much time here. I doubt I had sufficient training on my racer. But hopefully can make it at about an hour and a half or so for the PD race next week. Yeah. And I am going to need to stop whenever I need water. Blush.

I bought these at the bike shop yesterday. Make a guess (no technical knowledge on bicycles required) what they are :) Aaron, you are banned from guessing and you know why. Haha.

My mountain bike is now parked outside my house like a white elephant. I have no intentions of selling it. Afterall, it has great sentimental value because the bike had been with me on many trips in these five years, and even brought me through one duathlon and one triathlon race. Ok, I better give it a really good clean-up and change the road tyres back to its original ones soon.

***
My schedule for next week will be something like this. Keeping my fingers crossed I don't need to do OT.
Mon: Harry Potter movie date
Tues: Dinner meet-up with ger frens
Wed: Gym day
Thurs: Dinner with ex-teammates
Fri: Pack for PD

MLB Debut Album

2007-07-10T22:19:00.000+08:00

Yay! Yay! I got hold of the CD today. This champion of SuperBand is the band I supported. This is also the one and only local talent search variety show I followed through right from the start.

Listening to the CD now:)

Moving In Office

2007-07-09T22:13:00.000+08:00

Major renovation had been going on in the office since 2 months back. Dusty. Noisy. Messy. Imagine two hundred over staff having to shift around from time to time to accommodate the renovation schedule. Sheesh.

FINALLY, it was time to move to our new permanent workstations last Friday. Yipeee! One of our dear teammate who was supposed to relay some instructions to our team sent this email note to us which went like this:)

Dear all,

I had attended the meeting on behalf of *boss* and would like to highlight the following to all:

1) All packing and internal shifting/moving MUST be completed by 3pm on Friday. ( as the bouncers are coming by at 3.30pm to check and if not hehehehe……………)

2) At 4.00pm there shall be no more shifting of boxes. (Everybody just stay still til time to go home. hahahaha)

3) Please transfer all the information from your D drive to your thumdrive or just let the MIS to do it. (I have already written to ask MIS to do the job, so just relax) DO NOT save to H drive so that all of us can relax on Monday because the system will crash. hohohohho

4) By the way, if anybody wants to strengthen or do some exercise over this weekend, can you kindly volunteer yourself to help out in the moving of boxes. (Then we can nominate you for the next Olympics as Mr/Miss ………………….)

I think that's all.
This e-mail is only for us (Without *boss* as I am sending another to her, hehehehehehe)

Opppsss. The thing was, she accidentally included the boss in the email loop in her excitement anyway. LOL.
TaaDaa!!That's my new workstation. I told Terence I would post it earlier on. Neat and empty eh? Not typical of a QS :) Hopefully, it's going to remain this way. I hate working at a desk cluttered up with stacks and stacks of files and paper.

Work and Training Log

2007-07-08T19:55:00.000+08:00

It had been really hectic! My work and training schedule went something like that for the past week:

Monday: OT until 10pm
Tuesday: OT until 10pm
Wednesday: Gym day: Boxercise class; ran 5km on treadmill.
Thursday: OT until 9pm
Friday: ECP/Changi Village:Cycled 50km. The distance covered was cos I lost my friend halfway through. I am NEVER going to cycle without my handphone next time.
Saturday: Rest day
Sunday: MacR: Ran 10km; Thomson Road area: Cycled 30km. Old Upper Thomson Road is really an excellent place to train. Few cars. Shady. Sloping terrain.

Work is challanging. Sense of purpose and direction? Yes! And I wanna be like my boss. Competent. Intelligent. Efficient. Concise. Composed. BUT limited to these qualities only for logical reasons. Hehe.

Training is ok. Cannot expect to be too ambitious while juggling with work and other personal commitments. And by the way, I realised I can't balance on my racer while drinking from my water bottle at the same time. Gosh! I am going to look absolutely DUMB stopping whenever I need to drink during the 40km race!!!! :(

***
9 July. Tomorrow, which marks the beginning of a brand new week, is somewhat significant for two reasons:

MLB debut album will be released and I am going to purchase my first CD after more than 5 years. Simply becos I am a supporter of the champion superband group. Yay!

And to you, this is probably a day I will not forget in many years to come. Just wanna to wish you here, a very Blessed Birthday.

時をかける少女

2007-07-03T23:16:00.000+08:00

I watched this Japanese anime in the cinema with BeenZ last Saturday. Thanks to GC who first enticed me to watch it. A very funny and heartwarming story. Love it even though I am never a fan of Jap anime.

The story is about a seventeen year old tomboyish school girl who acquires the ability to time travel. At first, she uses her newfound power to leap backwards in time to fix small, trivial problems such as improving her grades, preventing personal mishaps and extend her after-school karaoke sessions. But along the way, she is creating problems for herself and her schoolmates by retracing her steps in time, which then teaches her ultimately to use her powers for enriching her relationships in the future instead of trifling with the past.

How nice. If only, I have the power to leapt through time too! Ok, stop dreaming. How true when the story emphasizes the point that time waits for no one. A good reminder to myself in many aspects.

Anyway, I happened to get hold of a copy of the show the next day after I watched it in the cinema. I highly recommend this Jap anime. Anyone wants to watch it can get from me.

***
Super tired. Not physically but mentally. Don't feel very comfortable not going to the gym for the past few days.

Becos...Work. Work. Work. Reports. Reports. Reports. Help!

Jonzz's Tag: Infected I AM NOT

2007-06-29T22:34:00.000+08:00

I was bloghopping on this rainy night
To find Jonzz had tagged me alright.
But this Meme I don’t understand quite
So I doubt if anything much I can write.

And really, as much as I like to blog
This weird sickness I have not caught.
Til the end this bug I can surely fight
Yay! PoohBearee is strong, is she not?

Who cares if I dunno what I said is true
Anyway this tag I completed. WooHoo.
For now something else I need to do.
Wish you all a good weekend. Adieu.

Not For Men

2007-06-28T11:37:00.000+08:00

Received this pamphlet today. Hmmm....Super Sprint Triathlon 375m swim, 10km bike, 2.5km run. Hehe. I think I should be able to make it for the swim distance under the training of Coach Chia. Tempted to register but kinda feel dumb to pay $50 for such a super duper short race. Dunno.

[Updated 28 Jun 2007 : KL trip para deleted. Do not know who are the silent readers here]

Night of Pigging Out

2007-06-26T23:52:00.000+08:00

Phew. Got the report done up on time for boss and managed to settle some outstanding issues as a team today. I feel somewhat excited at work again! Yay! It seems such a long time since I felt this way. I concluded I definitely embrace challanges more than simple, mundane task. Having said that, there is a distinct difference between working smart and working hard. That's why I still get to leave the office on the dot today. Hehe. Better not congratulate myself too soon though:P

Nope, I did not have another bionic woman session this evening. Chinkinin is in town and Beast and I had arranged to meet up with him. The rest of the gang could not make it this time though.

Meeting place was at Brauhaus at United Square for drinks first. Yay! So near my house. Chinkinin's friend, Beng joined us. When introduced, she went most enthusiastically," Oh...you are Poohbearee. I read your blog. Blah. Blah. Blah." Blush. Actually, I recognised her too. One of the familiar faces in Chinkinin's blog. Anyway, we all ended up discussing about blog related stuff half the time. And this is not even a bloggers' meet. LOL.

After drinks, we adjourned to Vienna for dinner. A very popular restaurant packed even on a weekday evening. Sumptuous wide variety buffet spread : sashimi, oysters, sushi, squid, roast beef, prawns, crabs, peking duck, chawamushi, crocodile soup, sharks fin soup, buddha jump over the wall, cocktails, cakes, ice cream, teppanyaki, etc etc. Sigh. There goes my dieting plan:(

Ed, another of Chinkinin's friend who is a familiar face in his blog, joined us for the dinner too. It was part two of the "Oh, you are Poohbearee" episode. Gosh. It must be Chinkinin's popularity which contributed to all these silent readers of my blog. Haha.

Oh...and the photos. Certainly Chinkinin and I did not turn up for the gathering without our cameras. Sadly, I think there is something wrong with my Sony T10 because I dropped it recently. The photos turned out quite badly. Not because of poor skills ok. Got to send the camera for servicing. For more food and human and better photos, ~~please wait patiently for Chinkinin's update~~. refer to Chinkinin's post.

Spot Chinkinin. He is happy whenever he has his rounds of drinks :P

Pretty, petite plates of cha soba, prawn salad and abalone salad.

Some kind of crab. Can't rem the name.

Prawns. Obvious lah.

This is labelled as fried durian. Haha. Bet you can't guess. Crispy yam with durian paste filling.

Zonked Out

2007-06-25T23:26:00.000+08:00

A hectic day. Information overloaded at work. And I owed my boss a report she needed urgently which she assigned to me only this evening. Acks. Will think about it only tomorrow morning.

Went biking with Aaron and his brother just now. We cycled for about 12km from Hougang to Temasek Poly in Tampines - met up with Maddy who was there having her track-and-field training. Ran 3km on the track. Then cycled 12km back to Hougang again. Keeping up at the average biking speed of 27km/hr is certainly NOT effortless for me. I bet the guys would have gone faster if not for me. Their constant serious training must have done them a lot of good. I better buck up too. I decided I shall concentrate on doing more long distance biking for the next few weeks. No more 2hr timing for me pleassseeeee....

Super exhausted. Got to head straight to bed. And tomorrow morning, need to focus on completing the report for boss.

ZzzzzZZzzzzz.......

Busy Month of July

2007-06-24T22:51:00.000+08:00

As BabyCarys had correctly pointed out, I had not been updating my blog last week. But not because of a bad Streamyx connection over here; SingNet is reliable. Hehe. I was occupied with other things and also partly because I have nothing to blog about.

It is going to be even more busy in July. With this new project kicking off, I can forsee myself spending a lot more time at work. I wonder if it is a good thing. And my boss jokingly reminded me last week that I have to spend less time in the gym. Bah. Also, not forgetting I had signed up for both the PD and Osim race next month. Although it is a relay (doing the bike in PD and run in Osim), still got to train really hard. And I fail to understand why all these training does not make me any slimmer. I became much darker though. Urrgghhhs. And, my Jap exam is in the beginning of August. Need to be discipline and study study study! And a whole list of other things. So if I am blogging significantly lesser, it is only because my mind is occupied elsewhere.

MH, GG, Colin, Chia and I were cycling at East Coast Park yesterday afternoon. And swimming. Yep, in the sea. For me, less than 10m. Hehe. Yay! I am now able to cycle quite comfortably on my bike. Racer bike rocks! Feels kinda proud riding on mine :) And I found my swimming instructor. Chia, our swimming expert (his background is sure impressive) has agreed to train me in freestyle. Thanks in advance! In fact, Chia, MH and I are targetting to do our first full triathlon next year. How nice to have a group of friends to motivate one another and train together. All the best to us! :)

Anyway, some photos we taken at ECP yesterday:

The definitely not-so-impressive popular beach of lit red dot

Chia, Colin and GG swimming in the sea

ECP is a popular hang-out place for families and friends. Oh...can't really see the tents, picnic mats, BBQ pits etc in this photo.

The designated cycling path. Actually I dislike cycling in ECP. Too crowded.

By the way, I finally figured out how to upload videos on youtube. Click here to watch a fellow blogger sing :) I got his permission to upload the video in the shared blog. By the way, that is NOT my blog. I unintentinally included the blog under my ID. Dunno how to change it back. Acks.

Bollywood Entertainment

2007-06-24T22:32:00.000+08:00

From my favorite Bollywood movie (I watched 5 times)- the songs and my favorite actor. Read plot summary of Kal Ho Na Ho here.

PRETTY WOMAN

G.U.J.J.U. (funny song)

Love This Song

2007-06-19T23:12:00.000+08:00

I really love this song the moment I hear it. Partly because CL told me it's sung and composed by her friend she knew from Uni days. WOW. This friend is really talented! A lawyer by profession and who also compose music sung by superstars Stephanie Sun, Zhou Hui, Zhang Hui Mei etc. After hearing from CL about him, I am really curious to know the person behind the voice now. Yep, I saw his photo. Heehee. How I am always so impressed with people, especially peers, who are musically talented - something I certainly do not have the aptitude and passion for. That's the reason why my piano, keyboard and guitar have all became white elephants!

But what a wonderful thing to be able to strum the guitar or play the piano and sing by yourself, or even compose a song when you are feeling down. I seldom do that nowadays. Either I lost the skill altogether or I seek solace elsewhere. I wonder.

Anyway, CL is back for holidays and the few of us met up for dinner at Beach Road market last Friday. It was quite a sinful meal for we indulged in very generous portions of fried kway teow, chicken claypot rice, fried gyoza, sugarcane juice and belgium waffle dipped with chocolate. Yummy! It was a good dinner cum catching-up on what is happening in our lives, and others. Let it be simple ok. Life has been good. And I am happy to know it is the same for you.

Training update: Ran 5km on treadmill in gym and cycled for about an hour on my racer on the quiet hilly roads around my neighbourhood. Guess what. My fingers almost cramped from the constant handling of the brakes and gearshift. Still can't help but feel a bit scared and nervous riding on a racer.

Swim Resolution

2007-06-17T23:13:00.000+08:00

Despite declaring on my blog just recently how much I dislike swimming, I am starting to do the sport on a regular basis now. For the sake of my goal: 1.5km swim at sea within 50min. Just let me complete a full triathlon once and within a reasonable timing. Certainly hope to be able to do so by next year.

Too bad CF does not have a pool, and I am not a member of any club. But nevermind, I managed to find a public pool which is within a short distance from home, and most importantly, not crowded on weekends. Except that the toilet is very yucky. No way I am going to bathe in there! Urrghhs.

Currently swimming 15 laps at one go. Need to correct stroke and/or learn free-style, build-up stamina and overcome water phobia. Aiming to improve progressively.

This is where I swim every Sunday night

***

Today is Father's Day but because my family is away on a trip to Malaysia, we will do a post-celebration dinner for Dad next week. Ever since I sent my parents and sis to the bus station yesterday early morning, the whole house and the car would be mine alone for the next five days. Hurray! :)

To my Dad and all the fathers out there: HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

Weekday Nights

2007-06-14T23:46:00.000+08:00

The day is too long and the night too short. I feel.

I just realised that I may be trying to do too many things after work in the recent weeks.

1) Gym: At least twice a week, excluding weekends. Boxercise or spinning class followed by 5km run on the treadmill. Very inspired to train hard for the July event.

2) Shopping: Not to be missed of course. It is the Great Singapore Sale! Minus my newly purchased racer bike, I already burnt a hole in my pocket badly at the shopping malls where I spent my time rather excessively :(

3) Dinner meet-up: Only on Fridays, whenever possible.

4) Doing Japanese class homework: When else can I do it but on one of the weekday nights. I keep procrastinating though.

5) Blogging / blog hopping: Be it a good thing or not, it is on my to-do list every night now. Still one of my top interest.

6) Watching HK DVD drama serials: Thanks to my supplier I have numerous and I am addicted to watch at least an hour every night. I know it sounds auntie. Hehe. But I must say my Cantonese have since improved tremendously because of it.

7) Reading: Magazines, books, Bible, whatever. I have the habit of reading something before I sleep.

Sigh. No wonder I end up going to bed only at 1am nowadays when I should be doing so at 11pm. And not forgetting this routine is without me having to do any OT for the past month. Zero OT would be almost impossible when the new project starts on the 21st of this month. What will happen, I wonder.....

I pray for wisdom for effective time management.

Life Is Exciting

2007-06-12T21:31:00.000+08:00

Yep. I am really getting all excited about all these race events - marathons, half-marathons and then duathlons and triathlons. I agree it is very addictive. Not to mention I have the few friends who are also newbies sharing this same passion. Discussing about it almost everyday, training, and buying equipment and gear together. No wonder we are so inspired. And this is the blog I would visit whenever I need motivation to train. Hehe.

I must also admit I am a person who lose interest quite easily. Maybe this is another phase in life. Anyway, no matter how long it will last though, I would want to target to complete a full triathlon event by myself at least once. Hopefully by next year. Need to improve on my swimming now. Anyone have some tips to share?

And by the way, I must have appeared not a very sporty person. I realised most people who do not know me well were often taken by surprise when they know I am into these outdoor sports. I supposed I am the not-so-slim type, that's why. Grrrrr...Note to self: I better continue to train hard to have the convincing physique :p

My background in sports goes back to my JC canoeing days, the many trekking trips since Uni, the long distance but leisure cycling trips in the east coast of West Malaysia and Bintan, and working out in gym to stay fit. That's about it. No proper serious training. And I did not run more than 5km in my entire life until end of last year when I started preparing for the StandChard marathon. Just an amatuer and I hope to improve with time.

So for all who wish to start on any of the race events, rest assured no one is ever too unfit nor is it ever too late to do it. Most of the time it is all in the mind. Come join in the fun:)

My Favorite Thing

2007-06-11T22:48:00.000+08:00

.......what else but my newly bought racer bike. There! Depending on YOU to see me through the PD race. Cannot blame bad timing on mountain bike this time. LOL.

I just collected the bike this evening, together with MH, GG, Aaron and his brother. Next time anyone wants to buy a new bike, bring along more people. It really helps. Hehe. We had already bargained on price, so today we are left to negotiate on the freebies.

Uncle, throw in a speedometer pleaseeee. What about water bottle cages? Oh...we need water bottles also. And what about helmets? After all we bought three bikes from you, upgraded one bike and one more potential buyer. Blah Blah Blah.

No wonder we spent yet another 2 hours at the shop again today :p

Yawn. Super sleepy. Will update more tomorrow.

Listening Ear

2007-06-10T23:42:00.000+08:00

UNLESS it was an unintentional neglect to the emotional cues and unspoken feelings communicated by the speaker. Or you have an extraordinary way of demonstrating care and concern. Or you have something to hide.

I think a good friend would not dismiss the issue the other party wants to discuss as triviality. Nor tries to avoid the topic altogether everytime.

At least, I would not do that. I don't expect you to either. But maybe I am asking too much. Maybe.

Irritated.

One Word Meme

2007-06-05T22:12:00.000+08:00

I came across the meme on Sbanboy's blog whereby you answer the following questions with just one word. Very interesting. I decided to do a self-tag on this one:)

* Where is your cell phone? Off
* Relationship? Trust
* Your hair? Permed
* Work? Confused
* Your sister? Younger
* Your favorite thing? Bike
* Your dream last night? Forgotten
* Your favorite drink? GreenTea
* Your dream car? Peugeot
* The room you’re in? Bedroom
* Your shoes? Numerous
* Your fears? Aimlessness
* What do you want to be in 10 years? Rich
* Who did you hang out with this weekend? Various
* What you’re not good at? Leadership
* Muffin? Blueberry
* One of your wish list items? Intangible
* Where you grew up? Singapore
* The last thing you did? Gym
* What are you wearing? Obvious
* What aren’t you wearing? Secret
* Your pet? None
* Your computer? IBMThinkPad
* Your life? Exciting
* Your mood? Dreamy
* Missing? Nobody
* What are you thinking about right now? This
* Your car? Dad's
* Your kitchen? Mum's
* Your summer? Hot
* Your favorite color? Pink
* When is the last time you laughed? Today
* Last time you cried? December
* School? Graduated
* Love? Ambivalent

Updated: I wanna tag Jonzz since he said he is sleepy today. Something to keep him awake. Instead of one word meme, I shall tag him a TWO word meme :)

The First Racer Bike

2007-06-04T22:54:00.000+08:00

I just splurged on a four-figure sum entry level racer bike at C2C this evening. I feel significantly poorer right now. It is not only me though. Aaron and MH also have this sudden newly found passion and they too ended up investing in a bike each for the future race events. And this is certainly not part of the Great Singapore Sale currently going on. Hehe.

Gathering advice from here and there and based on aesthetics (yes, this matters a lot to me...hehe), I chose the Triton S Ridley model with Shimano 105 components. MH got a Merida and Aaron an Argon 18 frame.

See the picture below of my bike frame which I searched from the internet, as I am not collecting my new bike until next week. I love white colour bikes:)
Hope this new interest will last.....

Wanderlust - Morocco 2006:Chefchaouen

2007-06-03T22:41:00.000+08:00

Last Friday. I was reminded that I have yet to complete my Spain/Morocco travelogue. Hehe. Okie, I thought I should really continue where I left off previously. Neutrality, at its best.

***

From Granada, we made our way to Algeciras - a port city at the South of Spain - to catch a 3 hour ferry to Tangier, Morocco. It was almost a relief to return the car at Eurocar office the next morning. No more adventurous late night driving for the rest of the trip. Phew.

View of Algeciras from the hotel

The ferry trip itself was fun. We amused ourselves by exploring the large vessel (nothing like those boring ferries we take from little red dot to the neighbouring countres), enjoying the sunset at the upper deck and taking numerous silly photos. Hehe. That infamous titantic pose included. But I am not posting that here, of course.

Flying Moroccon flag

Beautiful sunset at sea

We arrived at Tangier at about 8pm. When we stepped out of the immigration, taxi drivers wasted no time to seize the opportunity to solicit business with us, for we appeared to be by ourselves and no doubt mistaken to be Japanese, whom the locals deemed as the very rich and top suckers in their country. We experienced in the next few days, that it is a constant puzzle how to spot a faux guide. Anyway, we eventually decided that every local who approach us to start up a friendship have some ulterior motives. This is so true and it is really tiring and puts me off when travelling in this country. No where else is even half as bad!

We were just transiting at Tangier. Our plan is to make our way immediately to Chefchaouen on the same night which is about 4 hours drive away. After haggling with a few taxi drivers on the fare, we decided on one of them whom we thought sound and look at least pretty decent.

Tangier night sceneOur first Moroccon dinner. Chicken Liver. Urgghss.

We finally arrived in Chefchaouen at about 3am after dinner and a quick walk around Tangier. That taxi driver offered to bring us to a family-run hostel which he claimed belongs to his friend. We did not have much choice anyway in the wee hours of the morning. Upon inspecting the place and negotiating a reasonable price, we decided to make do with the suggested accommodation.

And then that taxi driver, he had the cheek to ask for almost double of the prior agreed fare for the late night service. As if he did not know before! Such people really annoyed me the most. I refused to pay him a single cent more and I told him off at his face. T agreed with me but D empathised with this late night driving thing. The wonderful thing about D and I is that on all our trips, we happened to almost always spontaneously take turns to get angry in such circumstances. Really, 2 or in this case 3 persons flying into a rage together at the locals is definitely not a safe thing. Anyway, in the end we compromised by agreeing to pay the fellow an additional insignificant amount, although there was no way he deserved it.

Rise and shine in Chefchaouen the next day. Chefchaouen is a small and quaint picturesome city with simple houses decorated with bright white walls and doors are painted bright blue. It somewhat resembles Greek Islands which I think are one of the most beautiful places on earth.

We rushed to catch the late afternoon bus that very day and continued our way south to Fes. One very good thing going on such trips is you can guarantee to lose at least 2kg at the end of it. Not bad ah? :)

Annie's Tag: Things I Will Not Settle For

2007-05-31T21:43:00.000+08:00

I must admit that I only started to get down to work on this tag right now. But better late than never. Heehee. So, here it goes. For you Annie.

Some things I will not settle for:
1. NOT having a spirit of excellence and integrity.
I do not believe in mediocrity. This is the general principle in life I want to hold on to always. Whatever you set your hands on, do it with all your heart and with integrity. It shows up in the quality of everything you do and the attitude in which you do it. I hope this applies in my life so far:)

2. Led by the nose by others.
Every person should have a mind of his/her own and be sensitive to his/her inner spirit. I accept suggestions and sound advice, but I can hardly imagine myself taking a course of action totally based on what others have to say, especially that most decisions we have to make is not a straightforward right or wrong. 10 out of 10 persons may say go right; I will still go left if my judgement tells me so. Stubborn eh?

3. Allowing others to step all over people whom I care about.
I will never allow my family and friends to be bullied, if I am aware of it. I may appear docile but I do snap when provoked. The few people who had witnessed this were definitely very taken aback. Heehee. Beware.

4. Marrying a man who is NOT the right Prince.
I tell myself I would not settle for a less than "perfect" romantic love, in my own definition. Not that I have a set of very stringent criteria for the man, but it doesn't mean I set no standards at all. Maybe I can illustrate it simply this way: the man I would want to marry would be someone I can imagine myself taking part in The Amazing Race with. Don't laugh ok. Think about it, it does make perfect sense.

5. All work and no play OR All play and no work.
The sentence speaks for itself. The recipe for a happy and fufiling life. Say NO to being a modern slave and hurray for holidays! Balance. Balance. Balance.

6. NOT loving and taking care of yourself.
Appreciate the good things you already are and be thankful and confident you are YOU. And you would recognise that you would want to take good care of your body and self-image because of this. Knowing that God loves us, we love ourselves, then we can in turn love and accept others' love in our life.

Done. Now, I would like to tag the following bloggers, that is, if they are willing :)
Chinkinin
Sbanboy
Kok Hon
Fire Horse
Melissa

Update: Blogger police Jonzz had reminded me that I am only halfway through the tag. Ok ok. For the sake of humouring him :p

Some things I can settle for:
1. Top end luxury brands: LV, Coach, Gucci, Prada, Burberry. I can make do WITHOUT them.
2. "Hardship" holiday backpack trips.
3. No coffee nor any form of caffeine.
4. No pubbing and clubbing and alcohol.
5. Not owning a car. (Not 100% sure about this though)

Weekend at Kenyir Lake

2007-05-28T22:48:00.000+08:00

As some of you might have already guessed, I was at the Kenyir Lake International Triathlon 2007. No, I did not miraculously master the required swimming skill. Somehow convinced (before the duathlon last weekend, that is), I humbly agreed to sign up for the relay event with Chia and Mei Han. The total of 16 of us headed up north in a chartered coach on Friday night to Trengganu.

Stop-over for breakfast.

Assembling of dismantled bikes at the resort lobby upon arrival on Saturday morning after the 9 hour journey.

Followed by registration.

Some of us went canoeing in the lake whereas the serious triathletes friends engaged themselves in some training in preparation for the next day.

The resort accomodation.

The briefing session and carbo-loading dinner which somewhat resembles a wedding reception.

The event venue.

At the transition area. My teammates and I before the start of the race. Heee...we must be the most amateur looking participants in a non-triathlete outfit. And that's my very WRONG bike in the photo. I was definitely the only person using a cumbersome mountain bike, AGAIN. Feel so dumb lor.

Start of swim at 8am. Swimming is an event which I would never be able to do.

A snap shot of the first swimmer who completed the 1.5km swim.

Chia, my team mate who completed the swim in half hour. He was one of the top few swimmers in the race. I am most grateful to him for allowing the lead time to make up for my almost horrendous biking experience :p
Ann running towards the transition area after the swim.

After one and a half hours. WHERE IS CYCLIST 802? Mei Han waiting ~~anxiously~~ patiently for me to start her run. Errrrrr.....I was struggling with the super hilly terrain!!!! Nightmare. Up, down, up, down. No joke! I must have gone nuts to want to try this out. Everyone cycled pass and overtook me with ease. Well, I did overtake one and only cyclist - he had a flat tyre! NOW I AM DEFINITELY MOTIVATED TO GET A ROAD BIKE FOR SURE. And need to train!

Finally, sight of me after exactly 2 hours for the 40km toughest bike route. The worst timing which I promised that I would be back. Phew. Thank you Chia for the generous lead time so that I am not the last! And I survived and completed!
Mei Han must be the happiest participant at the moment:)

Mei Han starting to run her 10km.

Photo of the transition area.

Neo and his newly bought S$5,000 bike.

Colin who attempted the full triathlon with almost no training and he completed. Determination really counts. Admirable.

Yeah! Mei Han back in 1 hr10min. Be mindful that the hilly terrain is really really really tough.

Super tired, but happy and proud race finishers. 3hr40min. We will definitely improve the next time. Feeling very motivated.

And many cheers to the prize money winners amongst us. Paul, Loke, Yap, Soh Wai and Ann. All seasoned marathoners, triathletes and ironman:)

Group photo.

And 9 hrs journey back to Singapore. Reached home at 4am today.

***

And guess what. I met this blogger at the race. What a small ~~world~~ blogosphere! But he definitely did not know who I am because I am a silent reader who visits his blog through LM's. Heehee. Nevertheless, I went up to say hello and congratulated him on the race. Not forgetting to explain myself, of course. My friends commented I sound like a stalker. Good grief. Hope not!

I am just wondering. Under the same circumstances, I certainly cannot do a friendly Hello, you are LM. Hello you are ME. Or Hello you are Jonzz. No clue about your names or how you all look like :)

Going Up North

2007-05-24T21:49:00.000+08:00

This is where PB would be this weekend :)

Travelling up north.... Further north where Jonzz is. Further north than where ME is.

FLATTERY

2007-05-22T22:48:00.000+08:00

I had a conversation with someone today which then led me to write this post.

I agree we all need praises and encouragement from time to time.

Whereas I can say that my self-esteem is intact that I can accept flattery and return compliments with ease, it also struck me that they have little or no effect on me, unless and only if I first believe in them myself. Not necessarily that the flattery connotes insincerity.

It can mean three things. The motivation behind the flattering remark needs to be explored. I set an unbelievable high standard for myself. The other party's judgement is sincerely erroneous.

No matter how much faith you have in me, there is no point in telling me I am a good cook or even that I look like a good cook when you have not even tasted my cooking.

My Timing Sucks

2007-05-20T22:24:00.000+08:00

Today is the Oakley City Duathlon race and I totally screwed it. 3hr40min there about, need to check the actual timing when it is out.

A recap on the event:
10km run: The women's category was the 6th wave start at 8.15am. Oh how I dread doing any form of exercises in the scorching sun! The feeling of getting dehydration and heat stroke anytime. But no choice. Run. Endure. Run. And got to endure the stomach cramps for the certain reason on the wrong day.
Checking out the other competitors, all the women looked really pro and they turned out to be excellent athletics too. Finishing the 10km within 55min is like below average standard. OMG.

40km cycle:
It was a relief getting on to my bike. At that moment, I was sort of disillusioned that pedalling with all your might on a bike is surely easier than running anytime. I am tempted to put the blame on my not-so-professional bike but I shall not. It is really one of the consequences of not doing any proper training for a first ever bike race. I was too complacent this time and over-estimated my ability, that's why.
There were several competitors cycling leisurely, a few down with injury alongside the road, but most were cruising at an admirable speed of I believe almost 40km/hr on their road bikes. I completed in about 2 hours in a most miserable speed, especially in the last loop. Tired and knees were hurting. Afterall, I think I chose to focus on the discomfort because of my big ego. TeeHee.

5km run:
I admit by the time I placed my bike on the rack at the transition zone, I was 99% tempted to give the last 5km run a miss because my sub 3 hr target was dashed. And actually, my legs were wobbly when I dismounted from my bike and couldn't even walk properly.
However, finally I convinced myself to complete the race at least. Quite demoralising when you can see that there was already a crowd at the finishing point. But the consolation was, there were still quite a number of people behind. I definitely didn't want to come in last. Good grief.
How shall I put it. The pain in the legs was actually different and not as bad as that from a marathon race, I guess because of the cycle variation, but I could feel a muscle pull at the right knee which just wouldn't go away. I ended up walking almost the whole distance with one of the competitor whom we chatted along the way because I just cannot be bothered anymore, which is really poor sportsmanship :p

Nevertheless, I am glad I completed my first duathlon. *pats self on back* Sunburnt, but not nursing any injury nor pain. The lessons learnt were valuable which really reminded me they are very much applicable in real life too. If you read between the lines, some of you may know what I mean. Anyway, I am really determine do the race again next year within the set target, and with adequate proper training. Heehee.

And I am really proud of my pal, Aaron. He completed the race, also his first duathlon, in 2hr 45min. Well done! :)

Will upload more photos when I get them from Maddy.

Day Off

2007-05-17T09:59:00.000+08:00

Got this monster name thingy from Jonzz's blog and I decided to try it out. Hmmmm.... LM and I can go orphan-nabbing together. LOL.

Guess what. I actually took leave today to settle something in the morning and then met Mic for the Isetan private sale. Burnt a whole in my pocket. But really it is a very wonderful feeling not to be working on a weekday. Shopping, going to the gym, chatting with girl friends over high tea, doing manicure/pedicure, spa....... How I wish for this lifestyle! :)

Now back to reality. I know I am going to be really really busy at work in the coming months. And someone just reminded me today by saying that I may not be able to go to the gym as often. Anyway, I bet I would still be able to. I never believe in endless hours of unproductive labour. Occasionally, ok.

At the Salon

2007-05-14T22:23:00.000+08:00

PB: I am thinking of perming my hair. Those large wavy curls. Do you think my hair is long enough? Is it suitable?

Hairdresser: Go ahead and give it a try. I think permed hair suits you. But I must also warn you that permed hair does makes one look more mature.

PB: Oh......Errrr...Or do you think I should straighten my hair like in the past?

Hairdresser: That is another possible option if you want it neat and fuss free.

PB: Ok...I will straighten....No wait. I think I changed my mind...I will just trim and do treatment.

Hairdresser: Okie. Maybe I trim your hair first while you can still decide.

PB: I think I decide to perm. Do you think is hard to maintain? Will it cause my hair to become very dry? Blah Blah Blah......

Hairdresser: Tell you what. I do a perm that looks natural and easy to maintain. (illustrates by showing a model in a magazine) No worries. At most you can come back to straighten it again.

PB: Ok. I suppose there's always a first time for everything. (keeping fingers crossed)

******

In case you are wondering that I sound very vain, it is NOT totally true. If you are a woman and you have natural wave in your hair which cause it to look somewhat messy all the time, you will understand why I need to do something about it. At least, now my hair curls in a more systematic way.

Should I

2007-05-11T23:50:00.000+08:00

Duathlon is next Sunday. It turned out that the only other person I know who signed up for the event is A. The others are pre-occupied with their training in the triathlon the following week in Lake Kenyir which is supposedly the preferred choice.

I met up with A to cycle this evening. Wow. He definitely seems to have sufficient training! According to him, these days he is "super involved in sports, basketball, BBAXN, church soccer league, jogging cycling training, gym every afternoon lunchtime." Oppss. My exercise regime is probably only 20% of that in the past weeks. Hope we both are able to accomplish our targeted sub 3hr.

We dropped by at my ex-colleague B's bicycle shop at Kallang. There I changed my bike tyres to the 1.25 type suitable for road cycling. Now, at least I won't look stupid on a 100% mountain bike next week. Heehee. And I must remember to borrow a helmet before the race.

Then we went over to Esplanade to look for G at his shop selling scent and bath products. He had been complaining that the good friend had not even stepped into his shop once since it opened this month. Told him got to blame it on my crazy work schedule:P I promised that I'll do a write-up on his shop on my blog sometime. Hmm...Come to think of it, quite a few of my friends had left their jobs to set up their own businesses. Makes me wonder if it might be a better choice...

Time to zzZZZzzzz. A long day packed with activities tomorrow. Meanwhile, I am still in a delimma if I should straighten or perm my hair. How I find great difficulty in making all sorts of choices these days!

Brain Teaser

2007-05-11T23:39:00.001+08:00

Some not-too-difficult puzzles to amuse youselves for the weekend:)

***
(1) HOW DID HE KNOW?
A man was waiting at an airport for a plane to arrive. Suddenly, he heard someone call his name. Looking up, he saw an old friend of his hurrying toward him.
"Hey, Bill!" called his friend. "How are you?I haven't seen you in years!"
"How are you?" exclaimed Bill. "Wow, you look great!"
"I am married now, to someboby you don't know,"said the other. "This is my daughter."
Bill smiled down at the little girl. "Hi, young lady. What's your name?"
"It's the same as my mama's," said the girl.
"Is that so," said Bill, winking at his friend. "Then your name must be Cindy!"

Q : How could he possibly know this?

***
(2) THE STRANGE SISTERS
It was the first day of school. The teacher had several children in her class. She asked all the new children to write down their names and their date of birth for her. The first two names she looked at were those of girls. She saw that they both had the same last name. They also had the same birthday- June 9,1973.
"Will Jane and June Campbell please stand?" asked the teacher.
Two girls stood up, and the teacher saw that they look alike.
"Oh, you're twins," she said.
One of the girls shook her head. "No," she said. "We're sisters, but we're not twins."

Q : How could they be sisters, same last name and be the same age, but not twins?

***
(3) THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING FISH
Two fathers and two sons went fishing. Each caught one fish. However, only a total of three fishes were caught.

Q : How was this possible?
***

(4) THE TENNIS PLAYER
Once there was a tennis player. She played
very well and won great fame.

Jane was her first name,
What was her last name.

Find Jane's last name
***

On Friday And The WeekEnd

2007-05-06T23:17:00.000+08:00

Updates on random events in the past few days.

***

Friday. After a very insane meeting at the client's office, one of my colleagues suggested that we drive over to Botak Jones for lunch. Been hearing about this stall with claims of "Authentic American Food" and slogans like "Damn Good Food at a Damn Good Price" in an unremarkable coffeeshop setting. Since we were in the neighbourhood, we stopped by at the newly opened Toa Payoh branch.

We all had the famous Botak Burger. It was an American serving alright. I could only manage to finish half of it. The thick juicy grilled beef patty burger was served with extremely generous portions of coleslaw and chips dusted with Botak Jones' special spice mix. The food is generally acceptable and obviously superior to the MacDonald's stuff, although nothing really to shout about.

Met up with LP and M for a late night movie. Guess what movie. Just like everyone else, Peter Parker, here we come to watch you for the third time. I prefer this conclusion of the comic book adventure trilogy than the two earlier movies. It has more baddies. More characters. More visual effects. More depth. And yes, more excitement.

Which character do you like best in the movie? My favorite is actually not Spiderman but Harry Osborn. He looks really really cool. ***

Saturday. My little sister fractured her arm in her Judo class and was admitted to the hospital. Thank God nothing serious and she is back home already. Really, I think Dad and Mum should stop her from going to these unlady-like classes from now on. She had been ending up with bruised eyes, knees and what not. Gosh.

I recieved a really surprise phone call from Jubilee in the evening when she is in transit at Changi airport, back to Bangalore from Vancouver. This is how the conversation went:

Jubilee: Hie! *PB* Guess what, I've got news for you of your ex-boyfriend! I met him in Vancouver. (Excitedly)

PB: Huh? What news? You met him in Vancouver? (My heart almost skipped a beat.)

Jubilee: Your ex-boyfriend is in Vancouver and he will be station soon in Jeddah. Blah Blah Blah.

PB: What? What is *he* doing in Vancouver? Wait....who are you referring to? (Absolutely confused)

It turned out to be a misunderstanding afterall. It has got to be the pitfalls of written communication. You see, Jubilee is still in Bangalore with hubby Magneto who is a station manager, and we stayed in contact via msn since I came back. Upon the request of a certain someone, I had asked her some time last year if it would be possible that she enquire for us about this station manager in Vancouver and also his wife. I related to her the background story but somehow, she got it all mixed up. It had to be hilarious that she and Magneto met up with that guy and thinking all along we had a special relationship in the past when in fact I have no clue about him! LOL. Nevertheless...

***

Sunday. Went about my weekly 10km run at MacR with my friends at 7am. It is really frustrating trying to get a carpark lot there these days ever since they closed a part of it for upgrading to a multi-storey carpark. What crap. I spent no less than half an hour searching for a lot and had to settle for illegal parking in the end. MX suggested we should really meet earlier from next week. But waking up early in the mornings is not one of my greatest strengths. Bah.

And guess what. WooHoo.....I got a score of 98/100 for my first term Japanese exam. Actually, I spent just the one week desperately cramming all the information possibly into my brain before the paper. Come to think of it, no wonder I had been in a very bad mood then. I admit I don't function very well under stress. No choice. I am too proud not to do well and I had not been paying attention in class at all.

Oh...and of all people and all places, I ran into L, my ex-Scottish boss in Bangalore, at Cold Storage today! He is back for a one day trip. Still the usual mutterings from him being very busy and all. We chatted for a while and the conversation naturally led to if I might consider returning to Bangalore. I smiled and declined politely without giving a specific reason. The truth is, there would really only be one circumstance if I might return to work in India. Afraid that he may offer himself, I kept my mouth shut. No, no, of course I am just kidding! :p

The Fine Line

2007-05-03T23:30:00.000+08:00

There had been a few things on my mind lately. No, I will not be sharing it here, at least not quite yet, until I get there. But I thought I would just jot this down, to remind myself.

That it's really just a fine line.....

Between arrogance AND taking pride in the things one does.

Between hypocrisy AND being socially, politically correct.

Between trying to impress AND faithfulness in small things.

WeekEnd At Sentosa

2007-04-29T23:19:00.000+08:00

I had been working at least 12 hours everyday last week. Not that I am really busy. Just that this extraordinary man has the tendancy to call for night meetings every other day which keep us around until 10pm, for whatever reasons which apparently only make sense to himself. What a dread. But yet amusing to me at the same time. Anyway, no one dares to defy his orders. Sigh. I am reminded that there is going to be yet another one of these sessions tomorrow night! There goes my training at the gym AGAIN. And only 21 more days to the duathlon. Help.

Anyway, Grandma turned 79 yesterday. The birthday gathering was held at Sentosa; my eldest Uncle had booked one of the chalets for the occasion as suggested by Grandma. See the photo above. What a cool family, eh?

The activities-based weekend was good fun for the rest of us; more than for Grandma, I believed. Beach volleyball, skyride and luge, and piles of alcohol - beer, wine etc. Nevermind that the catered food for dinner totally sucks and served in what seemed like a canteen; afterall, it is really the get-together that matters.

Anyway, after that, the elder folks gathered at the poolside to reminisce the good old times, the kids stayed in the room to play card games, and the rest of us adjourned to Cafe de Mar (it is actually a newly opened pub where waitresses serve drinks in bikinis) for more drinks. My two uncles got so drunk that they had to be carried back by the time we ended the session at almost 4am. Seems it's almost like tradition.

The next day, we overheard my little cousin asked, "Grandma, did you enjoy yourself?" My Grandma, as of her usual very self-less and considerate self, replied that she cannot be any happier than seeing the delighted faces of all her children and grandchildren. Sigh. Most of us could read the undertone of regret in the statement, as a series of not so pleasant events had occured in the family within the past few months. Anyway, hope things will turn out for the better very soon...

Simplicity

2007-04-26T23:46:00.000+08:00

I have been witnessing more of this politics than ever before in my entire life for the past few months. It is absolutely disgusting and I would never want to be involve. Please stop telling me to beware of so-and-so or so-and-so is doing this or that for whatever ulterior motives. Excuse me, I may look naive but I certainly have better discernment than that. I don't need you to tell me what to think, say or do. And it irritates me most when someone is complaining so excessively about another, yet he can turn around and suck up to the same person the very next moment. Yucks! But then, this is the real world.

There are too many cooks. Almost every individual seemed to have a selfish hidden agenda - striving to impress and suck up to someone important. The fact that some people are too free makes things even worst. They spend most of their time talking rather than working! My personal view is that we are all heading towards disaster. Chaotic planning, ineffective management, poor teamwork, etc etc etc. both within and among orgnaisations. Challanging eh?

Thank God I am on very good terms with a handful of very nice people here. You know, I still refuse to believe that nice and simple people do not survive well in this society. For me, I'll rather keep a low profile and just do my part. Afterall, I still believe strongly it is integrity that would win the favor and respect of others. With the wisdom and guidance from above. As always.

Time will tell.

The Last Post Tag

2007-04-24T23:06:00.000+08:00

This warm and sunny blog,

belongs to friendly bear Pooh.

Then some friends say,

THIS IS THE END OF BLOGOSPHERE.

Oh bother, Pooh wonders,

what she should do.

But really, maybe it doesn't matter,

for to keep in touch,

email would be fine too -

poohbearee@hotmail.com

Fire Horse and ME, mission accomplished :)

Let Go, Let God

2007-04-22T22:53:00.000+08:00

A few persons, on different occasions, had out of concern commented that I looked rather distracted these days. Although I smiled and dismissed the remarks tactfully as being a misinterpretation of my body language, the truth is, their perception is not wrong.

You know, I find it especially scary to live life with a sort of detachment, that you just drift along with events after events. You laugh, but you don't feel the joy in your heart. You are sad, but you don't even feel like crying. You pretend to hope, but you are actually pessimistic about everything. You are indifferent, but there is no peace. Sigh. I never felt this way before. I hope it is just PMS!

I believe all these just point to the one direction that I really need to trust and seek and let Him love me all over again, which although I said I would, I know deep down inside I had stubbornly resisted and depended on my own will instead. In His love, I want to be the confident, optimistic and joyful person which He meant me to be. Through the small step of daily prayer and the word, I know He will lead me there again.

"If you see yourself the way I see you, you know you are beautiful" Love, Jesus.

The Warrior is a Child

2007-04-22T22:28:00.000+08:00

Lately I've been winning battles left and right
But even winners can get wounded in the fight
People say that I'm amazing
Strong beyond my years
But they don't see inside of me
I'm hiding all the tears

(Chorus)

They don't know that I go running home when I fall down
They don't know who picks me up when no one is around
I drop my sword and cry for just a while
'Cause deep inside this armour
The warrior is a child

Unafraid because his armour is the best
But even soldiers need a quiet place to rest
People say that I'm amazing
Never face retreat
But they don't see the enemies
That lay me at His feet

Chorus x2

I drop my sword and look up for His smile
Because deep inside this armour
Deep inside this armour
Deep inside this armour
The Warrior is a Child

Effective Communication

2007-04-19T23:29:00.000+08:00

I attended a team building session at my office facilitated by an external trainer the whole of last Saturday. It was one of those teamwork and effective communication workshop where you participate in interactive games and discover the intended relevations from there. You know, the usual stuff. Surprisingly, it was actually good fun.

I am particularly impressed by this challange, which I thought I shall share here. It goes like that:
3 members in a team. The Architect and the Builder sit back-to-back and they are not allowed to turn around. However, they may speak to each other. The Silent Observer watches both the Architect and the Builder, but he is not allowed to speak nor gesticulate. The Architect and the Silent Observer may switch roles anytime, and for as many times as they like.

The Architect is given a tangram picture. His role is to verbally instruct the Builder, who has the 7 geometry shapes in his hands, to form the same tangram picture on his board. The team whose Builder forms the correct picture in the shortest time wins the game.

I actually learnt a good number of lessons from here. A great idea as an ice-breaking game at gatherings too. Have a guess what are the essential factors to win the challange....

UPDATED....
The role of the Architect aka the leader who gives instructions at work:

#Tip 1: The Architect should first convey to the Builder that the picture he is to build is a camel so that the Builder is given a sense of purpose and direction from the start. Having visualise what the overall picture is, the subsequent instructions he is to receive from the Architect would then make more sense.

#Tip 2: Whereas time is pressing in this challange, the Architect shall remain composed and give precise and systematic instructions like "First, take the smallest piece of triangle. The longest side of the triangle shall be at the top. Next, take the other smallest triangle...." Do not give vague instructions like "The tip of the triangle shall be pointing to the top".

The role of the Builder aka the worker who receives instructions and executes the task at work:

#Tip 3: The Builder should ask questions and give feedback, "Do you mean........" , "Please repeat", "I don't understand". A two way communication is most useful in this challange. Some Builders forgot that they are allowed to speak.

The role of the Silent Observer aka a team member but this particular task does not fall within his scope of role and responsibility:

#Tip 4: A prudent Silent Observer would recognise that he is allowed to switch role with the Architect whenever and for as many times he like. He has the overall view of what is going on - he sees the Builder's progress whereas the Architect does not. He is the one who can step in to prevent further abortive work when the Architect is unaware that the Builder is going towards the wrong direction. Silent Observer-turned-Architect may say, "Builder, I see just now that the position of the square is wrong. Now, place the square on the left side of the triangle instead.........." It is this effective and constant switching of roles between the Silent Observer and the Architect that is likely to finally cause the team to win the challange in the fastest time. Of course, the Silent Observer must take an interest to win; and choose to overcome his passiveness and fear of offending the Architect.

Have you learn something about teamwork? :)

Show Hand Tag

2007-04-17T21:01:00.000+08:00

M tagged me to show my hand some time ago. Here it is:)

10 bloggers I would like to tag for this show hand challange. Just for fun.
Annie
BabyCarys
Becky
BeenZ
Fire Horse
Jonzz
Keelyn
Kok Hon
ME
Because LM had already revealed his hands twice on his blog, I challange him to show us some other parts of his body. Haha.

Current Training Goal

2007-04-15T20:43:00.000+08:00

20 May, City Duathlon 2007. My first attempt at a run-cycle-run race. I had been looking out for the event since the beginning of this year. WooHoo *dance around excitedly*

My target timing:
10km run: 55min
40km cycle: 1hr 30min (a bit uncertain about this)
5km run: 25min

Logistics....First, I gotta check if my bike is still in working order. Afterall, it had been neglected for quite a while. (It is actually a mountain bike which had brought me to many places) Hopefully, I won't look too UNprofessional cycling alongside those roaddies.

To all of us: Happy Training!

Loan Shark Quantity Surveyor

2007-04-12T23:47:00.000+08:00

Today marks my second month in my current job. Not unhappy, but still trying to settle in and find some form of direction and goal. Boss said some very encouraging words yesterday, and that he also expects me to learn fast and be part of his mighty vision. Sigh. But deep down inside I know I am indifferent. Maybe I am still half decided if I should return to pursue my quantity surveying profession with the consultant – something I was trained and still take pride in. Or maybe it is just that I am reluctant to take up new challenges because I am afraid of failure. I don't know.

On a side note, I am quite amused as I observed, being on the architect’s side now, the manner in which this particular quantity surveyor (who also happened to be an ex-ex-colleague) in the project team harassed the structural engineer all week for drawings in a most annoying manner. What a dread. I would not have done it this way, in Singapore at least. I really pity the engineer who has many more urgent issues to attend to instead of having to spend time replying these silly emails which are copied to all:-

It would be appreciated if all other outstanding information can be forthcoming ASAP.
.......
No worries, all of us are in a team and we have to be understanding to each other. Hope the information would be forthcoming ASAP.
......
We would require these URGENT outstanding information on an urgent basis: -
We would appreciate your URGENT response ASAP.
......
Would appreciate your prompt response. We are running out of time. Thks
.....
Still outstanding information as per 5:30pm today.

Egg Tarts Recipe

2007-04-11T23:14:00.000+08:00

This is my contribution for the family gathering held at my grandma's place over the Easter weekend. One of the very rare occasions I actually stepped into the kitchen back here in Singapore. Apart from baking, I wonder if my cooking skills have deteriorated, IF I can even call it a skill to begin with...heeeheeee.
The recipe-
Ingredients for pastry:
Butter 250gm, icing sugar 100gm, 1 egg, plain flour 500gm. Cream until white. Add egg and flour until it forms a dough. Put the dough into baking moulds.
Custard:
250gm of sugar, 2 rice bowls of water cook till sugar dissolved. Allow to cool. 10-12 egg yolk. Beat the eggs and add sugar mixture. Stir and pour into the baking moulds.
Method of baking:
Put in the moulds to bake for 20mins or until the pastry is golden brown. Pour the custard mixture and bake for another 5mins or when the custard sets.

Namesake

2007-04-09T22:13:00.000+08:00

The book I am currently reading. Enticed to purchase it after I watched the movie last weekend. Somehow after staying in that country for a while, I find myself rather drawn to its books and movies.

ColorGenics Test

2007-04-06T11:25:00.000+08:00

Took this test from the link via Papilio's blog. The results for me - almost 100% true! Wow!!

You are striving for a life full of activity and experience and, perhaps even more, an environment where you would be able to forge a close bond with a person who can offer full emotional fulfilment.

You are very talented, imaginative and sensitive but you are holding back as you do not really like going it 'on your own'. In preference you would like to team up with someone, someone with similar attributes as your own, to explore - to seek out and go perhaps 'where no other man has trod before'. It is the unusual that attracts you and which will give you a sense of excitement and adventure.

All the problems that you have been experiencing of late seem to have become a part of your life and there is little that can be done to change the situation. Your emotions run high - but even though you feel as if at times you are about to burst, this situation will pass. Try to release your pent-up emotions by participating in some extra physical activities like running, swimming, whatever. There must be some favourite pastime, not necessarily strenuous, that can help you to relax.

It is said that we are all influenced by our environment and indeed you are no exception. It would seem at this time that even though you may be surrounded by people, you are experiencing an inner loneliness. Fortunately you are sufficiently strong minded to realise that life has a great deal to offer you and that you may miss your share of experiences if you fail to make the best use of every opportunity.

You therefore pursue your objectives with a fierce intensity and are prepared to commit yourself deeply and readily. You believe that whatever you would like to do or think 'you can do' - you do! It is because of this attitude that you may be considered by others as arrogant and even conceited, but its fair to say that whatever it is that you really want out of life you will put your heart and soul into it and will not take 'NO' for an answer.

The fear that you may not be able to fulfil or realise all of your ambitions makes you work and play hard. The thought of being prevented from achieving the things you want leads you to play your part with frantic fervour.

Donkeys and Carrots

2007-04-04T22:25:00.000+08:00

Yeah! For once, I managed to get off work by 7pm today and I made it on time for my boxercise class I had missed for weeks. Certainly feels great after a decent workout. It sure beats sitting through those enduring evening meetings for endless hours anytime! Ok, not that I am going to ramble on and on about work matters again. I guess I concluded that it would be most prudent to stop being distracted, settle in and make the best out of things. Blah Blah Blah. And yes, I found a temporary measure (better than none at all) to motivate myself - the very CUTE engineer on the project! :)

******

I learnt something new today when I read Jonzz's blog - carrot and the IT donkey. Well, I confess I must be ignorant as I didn't know before that the dangle a carrot phrase (I used so often) is actually a fable that involves a farmer dangling a carrot in front of a donkey in order to motivate the donkey to work. What a revelation! But do donkeys even eat carrots? I thought they feed on grass. And by the way, Eeyore from the Winnie-the-Pooh story eats thistles...... Urrghhss. I must seemed to be talking crap. Pardon me, I am just quite sensitive to that animal, somehow.

The Princesses' Night Out

2007-04-01T23:18:00.000+08:00

PS Cafe is located in Dempsey Road, one of the quietest but most central neighborhoods. The one-storey house, with one side entirely glass, looks kind of in the 50s. Good choice of place for the surprise dinner, M!

We opted for the outdoor deck area. The view-all green grass and tall trees-is, for a Singaporean restaurant in the city, unique. We ordered drinks and then started our dinner by sharing two mains - mushroom pasta and tiger prawn pasta. Everything was simple but delicious, and enhance by the fantastic atmosphere. And Min finally made her way there while we were feasting on the dessert - double chocolate cake served with vanilla ice cream.

We adjourned to the alfresco bar across the road after dinner for drinks. Cool outdoor place to chillout. Probably it was still early and the crowd had not come in yet; we even managed to occupy the spacious sofa seat. Somehow, it did bring back memories of my Bangalore days, which I quite missed.

Ordered a bottle of wine, and we chatted (you know, the usual girls talk which shall be kept private and confidential) as the band played the light jazz music. I realised one thing, my threshold for alchohol must be getting lower; felt a bit of a headache and dizziness after only one glass. I wonder why.

Later, we drove to town intending to catch the show Nada Sou Sou - a Japanese love story. Come to think of it, it was pretty amusing that we almost desperately rushed from Cineleisure then to PlazaSing just to get the tickets for the midnight show. Sigh. It turned out that the show was exceptionally boring. W decided to walk out of the cinema to catch Mr Bean's Holiday instead, M was half the time in the washroom, and I can't help wishing that the show would end since the moment it started. Hahaha....

LP, wish you a very Happy Birthday and hope you like the present from us! :)

Don't Ask Me

2007-03-31T11:47:00.000+08:00

How do you find your current job?
...........
That's why I ask and wonder if you would like to pursue your professional consultant career.
..........
Will get in touch or you can let me know if you decide earlier.

I received these SMS-es from my ex-ex-boss this morning. It sets me thinking. In fact, I had been thinking since yesterday, triggered by a certain series of events. NOT about returning to join him, but on my career as a whole. Shit. I hope I am not analysing too much. But I always seem to have the problem of not knowing what I want. The thought of going round in circles sounds super stupid to me. Sigh....I rather not think about it right now.

Meeting LP and the rest of the princesses to celebrate her surprise birthday dinner later. Will blog about it.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Yeah!

2007-03-28T22:36:00.000+08:00

An update from yesterday.

Sorted out some issues with the team, together with my chief today. Did up the organisation chart, defined each person's scope of responsibility and channel of reporting, set out clear plans and goals, and communicated it to everyone. Don't ask me why this was never done before. Too many complications. At least, a small step and I see some directions.

Actually, after working nearly two months on this project, I do realised that there are some really nice people, other than the weird ones. And my chief is a wonderful person to work with. Except one thing really, I hate his name!

Finally, I find some hope of escaping the ordeal of attending those numerous ineffective meetings after today. D-E-L-E-G-A-T-I-O-N and R-E-P-O-R-T-I-N-G. Yeah! Which means, I can leave the office on time for my gym classes and have time for other things. My gym bag had been lying at my workstation untouched for two whole weeks! No wonder I had been feeling so lethargic.

Some Thoughts....

2007-03-27T23:29:00.000+08:00

Too many people involved. Everyone wants to have a say. No clear directions and leadership. Demarcation of work scope is unclear. Too many ineffective meetings. Poor communication flow. The list just goes on and on at work.

Help! It struck me that my job is part of the equation to solve these issues! For that, don't you think that an extrovert with a dynamic personality, a natural born leader who rarely hesitates to tell others what to do - whether qualified to do so or not, is most essential? And I am NOT. On the contrary, my discomfort with confrontation and a certain lack of self confidence is one of my greatest weaknesses, especially on unfamiliar grounds. I rather be the diplomatic and people-sensitive team player any time.

But on a more positive note, I do admit it is a very good opportunity for leadership skills and personal development. Yes, it's really time for PoohBear to get out of her comfort zone! Make or break it, we'll see. I never did doubt my determination, unless of course I choose to give up.

What is your working style? I always have the impression that all my blogger friends are those dynamic leaders with the gift of the gab.