Changi Sports Medical Center

I have always had a nagging ache in my lower back - particularly on the right side.  It's due to poor posture, I don't hold myself upright enough and I tend to sit on the edge of the chair and lean forward at the screen while at work. 

Since I upped my running mileage significantly since 2011, the ache has also increased in intensity, to the point when it hurts during a run instead of after.  Or maybe I worsened the injury supporting a tottering Matty, thank goodness he can now walk on his own.  I&M both go to this physiotherapist at the sports clinic and highly recommended her. 

After delaying for months, I finally made an appointment.  Drove over and realized it occupies a whole wing of Changi Hospital - the Changi sports medical center.  And within it, the Musculoskeletal Clinic.  I am impressed!

The physiotherapist is also a marathoner.  She quickly identifies the issue.  My running gait is incomplete and I lack balance, especially with my right leg.  Hence the pain in my lower back.  Next session with her, I need to bring my runners and we'll do some work on the treadmill.

I am truly impressed with Singapore.  This is a cool country indeed.  Now all we lack are cycling lanes on our roads and I'm never leaving this place again.

RIP Jude Tan

C was telling us about poor Jude Tan who was killed by a sleepy driver while cycling along Changi Coastal Road last Saturday.

He did not do anything wrong.  He was the last guy (sweeper) in a group of cyclists.  It was 10:30am on a Saturday (broad daylight) along a road hugely popular with cyclists (awareness of the presence of cyclists).  A sleepy van driver lost control, mounted a curb and then ran Jude down.  C cycled past shortly after the accident happened and saw the horrific accident scene.  The impact was so great, his bicycle parts were strewn all over the entire road (all 4 lanes).  He was just 25.

If you are sleepy and at the wheel, please, do the world a favor, pull over and take a short power nap.  That 15mins could mean the difference between life and death.
http://www.asiaone.com/Motoring/News/Story/A1Story20120531-349582.html

A sleepy driver could mow down a person regardless whether you are walking/running/riding a bicycle/driving along in a car.  If he was going to lose control and plow into your path, you would still get hit.

May God receive you warmly into heaven.  May your family be comforted at this time.  RIP Jude Tan.

I&M's Marantz hifi player

I almost typed WIFI player - occupational hazards!

Matty (aka the QC engineer) has been busy. 

Fortunately his parent's Marantz hifi player got fixed for $110.

Actually it's $115 ($55 parts and $60 labour) but I had only $110 in cash and they don't accept cards of any sort.  And I look so poor, they waived off the $5. 

I am liking the fact that I get small discounts here and there...  Thank you God!

人好复杂呀！

Once again I learn how friggin huge the male ego is.  Must it always be so complicated?  It's just running, sheesh...

Got my wheels back again...

Ok Roar is back.  He's back to his original length too.  I also took the opportunity to replace the broken remote control key / car alarm system so the car is protected again.   Went to this place at Turf City called Newton Keys - efficiently done and they gave me a small discount cos I look and feel poor! 

Only thing missing is a spare tyre cover - broke into multiple pieces from being smashed into the wall -__-  Definitely not going to pay $300 for a new cover.  Will look to buy a canvas cover for the spare wheel since it will cost a fraction of the hard cover cost.

In the meantime, the fumes from the new paint (on Roar's back door) is killing me... cough cough.

I am just glad the car is back safe.  Amen.

Interesting take on Christmas from a FB perspective

Sundown Marathon

On the aftermath of a lingering flu, crashing my car into a wall, running around getting car fixed and checking out furniture/electronics plus a kiddy party lunch on Saturday... I certainly didn't feel in good shape mentally.  I didn't set myself any targets, since I still had my heart on the Gold Coast marathon in July.

Thankfully, Peter had offered to drive this time and we went early found free parking space, rested at the lobby of the Park Royal hotel until Alex, Francis and a friend of Peter's showed up, then walked casually to the start line.

Francis insisted on a slower pen, so the 4 of us started at the 2:30 after wishing Alex good luck and to be careful.  

This is how it felt : I ran fast first 10k then fought the pain as I slowed down for the second 10k.  In reality, it was pretty much even for both splits.  Surprising.

I'm working on 2 things on my run
1.  my running gait - the physiotherapist said I wasn't utilizing my butt muscles when I run.  That my stride is incomplete, it doesn't extend to the butt muscles. 
2. learn to drink on the go with sputtering... Right now, I just stand there and drink 2 cups each time. 

I am grateful to the good Lord that
- got the Asics deal.  The Sky Speed 2 is lighter and flat - so it encourages mid-foot landings more than the typical heel to ball rolling pattern.
- the downpour only started after I finished the run.  The winds really picked up during the rain - had to run/walk back to the car.  We were soaked to the skin and blasted by the winds!  I was so cold, we switched the heater on in the car (I'm serious!). 

Big pedal stop, small pedal go. Get it right!

Reversed Roar into the wall Friday night.  And no, I wasn't drunk!  It was late, after our debrief at St Bern's  from CaFE.  Perhaps I was distracted or tired or something... But I meant to reverse the car a little, not so much til I am IN the wall.

Roar is a little shorter now, the back door is dented in.  The rear spare tyre cover broke into pieces and the rear windshield shattered spectacularly into a billion pieces.

Damage - $1100.

Certainly not a good time as I am looking at buying furniture and stuff... Sigh.  So now I am car-less and walking around with very tight calves.  Ouch ouch and more ouch.  This is not good *shake head*

Weekend of furniture oogling

 Note the choice of words, oogling.  I remember a few years ago when I accompanied I&M on a few furniture store visits as they were preparing to move into their new house, utterly horrified at the type of prices they were talking about.  I figured, yuppies with expensive tastes.  Now, I understand.  A decent dining table is perhaps $2000.  Yes!  At least something that won't be collapsing and requiring a re-purchase in 2 years.  Dining chairs.  Chairs... pfffttt, you think right?  Maybe $20-50 a piece?  Try $300-400 a piece.  *faint*  Bringing up this conversation to I&M is all about 'I told you so!'.  So maybe the yuppies' idea of Italian tables and chairs for the same price as Malaysian made ones - all of which aren't cheap incidentally, is good after all.

I think I have dining table down.  Chairs is a problem as I would like it to match the sofa, while not costing me an arm and a leg at the same time.  So should it be plastic (very in today), leather or, upholstery (softest on my butts)?
 

And I need 5 chairs.  Because Matty is going to need a seat too.  He's growing so fast, so boy looking now eh?

I have been looking around over weekends.  So it's a good start.  Even though the Great Singapore Sale has not yet begun, everyone is doing pre-GSS sales.  Good for me, I can start browsing early.  There's so much to acquire.  And I can't wait.

I signed up for the Newton 30km run this morning after I found out the starting point is East Coast Park.  Hey, by October, I'll be walking to the start line!  Thank you God!

Social media marketing - not so straight forward

http://www.businessinsider.com/social-media-marketing-landscape-complicated-2012-5

The accident everyone's talking about

I was eating lunch at NUS and overheard the next table of presumably all foreigners talking about the recent Ferrari crashing into a taxi at high speeds.  They sounded like a mix of Indian & Chinese nationals.  While they were reasonably rational, it still irk me when they was saying Singaporeans are overreacting.  Undoubtedly the reckless driver paid with his life, but he also took 2 innocent people with him - the taxi driver and the passenger in the taxi.  And you know, if these foreigners are unhappy with how they are "treated" here, they can jolly well go home.  Go back to India and China - clearly 3rd world countries.  Obviously the foreigners are here because Singapore is a better place to live!  So acknowledge that fact and be gracious about it.  Most of all - assimilate!  Obeying our laws, respecting the citizens are basic first steps.  And for the Chinese nationals here, speak English!

I decided to watch the video and I am just horrified.  The taxi didn't stand a chance at all.

Point in note to self - it's ok to stop beyond the white line at the junction but never be first to drive off. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8JfAaOABk4g

I think I need a new car alarm system

So my car remote control failed the other day after Matty was busy pressing the buttons. 

I thought it was a simple matter of replacing the key fob.  So I went to this place called Soxxi and the guy there said, would you care for the $380 package (with 2 key fobs) or the $180 package (with 1 horrendous looking key).  I almost fainted.  Thankfully this was before lunch so I had nothing to puke out.

-__-

At this rate, I should drive a tank.  The QC engineer has been busy.

Back to running

The break last week from running was a good idea.  Back this week with an 8km run last night and it felt good - had to slow myself down to wait for Peter and also not to over-exert myself before the cycle.  Thankfully so because the head wind was awful! 

This Sunday's LSD will be torturous, 32km.  And Alex wants to run in the night to acclimatize to the upcoming Sundown Marathon.  So we will be doing battle in the dark along ECP this Sunday.  Wonderful...

Matty, me and the iPhone

Taking turns to play with the phone.

Diving in Pulau Redang

Took 2 days off for an extended dive weekend in Pulau Redang.  My last trip there was in 2006 - before I left for Taiwan.  I must say, the diving scene in Malaysia is so different now.  Redang I recall was fantastic diving.  We have changed the environment, for the worse for sure.

Philip, Jasmine & I had a great weekend.  Everyone was caring, considerate, amiable and quick to laugh.  Water visibility unfortunately was not good due to thermoclines, and we lost Jasmine one dive when she was slow to descend.  Everyone else had descended to 2 huge Jenkins rays on the seabed, got distracted and didn't look out for her.  Dive-master went back for her, couldn't find her and the entire group had to ascend.  After that, we took care to descend at the same rate as her to not risk poor visibility.

My sinuses held up with antibiotics and lots of cold tablets.  All is good, except Philip now has the flu - they blame me. -_-

Jasmine celebrates her 100th dive, we tried unsuccessfully to dunk her into the water, but she's too heavy!  Opps!

I have but 1 big grouse, at the risk of sounding xenophobic - on the return bus trip, save for the 3 of us, it was all China people, all of us returning to Singapore.   Is Singapore populated by people of China?  They were inconsiderate, always late back to the bus perhaps cos they don't understand/speak English. 

More pix on my Flickr : http://www.flickr.com/photos/8062670@N07/sets/72157629726014590/

Worlds rudest nations for travelers

http://sg.travel.yahoo.com/inspirations/535-the-worlds-rudest-nations-for-travelers

Funny that I was just talking to some friends about this over the weekend.  Specifically on France too!  Even though I didn't get a negative experience on my 2 trips to France (guess I got lucky) and I have not been to Russia (may never go!) and I personally find Londoners very friendly.  Hmm.. I guess the list is true for France - lots of stories of their unwillingness to help tourists out.

5 tips for traveling with your mother

http://travel.nytimes.com/2012/05/13/travel/5-tips-for-traveling-with-your-mother.html

I almost fell out of chair laughing (bitter laughter) simply cos this is so far from what I have.  Ok, I need to be less cynical about my mother-daughter relationship.  If I had the same complaints as this author, I'd feel so blessed.

Holiday! Diving in Redang Island

This comes at an opportune time.  I need a mental break before I embark on project "get a new house".

Plus this stupid flu just won't quit! Previous Sunday I was dizzy at the 20km mark, last Sunday I couldn't breathe at the 2km mark & had to walk 12km back.  My marathon training is in shambles.  Perhaps a break will do the trick. 

Saw the doc again today to get more cold tablets and she was very disapproving - made me sign against my records that she advises against diving -__- 
Says the dizziness/breathlessness is caused by poor oxygenation because of my infected sinuses and I should be resting, not diving as it will further strain my sinuses.  I got round 3 of antibiotics plus cold tablets to take to Redang.  Should be good.  If I fail to equalize, I suppose I'll just abort and laze on the beach.

I'm all packed and ready to go.  The bus departs at 9pm and then it is long weekend here I come, ready or not!

Robinsons Private Sale Part Deux

Went back to the Robinsons sale over lunch today (day 3 of a 3 day sale), and bought a rice cooker which was a good deal and since I'm there, grabbed some dinner placemats and kitchen utensils. 

Michelle was really nice to meet me there, with Matty.  He was a good kid today, stayed in his baby carrier while we shopped quickly.  Then went to MacDonalds for a quick bite.  He sat there and ate fries and baby biscuits.

Then I zipped back to work.  What a pleasant lunch.

Matty's self portrait

We were eating lunch at Swensons and Matty was playing with my phone.  He managed to take his own photo...

My tiring Labor day holiday

Labor day yesterday turned out to be truly laborious.  Had the free run SIS Age Group 10km run in the morning.  It was in part road, and in part through a muddy field and cos it has been raining, it was just ploughing thru ankle deep mud... argh.  And cos it's a race, you keep running, mud and all!  As I dragged my feet up yet another slope I was greeted by what appeared to be the finish?  Huh?  Alex who very gallantly ran/waited with me, went to find out why we stopped at 8.77km (thanks Runkeeper!).  Apparently the race marshals mis-directed the bulk of the runners.  We were short of an extra 1.3km loop.   The race director apologized and a re-race will be held at Macritchie soon.  Oh well, I run there anyways.

Met up with Jo and the 3 of us had ampang yongtauhoo in Sembawang.  Jo ate a lot.

Then we went to climb at Yishun.  After a 2 week hiatus from climbing, my forearms were pumped by climb 1!  I was belaying Jo and it started to rain, I looked around, saw the harbinger of rain - TP, and thought to myself, oh, no wonder it's raining. It was a short-lived rain and the climbers resumed, but Jo and I left.  Too pumped.

Next stop - the Robinsons private sale.  Thankfully I had Ian/Michy/Matty along for the fun. It was crowded to say the least.  I bought bowls, plates, forks/spoons, some bath towels & a $2.4k Simmons mattress.  Shopping for mattresses was a hilarious affair.  Matty loves to roll around on beds.  He just does!  So we'd be testing a mattress and there'll be a baby sprawled & rolling all over it as well.  Decided on the Simmons eventually over the King Koil even though the King Koil felt absolutely decadent - flop on it and sink in a few cms!  I was thinking a little firmer might be better for my aging spine.  By this time, Matty has rolled onto quite a few other mattresses, drooled on every one of them - we constantly need to watch the little guy.   Michelle was quick to discreetly flip the pillows with drool over to hide the wet marks. Ah, mothers.

This sale (up to 40%) was good, but the maddening crowds was hard, had a headache by the time we left.  In any case, I'll slowly acquire everything I need for the house so I can enjoy the process.  There's the Great Singapore Sale (GSS) still to come, so I should be able to get good bargains later.