Another Touristy Wknd

I've been here 7 weeks and still feel like a tourist. Guess it doesn't help that I am a tourist every weekend.

Saturday - slept in then went out to the top of Yangmingshan to this classy restaurant for dinner. Like gazebos/marquees built into the mountainside facing Taipei city. Pity it wasn't a clear day - barely making out Taipei 101. We were celebrating Sharon's birthday - naturally we overeat then went to Roxy99 and overdranked on vodkas then tequilas. I drank little - wasn't me who got drunk :)


Me with the birthday girl. Yes, in case it doesn't show, we got pretty wasted...

Sunday - after church, checked out the outdoors shop along Chungshan North, need a chalk ball (not that I climb a lot, like twice since I got here) but they were closed on Sundays. Then walked around the nearby Peace Park where most of the political rallies are held. Inside the peace park is a monument commemorating the 228 incident - an uprising in Taiwan of the then locals vs the Nationalist soldiers that settled in Taiwan during the war. The same scism continues til today - bet local Taiwanese and the descendants of Nationalist soldiers - pretty much situation between DPP & KMT. More colorful history to come during next year's elections. Boy, am I glad I'm here to watch 1st hand.

(L-R) 228 Peace Monument, Statue, Old gates

This horse actually reminds me of a friend. Horse (it's an inside joke) but also cos of the spirit & vigour within it, u can see the veins popping on its neck.

This is dedicated to Ms Hardcore!

Just outside the Peace Park, along Ketagalan Boulevard, if you look straight to the end, tadah!.. the Presidential Building & in front of it, the East Gates (also called Jingfu Gate 景福门). One of 4 ancient gates to the city.

(L-R) Presidential building with the UN referandum posters ; Jingfu men in the intersection of Xinyi, Zhongshan, Ketagalan & Renai.

Enough history & culture and I was hungry - called Garin out for lunch.. the guy is such a sleepyhead.. Once he was conscious, he took me to this cool secret restaurant called People's restaurant. Nondescript stairs, secret bronze doors, magic way of opening it...

Interior decor is very very cool, I tried to take pix, but it was too dark...

Then we went to ride the Miramar Ferris Wheel (美麗華摩天輪) - cool! But too short a ride! Built into the side of the Miramar movie theatres.

Unfortunately it was drizzling while we were there, the doors to the cable car were wet, there were windows but they were covered with nettings.. these were the best I could do under the circumstances. But believe you me, the view from the top was spectacular.

Yangmingshan 陽明山

My Taiwanese collagues, Candice, Ashley & Tony were nice enough to take me up Yangmingshan one evening after work. It was a pretty long drive thru Neihu, Tienmu, up Yangmingshan and into a spa place where the food was great. They talked, I ate, my spoken Chinese isn't all that great, so predictably, I ate too much. Also ordered black chicken soup to boil on a cooker on the table. And we drank it after hot spring, came back for the soup when you all airy/lightheaded from the soak. Awesome.


Unlike Beitou's hotspring, Yangmingshan's smelt less of suphur. At least at night it was cool outside and hot in the water. As I can only get naked with Ms Hardcore, and she ain't here, so individual cubicals it was.

Place is worth re-visiting, perhaps when Steph gets here
http://www.kawayu-spa.com.tw/how.htm

MaoKong Cable Car

Taipei launched this during June - when Ms Hardcore & I were there. But there were long lines for it, it kept breaking down and trapping people in, it was 40degrees in the height of the Summer heat wave, probably closer to 50degrees in the little cable cars with no ventilation save 4 small round holes...

Siew Bee's here for 2 weeks biz trip and wanted to go. Weather's a little better now and 2 months on, you'd think they've resolved all their teething problems.

Perhaps my expectations were really low, but the views were fantastic. And it by far a safer & more fun way to get to the top of the mountains in Muzha. I say that cos I had to travel down via a mini-van. Yes, the good folks of MaoKong cable car shut down the service due to "lightning warnings". Of cos they didn't have the good sense to stop people entering before telling us. We climbed 4 storeys up to the platform only to walk back down after much confusion.

Nontheless, a good trip - albeit I didn't get my round trip :(

Muzha area is famed for its oolong tea plantations. We ate lunch at one of the numerous tea houses - picked the farthest one (read highest up the mountains) to avoid the crowds. Food was passable, but tea was nice, here's us brewing tea.

Earthquake!

I experienced my 1st earthquake.

It happened in the night, I only remember waking up to think "EARTHQUAKE!", and I'm on a wooden floor (upper storey of the loft), then went straight back to zzz. Ok, I climbed til 11pm, I was tired!! Gimme a break! :)

Key takeaway - do not sleep naked in case your neighbours need to dig you out.

The 6.6 magnitude temblor struck at sea, 74 kilometers (44 miles) southeast of the eastern city of Ilan at 1:51 a.m. (1751 GMT Thursday). Ilan is about 80 kilometers (50 miles) east of Taipei.
** from the China Post.

Old friends in a new city & Moving in finally...

Finally met up with Garin - Kuansie found me his Taiwan mobile tel. He works for Dell - the competition! But it was great to see him again. Then we managed to convince Kuansie to come visit for the wknd. So she did what Ms Hardcore did - fly in Friday evening and leave Sunday afternoon. Life of a jetsetter, spend your wknd in a different city. :)

Food - yeah, she wanted to eat.. a lot... so Singaporean hor?
Check out her Flickr, http://www.flickr.com/photos/tankuan/sets/72157601762442777
Thanks to Kuansie, we now know http://www.prawn.com.tw/ It's actually pretty good, albeit pricey.

Top of the World
We paid 350NT + additional 100NT to check out the view from the tallest building in the world. I can see my work place, my apartment... Way cool!

Agora is the service apt I lived in for my 1st month - moved round the corner, walkable distance.

Office is next to the 101 Building, perhaps a 15-20min walk to work.

Gross Encounters
Snake street. Boy, was it was cruel! I saw 3 snakes murdered. No pix allowed during the show - but mostly my hands were over my eyes.. sooo...

Smelly Tofu. It tastes as bad as it smells, contrary to what folks say about it's taste. EEyew...

Home Sweet Home
The next day after Kuansie left, I moved out of the Agora and spent my 1st night in my
apartment. I must say, my bed is rather soft and comfy. More comfy than Agora I thought...

The Year 1996

Did u know that Taiwan considers this year to be 1996?

I first smelled a rat when buying milk - surely the cows can't be milked in 1996?????! Smart alec me, tot perhaps they have some kind of cryptic numbering for milk instead of expiry dates.

I just learnt - one of those lightbulb moments, that Taiwan is still using the old imperial Chinese tradition of using the emperor's name and year of reign. It is also called ming-guo (民國), which starts in 1912, the year of the founding of the Republic of China.

Hence, 2007 is the "96th year of the Republic" (民國九十六年, 民國96年, or simply 96).

Months and days are still numbered according to the Gregorian calendar.

Incidentally, Korea and Japan are also using similar era type of calendars.

My source is Wikipedia - so this time I am right. The cows are milked this year. Whew!

Super Typhoon Sepat

This is typhoon no. 3 since I got here. First 2 were small ones affected south of Taipei, 台中/台南.

Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau issued both land and sea warnings for Typhoon Sepat yesterday - calling it a Category 4 typhoon or a super typhoon. Sepat packs winds up to 234kph, with a radius of 250km - will engulf the whole of Taiwan when it hits us as we sleep Friday night and into Saturday.

The typhoon warnings began Thu, being the kiasu Singaporean and 1st timer with typhoons, I went to my new place and closed all the windows I had opened for ventilation. Then went home to Agora for the gym, skipping my initial plans to go rockclimb at the Y17. Then I saw on TV, folks in Taipei were still out partying - peek out of the window confirms it (the Agora is next to the Taipei 101). Chey! Just ignoring the rain and thunder display.

This morning (Friday) boss came by to check on me - told me to stock up on food for the wknd. Guess she didn't want her newest and stupidest member of her team to be casualty no. 1 to 1st serious typhoon of the year. Awww.. isn't she sweet?

And Ashley just congratulated me this morning saying "a typhoon is popping by to say hello.."
So anyhow, my boss popped by at 3pm and told me to go home, so I did, took a nap - ain't that grand?

Went for a walk & dinner with Sam - he wanted me to see his new apartment in Keelung, altho he hasn't picked up his keys yet.

It was dry - no rain, no wind yet but the new typhoon is serious and Taipei are taking the warnings seriously. Windows, doors are tapped and sandbagged. As mentioned on TV, either tape your glass with a mi (米) or cha (X) pattern. Which I didn't quite understand until I saw - refer to photo, the movie adverts are mi and the doors are cha.

Video taken from my balcony. I risked arm & leg, hey this typhoon ripped billboards, trees off, throwing stuff at people all night. Ok, ok, so I got my arm, camera and a little of my face wet from the swirly rain. Dedicated to Derek.

Getting a grip!

Slowly but surely I am getting there. This week, I have gotten my alien residence card (ARC) which precludes everything in Taiwan - from opening a bank account to even applying for a mobile phone.

So now I have a Taiwan Fubon bank account - which is very important cos my salary goes in there... duh!

My apartment is 3/4 clean and unpacked - I feel like such a maid! Who has a parttime maid to loan me? I'm so sick of cleaning, scrubbing, moping!

I have 11 days of being in Agora service apartment where housekeeping cleans up after me... 2 days of honeymooning at work cos boss and colleagues back from biz trip from Monday next week...

Oh did I mention there's a newbie here - he's HK relocating from the US. When I see him, I thank God I have a much easier time. The dude (that's what he keeps calling me) is so lost! No house, no ARC, no bank acct, no mobile phone...

Dinner

Had my first social dinners this week.

Friday evening went out to Mala Hot Pot with Ghee Hwee and Angela - both new colleagues from my NB team. We laughed about differences bet SGP & Twn all nite. Then I went home with Ghee Hwee to see her flat. She stays very close to my apartment but she's paying ~ $350SGP more in monthly rent. Her place is swanky - new building, nice and slightly bigger then mine. But I am still happy with my place.

Sunday evening Alex and his wife invited us to his place for dinner, along with a few extended desktop PC colleagues. I felt more comfortable with them - maybe cos I used to work with these guys and know them for at least a year. But I felt they were much more sincere.. Feasted on mee siam & prawn mee soup that Alex's wife made - Jorraine is fantastic! Then we pigged out on numerous desserts, cake, icecream.. oooo I am fat!

Language Gaffe

I like to think I am managing well. Thus far, except from not being able to distinguish North, South, East, West in Chinese - I've been understood - well most of the time.

Except when I wanted to go to Carrefore in Neihu. That's where all the hypermarts are, Costco, Carrefore, RT, 3C. Needed to buy vacuum cleaner and other electrical applicances (couldn't buy in SGP due to different power voltage, Taiwan is 110v).

My conversation with taxi driver.
Me - pls go to Neihu, I want to go to Carrefore, Kang Le Fu.
Taxi driver - ??
Me - Kang Le Fu? Buy lotsa stuff? (Hypermart mah)
Taxi driver - ?? then starts digging in his pants
Me start gettting nervous, what the @#$ is he digging in his pants for...
Taxi driver producing a Carrefore key chain - you mean Jia Le Fu?

Carrefore is 家乐福, Jia Le Fu. Kapish?

Week 1 Taipei

I survived 1 week of work! Actually colleagues and boss were really nice - gave me a slow start. So work wise I've been ok.

Somehow I've been feeling tired after work - not sure whether it is becos of new environment or lack of a monitor - toll of staring at my notebook's tiny screen all day.. or have I been missing my hardcore friends.

Finally forced myself to go gym on Friday evening - spent 1 hour and feel so proud of myself.

Saturday I slept in a little then went to clean my new apartment. I was astonished at how horribly filthy it was. Expected to finish in a couple of hours, I cleaned house til 7pm.

Today I ache all over - Fri gym + Sat clean house. But I still managed to go find the climbing gym - it is cool! Then walked around and did some touristy photo taking....
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8062670@N07/sets/72157601229753452/

Monday (tomorrow) my stuff arrive - yay!

Scootering in Taipei

It is so convenient with a scooter, esp parking.

1. find a spot

2. shift surrounding bikes roughly aside to make a gap big enuff

3. tadah! park bike





Very interesting. The scooters even have their own unique box to stop in at traffic junctions.








I was shopping in Geant (a bit messy like Mustapha but everything oso got lor), and they sell scooters.

The 100cc ones go for 40,000NT (or $2k SGP). Average taxi ride (home to work) is 70-80NT. In 1 month, I'd have amortised out the cost of the scooter.

Hmm... the only downside is possibly losing life/limb they way the drive here...

Agora Gardens - 亚太

This is home for my first days of Taipei.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8062670@N07/sets/72157601095763717/

Lessons - Day 1 Taiwan
1. Most banks do not accept SGP$. We aren't world currency just yet. Oh well, at least the money launderers are leaving us alone for now. And, the exchange rate is better here too. Ka-chng!

2. People around me are very nice - from my new colleagues, to Ashley (CPC-MDM) are really helpful and warm. I am so very blessed.

3. I actually miss people from home already. Whine! Hard cores - you guys are the best!

4. Food here is good. Yum, yum!

D Day - relocation!

I gotta say this upfront : God is great! I am so blessed!

The last 2 weeks were difficult. I knew it was going to be rough... selling my car, getting my paperwork done, finishing up work, transitioning work to CK, trying to meet up with everyone and eating farewell meals...

I now know who really loves me enough to cry... *sob* Some of the farewell meals ended up in a teary mess.

God is great, I have such wonderful friends, esp the 'hardcores'. Life is gonna be rough without you guys.

Exercise routine while traveling...

We all know how it is while on the road. You mean to get up earlier to go to the hotel gym or hotel pool.. but what if there is no gym or pool. Perhaps others do floor exercises.

Here's what hard cores do...

Taipei Preview Trip

As part of the relocation, I get to spend 5 nights in Taipei.

I spent 3 days viewing apartments, relaxing in my room, dropping by to say hello to my new NB teammates, eating lunch with my current CPC folks...

Then when Ms Hardcore came by Fri nite to Sun afternoon - we played hard! Of cos la, we're talking abt Ms Hardcore, duh! http://www.flickr.com/photos/8062670@N07/sets/72157600736728232/

Or Ms Hardcore's pix http://www.flickr.com/photos/ziinger/sets/72157600724024616/

At the end of the week, I possibly may have an apartment, I brought back my new work NB to setup, and I am mentally prepared/relaxed for the new challenge. Pix of the studio apartment I hope to get... (Steph.. see, not bad eh?)



Bring Taipei on!

Taipei is very Chinese...

Today is a day of discovery!

1. Taipei is very very Chinese.

2. 牛腩麵 is NOT the same as 牛肉麵. I ate brisket for the 1st time in my life - squishy tendons I don't like.


3. Taiwanese measure apartments in 坪. 12坪 studio apartments are too small for me to consider a home. Actually smaller than my hotel room - which I tot was small already.

4. 鼎泰豐is really yummier here than in Singapore. No wonder there was a queue for it, and there was still a queue after we left.

5. Aftermath of kiling myself on Sok Bee's grey route on wall 3 of Yishun - my shoulders & upper arms ache and I got 3 finger joints that hurt. Thank God I have a massage appointment when I return - thanks to Derek!

Opps I did it again...

Forgot to bring running shorts...

Realised while changing in toilet. Yz screamed so loudly in frustration that I think some folks in China walking up the Great Wall stumbled - ok so yeah, 2nd time I forgot *sheepish*

Had to run a long distance wif Ms Hardcore and buy her Haato at the end of the run to appease her.

Now my legs are sore and my waist bigger... Sigh...

Working late - for the LAST TIME for consumer PC team!

My last show with my current team. Getting Neptune ready for show&tell was a lot of work! It was so raw - looks like handbuilt by R&D guys in the US. We had missing drives, wrong drivers, missing DMI, the HD-DVD drive came separate...
Of cos being the last minute cocky idiots who never learn, we waited til end Monday to freak out.

Running around in panic state, calling our Taiwan office, bugging our US folks who just flew in for the Summit (thank God for them).

By the time Terence & I packed up our 8 boxes - we were exhausted. Hey a PC weighs 15kg and a monitor about 12kg. Thankfully my new job is with notebooks - they are tiny relative to what I have to heave around today.

Tomorrow the summit starts & the product fair is Friday. Will be up late setting up, fixing and preparing my presentations... Sigh, gonna be a long next 2 days.

Cycling Pulau Ubin

We intended to go last Sunday but it rained... This Sat unfortunately my uncle flew off so he missed this trip. Sigh. He would've liked this.

We took some creaky rental bikes whose gears stick bad - uphills were painful (that's understating it). But seeing how I went with 2 sufferers of "hard-core-itis", I expected a true blue hardcore trip.

We biked hard (my forearms were so sore from grabbing my handlebars in fear as we tore down steep hills that the next day I couldn't cut my passport photos for my Taiwan work permit)...

We climbed hard - eh? Mountain biking where got climbing, not salah, we cycled to a quarry, stashed bikes behind bushes, and dive off the cliffs only to climb back up. Called deep water soloing where if you fall, you crash back into the water. Derek took videos which were a blast. While uploading to YouTube I kept laughing out loud to my monitor.

We teased and laughed at one another... It was very memorable. I will so miss these 2 hardcore sufferers so much *sob*

Mileage

It's been years since I last used the term 'mileage' ;) shows how lazy I've been.

It was a half-marathon mileage over 3 days.

Mon - 5k with Steph thru HP-Hyderabad Rd. Then we pigged out on Korean BBQ. Yummy...

Tue - 7k with Ms HardCore. Then we climbed.

Thu - 9k with Joanne, Derek and Ms HardCore. Then we suppered on yi-mee cooked with a mountain of lard. Gross!

Hot chick

While showing me his photos on Flickr, Terence saw mine and tot Joanne was a babe...

She was thrilled all nite after I told her...

But the woman still cannot differentiate between Prana & Prada!

So Joanne, this is

PRANA (the cool brand we climbers wear)

The very cool climbing top & pants we bought you for your birthday? Prana!

Prada is the brand of our shoes, handbags, wallets (not including those of us with the Prada accessories from KL's Chinatown.. tsk tsk!)

Absent-mindedness

Some call it blur, I prefer to say absent-minded. Gives the illusion of a mind distracted.. instead of just not having it all together ;)

First I tot I lost my HP access badge. That would've cost me $50 replacement fee. My friends were so nice, they all panic-ed and offered me helpful advice. Ultimate was a colleague who asked me to tell them that I dropped it into toilet, before I flushed...

Found it subsequently after freaking out 1 day in the laundry basket. Blur me dumped both dirty clothes + badge in there.

Next I packed 2 running jerseys and no shorts to go for an evening jog. It gave me an excuse to not have to run with Yingzi (Ms Hard-Core wanted to do laps up and down Mount Faber)... Or I could run in my underwear. No flashing in the Telok Blangah area - Yingzi offered me her running shorts and jogged in surfing bermuda - she looked like some sufer chick all nite.

Last nite, I left my pink and very beautiful Nalgene bottle behind at the coffeeshop after supper. I spent all nite thinking how much i loved it and how some lucky bastard will never treat it as well as I would... *sob* Thanks to God for good friends, Yingzi (again!) picked it up after me and had put it in my car for me.

Conclusion

1. I need to get my act together!

2. God is good! I have good friends!

3. How will I survive Taipei alone?! *wail*

My body hurts...

Ever since the decision to move to Taipei end July, I've been punishing myself...

Cycle - Vesak Day
Last Thu was a public holiday and I went with Yz, Derek, my 50+ uncle in a small band of 9 gung-ho weekend warrior friends to cycle Penggarang. Intended as my farewell ride - selling my Trek to You Chien - my cousin afterwards. I cycled off fast and knew Yz would follow. She did more, she overtook me. The return was crazier : Yz, Kenny & I drafted each other, pushing one another on. It was absolutely crazy the speeds we were doing despite the strong headwinds. Often cruising 28-30km with the strong headwind.

Of cos we pigged out big time on lobsters and crabs and too much food in general. BURP!

Climb - last weekend
2 days later, over the weekend, we drove up to KL to climb at Camp 5. Yz borrowed her brother's BMW, so we went up in style. We chose to stay close to the climbing gym, in Royale Bintang at the nearby The Curve. Hotel was new and way nicer than KL Plaza Suites. The best part, we found out we could walk back after climbing to our hotel room. Need to trek 15mins thru the mall's carpark, by golf driving range, then voila, hotel!

This is me, during and after...

The next day we chilled, Melvin & family went swimming while the rest of us ventured out to shop around at the Curve. Then stroke of luck, Derek's wife found a spa. Amazingly they had slots for all of us - the Urban Retreat was simply fantastic! I will gush again, their Thai masseurs could work magic, absolutely fanastic!

Thursday 7 Jun

Yz proposed this zany plan. We leave work early for a triathlon of sorts : jog 5k, swim 20 laps and then climb 5 climbs. I was on course and couldn't leave til 5pm, so we dropped the swim. The jog went ok, until the last 800m or so when Derek broke away on a sprint. Tried to chase the man (he claims the last run he did was during reservist 5yrs ago!) but he was way too fast!

Then we climbed.

Now I am sore... and Yz sadly hurt her shoulder badly doing a tough climb. Praying Yz for a speedy recovery, may God heal your shoulder!

Taiwan - here I come!

I took the job. Timing was perfect.

Got 2 months to close up everything & pack. Woo...

Decision Time

After some weeks of furious interviewing..

Let's see, I went for,
- numerous rounds (i forget) for WW Product Manager - Entry Level Home PC. Based in Taiwan reporting into Cupertino. I started interviewing in Oct 2006.
- WW Product Manager - Notebooks. Based in Taiwan reporting into Houston. I started interviewing last month.
- Citrix. 1 round. Last week. Came almost immediately after I parked my CV on Monster.com.
- Microsoft, for Product Manager for XBox. Just initial screener call. Same week as Citrix.
- EMC, for Product Manager. Just initial screener call. Early this week

Was offered the WW Product Manager - Notebook role yesterday.

Decision time!

The song I have on repeat play

It came up during dinner after one of those climbing sessions. Melvin sang a little of a Hokkien Christian song that had everyone in stitches. He was surprised none of us had heard of Hokkien Christian songs that he cut us a CD with 2 Hokkien songs on it. Ironically, I liked the song in between the 2 Hokkien songs. So did the other gals... Now we hum it all the time...

He Never Sleeps - Don Moen

When you've prayed every prayer that you know how to pray.
Just remember the Lord will hear and the answer is on it's way.
Our God is able.
He is mighty.
He is faithful.
And He never sleeps, He never slumbers.
He never tires of hearing our prayer.
When we are weak He becomes stronger.
So rest in His love and cast all of your cares on Him.

Do you feel that the Lord has forgotten your need.
Just remember that God is always working in ways you cannot see.
Our God is able.
He is mighty.
He is faithful.

1st Dive Trip 2007

Went diving over weekend with YeanYean and her friends.

It was great cos I had a brief respite from the chilly atmosphere at home and also I didn't have to pretend over Mother's Day.

We went to Tioman. Was organised by a friend of Yean's, so it was overall cheaper and we also slept on terra cotta, albeit a sleezy, yicky budget hotel in Mersing. But beats sleeping on a rocking boat.

Mostly seasoned divers with cameras so the diving was leisurely and they were great at spotting macro stuff. After a while though, I was bored of drift diving and staring at yet another nudibranch. Tioman is still good diving despite the sheer no. of divers there.

The highlight was the 2nd day when Irene spotted a shark in a cave, when I finned over, there were 3 guys lying on the seabed staring into a cave. As I approached, Irene signalled shark, I squeezed beside the guys and stared into nothing - just blackness. Then I saw a fin, it was big, then the side of a shark, then the whole shark appeared maybe 10cm in front of my face - so close I saw razor sharp teeth! The nurse shark is at least 5 feet. TS said it was trying to escape from us, but I think it was trying to remind us that it's a shark, with teeth fully capable of eating one of us! Anyways, I screamed so loud that everyone was laughing at me once safely up on the boat.

Great weekend!

Cycling Mandai Road

I've been meaning to cycle Mandai but somehow, fear of being roadkill on Singapore roads and also I guess just never gotten round to it.

Until Yingzi suggested cycling to Yishun to climb instead of driving there.

Since I've been binging on seafood twice that week, decided it may be time to work off my butts.

We met along 6th Avenue and started down through the length of Bukit Timah, then into Mandai Road. It only got less scary after Mandai when the no. of cars pettered out. But then the rolling hills started. *Groan*

But it was fun! It took us slightly over 1 hour to do the 30km ride. So quite proud of myself. It helped that Yingzi took off at a crazy pace along Mandai and I had to chase her down.

Amazingly after a short rest and 1 bottle of 100-Plus, we could still climb!

May

Wow, time does zip by. It's 1 May and we get a day off. Had a long list of todos, but only managed,
- wake up to climb (vain attempt to work off the lobster from Derek's birthday dinner last nite)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8062670@N07/

- ate midday meal at 3pm

- afternoon nap to make up for the lack of sleep from sharing a room with mom last weekend

- watch 300 on DVD (it is so violent!)

So much for the evening jog or washing my filthy car (poor baby). Will wait for rest of week!

Holy Saturday

I'm toying with 2 changes :
1. find a new job
- with recent people changes, the team is now more political than ever. Plus they backstab!
- I've been here 3 years, it is about time to move on.

2. move out
- I really find it really hard to stay with my mom. Perhaps it is cowardice, but perhaps with some space, we can find a more amicable relationship.
- And I am 37 years old this year, I think I have a right to my own place right?
- However, I'm not sure if this decision makes her happier than I'm not there to fight with or would it be viewed as not caring for her anymore...

Been praying about these decisions for the last week.

Stop the world! I wanna get off!!

Ever had one of those times when everything possible goes wrong?

I've pretty much painted myself into a corner... I'm tired, fedup of being attacked and depressed.

To the baying hungry wolves howling for my blood, I wish you a blessing from Numbers 6:22-27.

May the Lord bless you, and keep you ; The Lord make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you ; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace. So they shall invoke My name on the sons of Israel, and I shall bless them.

IF

If you can keep your head when all about you
are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
but make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired of waiting
Or being lied about don't deal in lies,
Or being hated don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good nor talk too wise!

If you can dream and not make dreams your master;
If you can think and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken,
twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools;
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools.

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve their turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds worth of distance run,
Yours is the earth and everything that's in it,
And, which is more, you'll be a man, my son!


Rudyard Kipling

Bitch at work!

After a long stretch of working hard, I rewarded myself with a midweek break. However instead of taking 1 day off, I took 2. On advice from Terence, decided to take Thu off as well. Thu - NPI day so that I need not chair that @#$ meeting anymore and force Pam into taking up her new role.

The last few weeks has been quite busy - and that's an understatement. We've had crisis, Sales and Marketing meeting on Monday, a million things to do for Summer launch...

While I was initially relieved to have Pam join us from Mar 1, she's been quite an office player. Turns out she complained to boss abt me not helping her when all I've been doing is helping, even til now.

Since she wants the glam part of her job, I'll let her have her own job back. The good, the ugly and the dirty bits of it. Her excuse that she's not good with Excel is too lame.

I will always do my job - cos I owe it to God. And I will help out if needed, but, I am also not stoopid and will not be made use of.

So Pam, since you complain I'm not helpful, I will really STOP being helpful. You're on your own kiddo!

Cable Ski wknd

Cable skiing ain't as easy as I thought it would be...

Instead of climbing on a Saturday, someone suggested cable skiing. Since we all nursed climbing related strains/aches/overusage of fingers/wrists/shoulders, it sounded like a great idea to take 1 Saturday off to try a new sport.

Other than the early start & needing to take ferry to Batam.. Translated, I had to wake up early on a Saturday (sacreligious!)

The cable ski park in Batam costs $80 all day inclusive of the ferry/transfer & a packed lunch. Much cheaper than if we'd gone to East Coast.

All of us managed the kneel-boards easily.. So natural progression, onto wakeboards. And that's where the falling began. Considering I have tried both water-skiing (2 skis) & wakeboarding (single-ski) in the past, off a boat, cable skiing is awfully hard.

I pretty much spent the whole afternoon, adopting launch posture, to fall either forwards/backwards into water, swim back to platform, board drifts back, repeat step 1, fall, repeat...

The place is pretty nice. Nice hunks to chat with, pretty scenic place, hang around with friends..

Another biz trip...

I've been in HP for 7 years now and never traveled as much as I did last year. Initially it was great and I guess I do enjoy seeing new places and experiencing different cultures, but when the trips are too often and too close together, it does get physically tiring and places tremendous stress on the body.

My colleague Steph schedules her trips inclusive of recreational trips back to back to the point she was sick for weeks. The gal's just got too much 'get up and go' attitude, very admirable for a lazy procrasinator like me.

This year, I visited Korea for my first time for an AP PR launch. Other than it being f#$ing cold in Jan, I had a great time.

Work wise - it was the worse trip of my life (2 demo PCs died after being manhandled by the hotel staff ; cables went missing ; we had to switch to static instead of live displays for our Product Showcase)...

But personally, I enjoyed the rest of it - had extended an extra day to see a little of Seoul with Steph. We visited temples, went shopping, took the Seoul subway, ate Korean BBQ and ginseng chicken, found ourselves insulted by insensitive Korean salespeople who estimated me to be a size L... Steph incidentally makes a great traveling companion. She's amiable, game for anything, and has a great sense of humour.

The highlight was visiting the DMZ, Steph wanted to see the "meeting room" where N & S Korea signed the ceasefire treaty. The correct name is the Joint Security Area. While the half day tour was very educational. I also found out that Steph had absolutely no concept of war.

Just booked another biz trip - Taiwan in mid Apr for the quarterly monitor review.

Light at end of tunnel

February was a blur. I was asked to stand-in for the NPI lead role whilst Andy moved onto being SEAT RM, for the month of February. Pamela - Andy's replacement would only join the team Mar 1.

I found myself working late, working from home, working over weekends. It was horrible all over again.

Thankfully, it is now Mar. Pamela's on her 2nd day of work, Andy's taken over completely all SEAT related activities. Although the workload's still bad, but I can see light at the end of the tunnel.

It's difficult...

*Whine* It's only Feb and I'm complaining. This year hasn't been easy!

忍

Rough Week

Work week 3 of 2007 and I succumbed - for all my ambitious new year resolutions.. 1st losing my patience with Chen Ying - we still haven't resolved the CTO simulator screwup. Then on Friday afternoon, in a particularly difficult meeting with Helen, I lost my cool 2nd time in 1 week. Didn't even give Monty face - he was in the same meeting. Sigh.

Had a CaFE meeting in church and I got to church early. I was actually quite pissed off at myself for not being able to hold my temper in check. Went to confession and for penance was told to read all of Cor 13.

1 Corinthians 13
If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

Moving Pa from Mt Vernon to St Mary of the Angels

Sunday morning 8am, we met at Mt Vernon to break into Pa's niche. Ken had purchased a chisel (guess he watched Prison Break) and we were trying to save and keep Pa's marble slab. I don't know why we wanted to save it, guess we're still nostalgic about Pa after 23 years.

Ken, Ian & Calvin took turns hacking away at the edges - without much progress. We were really disturbing the serenity of Mt Vernon as the high-pitched 'ping' from hammer against chisel was ringing off every single columbarium block. Very jarring against the silence of the early morning.

Finally God gave up on us and sent us a Bangla cleaner - he was sweeping leaves and offered to help, muttering something about us doing it wrong and that we'll never make it that way.

We had to sacrifice the marble slab - he whacked it hard and the marble just crumbles. He even carried Pa's urn down for us (of cos Pa on top floor la...).

Then it onto St Mary's of the Angels. There was a brief internment service and Pa's urn in his new niche in church. We had earlier decided this makes it easier for us to visit and to pray.Calvin & Ian blessing Pa's urn with holy water.

We had earlier visited St Mary's of the Angels' columbarium and really liked it. It's got open roof skylights which opens into a fountain. And the whole place is peaceful withot being scary.

After that, we had a great dimsum lunch together at the Fort Canning Club chinese restaurant.

Fingerboard

I had given Francis a fingerboard couple of years ago - he moved houses and cannot install the fingerboard in his new place. Very generously, he offered to fix it up in my room for me until he moves again - hopefully not for a while :)

After installation, this is how it looks just above my room door.

Unfortunately, my shoulders have been killing me recently, probably only hung off it a couple of times. And I cannot scrunch my abs enough to do a 90degree leg lift... I am growing fat! Wail!

Day time Getai

Walking back to carpark after lunch on Sunday, chanced upon what seemed like a getai in the daytime. Except that instead of sleezy singers, they looked like housewives. I walked closer and read off the banner on the stage - some community centre buddhist group raising funds for typhoon victims in Philippines. Amongst the audience was the ambassador from the Philippines. The things diplomats have to endure for the sake of country, honour and $. Poor guy - his ears are probably still ringing. Mine are...

My 2006

In my typical David Letterman top 10 (ish) style.

What I achieved in 2006

1. survived breaking up with Hon. For the longest time I didn't think I would make it. At every turn, I'd imagine he'd call me & we'll reconcile somehow - after all we had broken up and made up numerous times over the 4 years of being together. In 2006, I survived alone - 1 new year, 1 chinese new year, 1 valentines, 1 birthday, 1 christmas. It was, is still, painfully lonely.
2. keeping my sanity with mom. My mom drives me nuts - she wins hands down the award for "most immature, negative & sarcastic mom". In early 2006, I really wanted to move out. But I also knew that she would not be able to live alone. It was such a difficult decision to stay. Thankfully my brothers understand (empathy is easier when you've successfully moved out) & made attempts to ease things off me, e.g. take her out for dinner whenever they could. The battle continues as sadly I see no way out. Life with mom-bitch carries on...
3. struggling through a very vulnerable faith. In spite of my struggles, God has been great this year. Giving me blessing after blessing in the most obvious way that I cannot but stop and give Him thanks.
4. learning to not regret my decisions. I got a few opportunities for a do-over. E.g. Choon Yee re-entering my life. He's still has this thing for me - probably since when we first met in 1997. And as I couldn't when I told him so in 1998, I still can't imagine being with him. I can't understand it - the man's rich, successful, sweet and loves me! Groan.
5. seeing the world. In 2006, I made 1 trip every month - either a work trip, dive trip - mustered 4 dive trips including diving Manado, weekend getaways mostly to KL to climb and, the highest point - going to Miri to share CaFE.
6. visiting and climbing the Great Wall of China.
7. being patient with people. Learning to accept/appreciate different people for what they are. Francis will live in his own world and no amount of nagging will move him off his procrastination. He will move when he's ready. Helen will continue to be Helen - losing your cool with her doesn't help matters, just cover her mistakes and move on.
8. trusting God. Kuan and Teresa are desperate to be in a relationship, every time I have dinner with them, I end up feeling all panicky that I'm 36 and single. I try to avoid dinners with them now. While I can appreciate the ticking time clock, found myself finding kids cute! *horrors* Instead I will take this to God, that He will provide in His time according to His will.
9. driving in the US. My last trip was THE trip I will try to drive. Eve had everything booked for me. I even had a printed map of how to drive from the airport to the Homewood Suites. It was dangerous - returning the car was the right decision. I was looking at the rear view mirror in the wrong place, I couldn't even keep my car in my lane.
10. buying my own place. TOP Dec 2008. I can't wait.

What I need to work harder on... (2007 goal target)

1. focus on relationships with people. I will one day succeed in being kinder and gentler - esp with the people I don't like.
2. Discipline. Discipline. Discipline.
3. stop gossiping. If I can whinge without getting personal...
4. work on my faith. I pray that God will continue to close to me.
5. 2007 will be a year of uncertainty. The job in Taiwan is still up in the air. I need to keep trusting in God.
6. open. Be open to new things, new events, new way of doing things. Stop being a stick-in-the-mud.
7. be a friend to all.
8. work less. Stop working beyond 6pm every day.
9. sign up for musical keyboard lessons. Something I've said since 1996 - Yamaha I must!
10. drive myself in the US.

Christmas came early this year!

Christmas came early for me.

Today's the last working day of the year for us as the office is shut down between Christmas and New Year. It's really quiet today anyways since many of my co-workers were either on leave already or working from home instead.

I had gone to lunch with Brenda - there were no marketing folks to eat with!

Came back and presto! Someone at work gave me an iPOD Nano for Christmas. Wowee... my jaw dropped.

Houston 10-15 Dec

My first taste of Texas. I was expecting BIG everything - the stereotypical Texan cowboy with big words. But I never saw that. Nobody I spoke with - from hotel clerks to mall staff, nobody even had a Southern drawl. No cowboys nor boots with spurs too. Hmmm... It just looked very US.

Eve had me all setup in a great hotel - Homewood Suites and a car. But I was feeling sick before I left & worse by the time I arrived at midnight. Decided the safest thing was - shuttle. Thankfully Benoit from EMEA was staying at the same hotel, so I managed to get free rides around. Plus the Frenchies were a pretty entertaining lot.

The best part about the hotel - next door to Willowbrook Mall. Got my Christmas shopping done :)

Bring CaFE to Miri, Sarawak 1-4 Dec

In my usual fashion, I had to want to do everything and was so busy right up to the last moments before leaving for Miri. Meeting time was 8.30am at Novena Church, but I HAD to stay longer on the Procurement update, HAD to send out a few last emails on SCV. At 8.30am before leaving for Sarawak, I was already exhausted. Didn't help we flew el cheapo Air Asia thru Senai, JB to Miri, Sarawak. By the time we arrived at Miri, it was evening.

Thankfully I had really low/zero expectations, cos our rooms at the Kingwood Inn is absolutely dismal - it was disgusting actually. Barely tolerable.

But everything else went so smooth, it was truly God in action.

My first thoughts - sitting here after my 1st good clean shower in days.
- the great enthusiasm for CaFE just blows my mind. From the youths of Brunei (I love them!), the Kuching team, the Ipoh team, 1 incredibly brave Felicity intending to start CaFE singlehanded in very very Islamic (PAS run) Trengganu. I salute them all. If put in their shoes, I would not have stood up as valiantly as them.

- how God loves me. He knew what I struggled with. And He provides over and above. From the overwhelming hospitality of our Miri hosts - we feasted (and this is an understatement) on every meal from the moment we arrive, right until the last moment of leaving for the airport.

- That Singaporeans take our blessings for granted. Our religious freedom, having 30 churches with numerous Sunday masses, our beautiful & very comfortable airconditioned churches, our creature comforts, our high quality of life - I never thanked God for all these. Until I realised what my new friends in Brunei, Sarawak, Ipoh, Kuching, Trengganu don't have.

Picture of the Cathedral in Miri, Sarawak. It is so spartan - really old wooden pews (I had some bird poo on my right knee after mass, eee), bare concrete floors.

- That I can be such a whiner. When did I grew so selfish and spoilt? I am so good at whining to God and to anybody within earshot what I lack & exactly what I want. Not being thankful for my blessings is 1 thing, but I can imagine what a pain in the a** Gwen must feel!

- I'm a little tired from the physical exertions of travel to think about my spirituality. I owe Gwen that as homework. Need to pray and feel about that.

Do I regret missing the Standard Chartered Marathon this weekend? NO.

Wayne Muller's "Sabbath: Finding Rest, Renewal, and Delight in our Busy Lives"

This is excellent. So me and so common among Singaporeans today.

• Sabbath need not be a year or even a day. It can also be an afternoon, an hour, a walk, a dinner. Sabbath is a time when we drink, if only for a few moments, from the fountain of rest and delight. It is a time to listen to what is most deeply beautiful, nourishing, and true.

• Sabbath is different kind of fertility; it honours the wisdom of dormancy. If certain plant species do not lie dormant for winter, they will not bear fruit in spring. A period of rest, within which our roots quietly take in nourishment, is the key to health. Like plants, we too must have periods in which we lie fallow and silently nourish our roots.

• We are almost always running, trying to catch the things that will make us happy when, in fact, those very things are trying to catch us!

• God said: "Remember to rest." This is not a lifestyle suggestion, but a commandment, as important as not stealing, not murdering, or not lying.

Weekend on a bus

I spent all weekend on a bus. Out of 48 hours of a weekend, I spent 14 hours sitting on a bus - 30% of the weekend.

Yes, it was meant to be a sequel to the very successful wknd climb getaway that I did in Aug - Camp 5 in KL.
But this trip didn't start off so well...
1. group was larger, up to 10 until Francis backed out last minute as he had chicken pox.. eee...
2. we got really slow bus drivers. It took 7.5 hours to hit KL and 6.5 hours to return. Groan...

But the climbing was still excellent. Despite not having climbed for weeks, I still made 2 6b leads. The routes are so good there. And we got to eat at Overseas... yummy! Kiasu me called to book 2 days earlier :) It never disappoints. A MUST DO for anyone who goes to KL. But pls, book in advance.

Overseas Restaurant
84 - 88 , Jalan Imbi
Kuala Lumpur
Tel No: 03 - 2148 7567

But I am really suffering from the lack of sleep now... zzz...

Back from MDM Summit in Bangkok

Was a great past week in Bangkok. Hosting MDM summit here is nerve-racking enough. But our hotel was so beautiful, the Lebua and to top it off, I got the master bedroom to myself - thank you Joan & also Terence & Andy who had to share a room.

Plus I have this view of the Chao Phrya river....

I literally sobbed when I had to go home.


Overall, we could've improved the transitions in organising the MDM summit. We kept having groups lost - the people we appointed to lead the various groups during breakouts etc were so unreliable! But otherwise, all went well and the feedback from feedback forms were good.

Saturday, the last day was my birthday. The team came up late night Friday with a cake.. aww... followed by 3 hours of ban-luck into the wee hours of Saturday. And I lost 300Bt to Jason Teo - the man is soooo lucky!

Miri 1-4 Dec

I had a clash - the CAFE team going to Miri 1-4 Dec and the Standard Chartered marathon on 4 Dec.

Was all prepared to skip the Miri trip as Gwen had enough resources... but now it seems I have to go as well.

Bought my Air Asia ticket last night, 480RM (price had increased 50RM) as with all budget carriers, the earlier you book, the cheaper it is...

This year is really bad - I skipped the Corporate Triathlon, and now the StanChart marathon.

Only consolation - don't have to train anymore...

Cyling P. Ubin 28 Oct

Went cycling with uncle along with Derek, Bill and Derek's 16-year old nephew Davis.

Mom tagged along but chilled at a coffeeshop.

With a 16-year old more used to computer games and a 50-year old uncle in tow, I expected a relatively easy ride. But as we got on our $5 per day rental mt bikes, Derek & uncle (the oldest 2 in the group) jumped onto the trail and disappeared from view...

Once deep within the forests, with the clean fresh smell of the trees, it was wonderful. I didn't realise how much I loved trees!

Unfortunately, we had an accident. Way too much testerone in the group, we were cycling mostly pretty fast. Davis is not a very competent mt biker and was pretty reckless. We were trying to get to Chek Jawa when he took a downhill turn too fast and crash landed. Suffered grazes on both palms and on his hip. Poor kid looked close to tears.

We cycled back slowly after that, returned the rental bikes and stuffed ourselves silly with seafood & wild boar. Hint - skip boar meat, only the mangy strays begging for scraps loved it.

Four Seasons of a Tree

Four Seasons of a Tree

Don't judge a life by one difficult season.
There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn to
not judge things too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest, in
turn, to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away.

The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in
summer, and the youngest son in the fall. When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen.

The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted.

The second son said no - it was covered with green buds and full of promise.

The third son disagreed, he said it was laden with blossoms that
smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful
thing he had ever seen. The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping
with fruit, full of life and fulfillment.

The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because
they had each seen but one season in the tree's life.
He told them that you cannot judge a tree, or a person, by only one
season, and that the essence of who they are - and the pleasure, joy,
and love that come from that life - can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up.

If you give up when it's winter, you will miss the promise of your
spring, the beauty of your summer, fulfillment of your fall. Don't let
the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest.

This really got me thinking.. what season is my life in right now. And that life should be taken in a broader perspective, as a greater whole, that there are 4 seasons in a tree.

Uncle in town Oct 26-30

My uncle's in town - he came yesterday. While I like the man, but it is already a bit much. Need to chat with him from the moment I step home until midnight. Getting a bit much for a grumpy person like me who hardly talks once home.

Will I be able to stay cordial enough for the next few days? Will I remain sane? Will it be possible?

Tough questions...

Need space!

Seems like lately, I've been requiring space - a great deal of space. The song from Sting a long time ago...
Don't stand, don't stand so
Don't stand so close to me
Don't stand, don't stand so
Don't stand so close to me

Maybe I just need a holiday... Sigh!

Psalm 37:5

Commit your way to the LORD;trust in him, and he will act.

... hmm.. you think God is trying to say something here?

Philippians 4:19

And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Record breaking system team meeting

System team meeting ended at 9.26am this morning. I was on the phone for almost 2 hours. A record!

A little hike with colleagues

Kalpana & I been talking abt visiting the Treetop Walk (Macritchie Reservoir) for over a year. Took a long time to get it onto our calendars, postpone a few times, added Steph & Jenn before we did it last Friday.

There we were happily yakking and walking when Jenn suddenly stops talking mid-sentence, screams and grab me. Neon blue snake right under her foot - fully stretched out across the path. Turns out the Malayan Coral Snake is highly venomous. It didn't even move amidst the screaming, eventually it got bored and slowly slittered back into the jungle. Creepy.

Rest of walk went uneventfully. So who says there are no more wildlife in Singapore?

Sanity Break Today

Starting to feel a little under the weather and decided to take a mid-week break. It was nice to sleep in - until my mobile rang at 11am and I had to drag myself out of bed to login email to resolve an issue. *Groan*

Too late to make it to mid day mass, decided to go buy a dress for Ian's wedding. Very decadent to go shopping in the day! There's absolutely nobody around. Saw a blue dress - pretty wedding like in Warehouse. It's $239... maybe I should look around more. Question : why do shops sell winter clothing in sunny Singapore? Ok, so it is Autumn elsewhere, but who's gonna buy furry jackets here, regardless of fashion season!

Still feeling fluey.. , torn between a nap & a nice massage. Decided to do both - might as well max out my leave). Eunice at Strong Massage is different from the China masseurs I'm used to. Firstly, it's called a sports massage, and she's a trained physiotherapist. So she gets to the sore muscles spot on. Heaven...

300km to climb plastic...

Against the grain, I woke up early on a Saturday - the only day in the week I get to sleep in. Jumped on a bus, hurtle down the NE Highway into KL to climb in a plastic gym. I know I know... how desperate does one get for a holiday?

Everyone was eager to go straight to climb, so we went complete with luggage to Camp 5 - in One Ultama shopping mall.

At 3pm, a huge lightning/thunder-white-out kind of storm started. At that point, I felt a little comforted that I didn't insist on climbing Nyamuk. Probably need to swim out...

There were so many climbs, and traffic was stucked up (from the huge sky windows of the gym), we decided we'll leave at 8pm when the gym closes. Ok ok, Paul and Derek needed to climb til they can't wave. Some 12 climbs later (Paul & Derek of cos), rest of us mustered perhaps 6 climbs.

Paul was so pleased with his last climb (6b+ scary sloper galore route on lead), he bought us all dinner in a Chinese restaurant - complete with suckling pig.

After checking into our 3bedroom apartment, we ventured out at 12.30am for some foot massage. The foot massage was passable - but the shoulder rub made up for it. Heaven.

Then it was 300km, 5hours home.

Strangely good weekend.

Beijing 27 Aug to 2 Sep

My first trip to China. Thanks again to HP!

The leadup to BB5 was a little stressful. But once there, setup went smooth, and the event went uneventfully.

I took 2 days off to view the sights of BJ and I listed my likes and dislikes of BJ.



Top 5 Likes
1. Massage service (esp the guys at Wangfujing Street - boy do they live up to their 'Magic Hands' shop name)
2. Rich history and culture. I really enjoyed our tour of the Forbidden City
3. Catching up with Nee Ching. Nice to see me old teammate, visit her home and a great dinner together.
4. Climbing the Great Wall. I never knew it was built into mountains! How'd they build it without cranes and power tools?!
5. Hanging out with colleagues. Steph, Karine, NC, Joan, Terence, CK, Sunil... were great people. I remember almost toppling over the huge steps of the Great Wall as I was laughing so hard.

Top 3 Dislikes
1. Having to speak Mandarin everywhere. I need to brush up my spoken Mandarin - had 1 too many gaffes as a results.
2. Polluted air, dirty everywhere.
3. Food - Must it always be either too salty, oily or fire-hot, often all at the same time!

Do I think I can survive working in Beijing? Hmm...

1st Race of 2006

My opener race of 2006 - Army Half Marathon. Did a decent time of 2.57. Everyone clocked slower times as the race takes us thru Orchard Road and we had to constantly stop for traffic. Which was good for me as my ITB started to ache again around the 10k mark.

After race, went home, showered, packed and flew to Beijing for a work trip. Thank goodness for the excellent masseurs in BJ! Managed to setup and do the show pretty smoothly and then climbed the Great Wall on Day 3. I am now officially a hao han! Applied leave to extend out with my colleagues so we managed to see the numerous palaces and immerse a little in China's very rich and historical culture. I am now a little more motivated to improve on my spoken Chinese!

The Times

It's not been an easy year so far. Sigh. Lots of difficult decisions to make. And I haven't been the most disciplined too.

Decided to go climb outdoors today - since Yishun is closed for Rock On until almost end Mar. It was surprisingly a good day.

Mustered up American Pie (6A+) and then toproped some difficult climbs (7a, 7b and a 6c). Met some new climbing friends too. So it was nice.

Gotta do this more, break out of my rut for fresh new things!

Happy New Year!

I can't believe my long shutdown holidays is over! I barely got started to chill! Whine!

Seems like only yesterday that we were working like dogs ahead of the shutdown. Then Christmas whizzed by, new year followed in a whirlwind. Spent Jan 1 all day at IGek's wedding. Today (Jan 2) I slept in, chilled, read my book.. only real physical activity was in washing my new car for the 1st time.

And now, its 10.15pm Jan 2. I am not looking forward to tomorrow - it's be roadmap, roadmap and more quibbling over components, pricing and cost... until Thu's roadmap review.

At least, there's Chinese New Year upcoming.. can smell more holidays to come!