Old friends

I just saw a post on FB by a friend, "old friends are like wine, the older they are, the better it gets".  In my heart, I started to say a quick prayer that she does not get hurt really soon.  

Human relationships are completely fallible.  It will happen, don't hold your breath.  I learnt this lesson many times over, the hard way, over the years.  The older/closer/better the friend, the greater the chance of that friend failing you, simply because you are more open/vulnerable to that person.  

It is best to expect nothing from friends, and when kindness comes, you will be genuinely happy about it.  Best lesson of all, adopt Job's attitude (Job 1:21).  
^{The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD!”}

The lazy runner

Race no. 2 in the month of Oct (month of races) - Nike We Run SG.  Asked Alex to run ahead cos I didn't feel like sprinting 10km!  Memories of being winded beyond tolerance from the Safra run!  The coach clocked 49mins for the 10km run.  He was complaining of being tired from cycling.  Haha...

My plan was to start slow and then speed up after 5km or so.  But everyone was going pretty fast.  On many occasions, I literally slowed the pace and trot along just to catch my breath.  As my results shows, 2265 people finished ahead of me!  Fast!

With this race down, there's just 3 races to the end of the year.  Newton 30km, Stanchart 42km and MR25 50km.

I watch too much Korean TV

All started with Ian/Michelle watching this Korean series called 同伊.  As they relate in all seriousness, they once asked a dinner guest to go home early - so that they both can continue watching!  I thought they were joking, little did I know... After they were done, I was handed the disks with a "good luck".  Hmm...  

Initially, all Korean men look the same to me, I kept needing to stop to think, now who's he again?  Before you can say 'bibimbap!', I was in too deep.  One night I watched til 3am, ok ok I'm not proud of it but since there's really nothing much going on at work anyways, I took the next day off and continued with Korea hour.  Yesterday too.  I was happily watching and then had to stop in the middle of an imperial decree on dethroning the evil queen and reinstating the good queen, because it was dinner time with Matty!  

The kid is such a fussy eater. Ask him what he wants and he'll say soup and corn.  He rejected rice with soup last night and Michy had to get up midway through dinner in an Indonesian restaurant, buy a cup of corn from MacDonalds for the little guy.  

I am so tired now - between Matty and 同伊.  But be glad, there is peace in Korealand.  The good queen is back in place and the evil queen downgraded to concubine because the wise king was concerned for the crown prince's well being if he sent the evil queen away.

Do not be afraid

Gospel Lk 12:1-7

At that time:
So many people were crowding together
that they were trampling one another underfoot.
Jesus began to speak, first to his disciples,
"Beware of the leaven--that is, the hypocrisy--of the Pharisees.

"There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed,
nor secret that will not be known.
Therefore whatever you have said in the darkness
will be heard in the light,
and what you have whispered behind closed doors
will be proclaimed on the housetops.
I tell you, my friends,
do not be afraid of those who kill the body
but after that can do no more.
I shall show you whom to fear.
Be afraid of the one who after killing
has the power to cast into Gehenna;
yes, I tell you, be afraid of that one.
Are not five sparrows sold for two small coins?
Yet not one of them has escaped the notice of God.
Even the hairs of your head have all been counted.
Do not be afraid.
You are worth more than many sparrows."

Runner's diarrhea

And I thought it's just my sensitive digestive tract.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/runners-diarrhea/AN00376

How life should be...

Last night's reading was particularly touching.  So obviously my life is far from the ideal...

Gal 5:18-25

Brothers and sisters:
If you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Now the works of the flesh are obvious:
immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry,
sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy,
outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness,
dissensions, factions, occasions of envy,
drinking bouts, orgies, and the like.
I warn you, as I warned you before,
that those who do such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, generosity,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
Against such there is no law.
Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their flesh
with its passions and desires.
If we live in the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit.

My race calendar - updated again!

My racing year turned out to be busier than I intended!  Here's how it looks now :

25 Feb - Singapore Duathlon (10km run / 36km cycle / 5km run)

1 Apr - 2XU Compression run (15km - free race in KY's stead)

1 May - SIS Age Group run (10km - free race after they canceled Fear Challenge)

26 May - Adidas Sundown Marathon (21km)

1 July - Gold Coast Airport Marathon (42km)

15 July - SIS Age Group run (15km - free race in Manly's stead)

9 Sep - Army Half Marathon (21km)

13 Oct - North Face trail (50km)

21 Oct - Nike SG run (10km)

28 Oct - Newton run (30km)
11 Nov - Great Eastern run (21km - free race in Linny's stead)
18 Nov - Run for Hope (10km - free race given by Peter's friend)
24 Nov - Brooks Happy Run (9km)

1 Dec - Standard Chartered Marathon (42km)

30 Dec - MR25 Ultra (50km)

That's 15 races in total this year.  All the races + training runs = a lot of mileage!  Next year I will return to the basics.  Run short distances and enjoy the process.  For now til Dec 30, I will need to keep my game face on.  Because as the coach put it, pain is temporary, glory is forever!

I.am.an.ultra.marathoner

The results from the North Face run is out so early - 27 out of 76.  Yes, only 76 women in Singapore were mad enough.

It was a great race actually.  I was immensely blessed.  God gave me windy (pre-storm conditions) and yet held the rain til way after I left Macritchie.  I had the coach run beside me, and he even carried my water bottles for me so I ran unburdened - of cos I had to fall into a pool of mud to elicit any sympathy from him.  He kept me going...  not in the positive way, he'd barked, "comeon, run".  When I whinged about the blood, he only said "comeon run to the next checkpoint".   The pain was quite tolerable despite the fall, stomach bug, lack of training due to my laziness the last month...  I am indeed blessed.

And I could not have been able to finish so easily without Alex.  Having a pacer in him - I am very blessed.

Walked a great deal - most of the uphills I walked.  The camaraderie among the racers is just fantastic.  Everyone cheers each other on.   At the 38km mark, I looked at my watch and realise a sub-7hr timing was possible.  Together with 2 angmo ladies (one of whom is Angela Flynn who also rides with R&R - amazing coincidence), we hang together to the finish.  She finished right behind me.

The North Face Run

Last year, I wondered about this race.

This year, I signed up.

It's tomorrow.

I'm still weak from the stomach bug.


It's 50km of trail.

In the sun.

I wonder if I will need the hospital after.

Excuse, my stomach's on fire

After the BBQ on Sat night, I woke up to puke all night and since then, my stomach's been on fire.  I feel like this now

After failing with various self remedies : honey, lemonnade, 凉茶, even stronger 凉茶, I decided to see a doctor before Saturday's suicide mission (aka the North Face 50km race).

The doctor closest to home took half an hour to see 1 patient - seeing how there were 2 more patients in front of me and I had a 11am meeting, I left.  Went to my usual GP at Holland Drive during lunch (see! I told you Holland is the center of the universe).  Now to transfer the fire from my stomach to my legs and GO GO GO!

Without a Strategy, There Is No ROI

This guy sounds completely HP!  That's how we used to talk, "so what's your strategy?" is a common refrain.

http://www.briansolis.com/2012/08/without-a-strategy-there-is-no-roi/

I surrender

Spontaneous Human Combustion

I wonder about it sometimes...

And it all started from a bout of food poisoning when I had to wake up to puke numerous times.  My stomach was churning with acid for a long time.  Still churning as a matter of fact.  Running with heartburn is seriously uncomfortable, my buddy drove over for some super duper 凉茶 that costs $7!!  It's a little better, but stomach still emitting heat.

So I wonder about this.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spontaneous_human_combustion

On marriage and divorce

Yesterday's reading was all about marriage.  First reading was from Genesis 2:18 on how God made Eve from a rib off Adam and the gospel reading was from Mark on marriage and divorce.

Mark 10:2-12

The Pharisees approached Jesus and asked,
"Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?"
They were testing him.
He said to them in reply, "What did Moses command you?"
They replied,
"Moses permitted a husband to write a bill of divorce
and dismiss her."
But Jesus told them,
"Because of the hardness of your hearts
he wrote you this commandment.
But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female.
For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother
and be joined to his wife,
and the two shall become one flesh.
So they are no longer two but one flesh.
Therefore what God has joined together,
no human being must separate."
In the house the disciples again questioned Jesus about this.
He said to them,
"Whoever divorces his wife and marries another
commits adultery against her;
and if she divorces her husband and marries another,
she commits adultery."

What do you do with your lunch hour?

http://business.asiaone.com/A1Business/Careers/Out%2Bof%2Boffice/Story/A1Story20121003-375359.html

For the longest time, I ate lunch during the lunch break with my co-workers.  I have always been blessed with awesome co-workers - most of whom are still my friends til today.

In recent years, I started to use my lunch break to run errands or meet other friends.  While in Motorola, I could run to mid-day mass which was just fantastic.  I miss that.

In my current job, I totally give up.  I ate perhaps 1 week's worth of lunch with them, then I just did my own thing.  Sometimes I eat at the nearby foodcourt alone, peacefully.  Sometimes I run errands.  While I was renovating my home, I met my contractors to talk to them or shopped for furniture or house related matters.

Yesterday, I went to Far East Flora in Commonwealth over lunch.  I'm looking for cutesy plants for the kitchen.  So far, the plants I've seen are very er.. "plant like".  I want cutesy plants... I'll let you know if I find them. :)

Living like it's your last day on earth

M came back from Germany last week, for sad reasons.  We met at her dad's wake.  He had a heart attack and it happened so quick.  She was lucky to be able to jump on a flight real quick and be back with her sister and mom.  We chatted about whether he knew he was having a heart attack (he's a GP with his own clinic) - we will never know.

M and I shared a tent for 3 weeks on our Mt Everest base camp hiking trip.  We got along infamously well.  Over the years though, we lost contact.  The last time I met her was 2009 she was based in Shanghai then and me on a biz trip (I was based in Taipei then).   We caught up over breakfast in Pudong : she had gotten pregnant, then lost the baby and then got divorced.  Shortly after that, she moved to Germany and seemed happy there, judging from her Facebook photos and updates.

I didn't stay long at the wake.  She was busy entertaining visitors (there's only her mom & her sister) and a steady stream of visitors.  Her dad was well liked.  I liked him too - all the more after I reversed onto his Mercedes a lifetime ago with my little Dahatsu, and he didn't even bat an eyelid, waved me off.  

I got home positively depressed until I flipped to the day's reading and it was very comfortingly apt.

Eccl 3:1-11 
There is an appointed time for everything,
and a time for every thing under the heavens.
A time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to uproot the plant.
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to tear down, and a time to build.
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance.
A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather them;

a time to embrace, and a time to be far from embraces.
A time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away.
A time to rend, and a time to sew;
a time to be silent, and a time to speak.
A time to love, and a time to hate;
a time of war, and a time of peace

Paying for car park sucks

Ascendas changed their car park policy recently and did away with quarterly cheque payments.  Payments are now either via GIRO or AXS.  I remembered the first month after the change (Sep) and the second month after that (Oct), it slipped my mind.

So yesterday, I had to push my cash card to pay $12 for all day parking just to let myself out!  And no one was answering the phone for the carpark hotline!  Wanted to die.

This morning I had to find an AXS machine to pay for the month, en route to work.  And I contemplated leaving the car in the free car park at the top of Vigilante Drive.  In the meantime, praying and crossing my fingers that my sob story email finds compassion.  After lunch, I called the car park person again and they allowed my late payment for this month.  Thank you Jesus!  And yes, I need to mark my calendar to pay every 25 of the month.  *mutter mutter, what's wrong with cheque payments, mutter mutter*

From Yahoo News - Kodak to stop selling inkjet printers from 2013

I have friends (ex-HP) who are going to lose their jobs.  Sigh.  I hate times like these.   And as of this afternoon, I've added 2 ex-HP friends from the doomed printer division of Kodak, to my LinkedIn account.

(Reuters) - Eastman Kodak Co said it plans to stop selling inkjet printers from 2013 as it winds down most of its consumer businesses and focuses on commercial printing.

Printer makers are struggling with falling sales as companies cut costs and people increasingly use mobile devices to take snaps and share them digitally.

Lexmark International Inc said last month that it will stop making inkjet printers and focus on its more profitable imaging and software businesses.

Kodak, which has already shuttered its digital camera business, said on Friday it expects to incur a charge of $90 million related to the wind-down of the inkjet business.

The company will, however, continue to sell ink to existing customers of inkjet printers.

Kodak, which filed for bankruptcy earlier this year after struggling to adapt to the digital age, also said it received "significant interest" from suitors for its printing kiosks and scanner businesses.

The company said it expects to cut 200 more jobs, adding to the 1,000 announced earlier this month. It has cut 2,700 jobs so far this year.

Kodak, which once employed more than 60,000 people, expects to emerge from bankruptcy in 2013 as a much leaner company. The latest jobcuts will reduce its workforce to 13,100.

The company said it was still in talks to sell its patents, estimated to be worth between $2.2 billion and $2.6 billion, and that it will submit a motion to a bankruptcy court to extend its right to file a reorganization plan until February 28, 2013.

Kodak said earlier this month that it may abandon efforts to auction its 1,000 digital imaging patents, and instead set up a new licensing company to help repay creditors.

According to media reports, Kodak received only sub-$500 million bids from investor groups, including Apple Inc and Google Inc.

(Reporting by Sayantani Ghosh in Bangalore; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)

The lazy runner

Did not run well at the Army Half marathon cos I started out too hard trying to chase a personal best time of sub 2h.  Then it has been downhill since then.

Suddenly it is October and I am staring 3 races in the face and feeling faint.
Oct 13 - The North Face 50km
Oct 21 - Nike run 10km
Oct 28 - Newton run 30km

What was I thinking?!

The plan (my insane plan) is to then sustain through Nov and finish on a high note with the Standard Chartered marathon Dec 1.

May the good Lord send me his flying angels...

From the NYT - Cycling and Helmets

To Encourage Biking, Cities Forget About Helmets

Eric Hanson

By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL

Published: September 30, 2012

ONE spectacular Sunday in Paris last month, I decided to skip museums and shopping to partake of something even more captivating for an environment reporter: Vélib, arguably the most successful bike-sharing program in the world. In their short lives, Europe's bike-sharing systems have delivered myriad benefits, notably reducing traffic and its carbon emissions. A number of American cities - including New York, where a bike-sharing program is to open next year - want to replicate that success.

So I bought a day pass online for about $2, entered my login information at one of the hundreds of docking stations that are scattered every few blocks around the city and selected one of Vélib's nearly 20,000 stodgy gray bikes, with their basic gears, upright handlebars and practical baskets.

Then I did something extraordinary, something I've not done in a quarter-century of regular bike riding in the United States: I rode off without a helmet.

I rode all day at a modest clip, on both sides of the Seine, in the Latin Quarter, past the Louvre and along the Champs-Élysées, feeling exhilarated, not fearful. And I had tons of bareheaded bicycling company amid the Parisian traffic. One common denominator of successful bike programs around the world - from Paris to Barcelona to Guangzhou - is that almost no one wears a helmet, and there is no pressure to do so.

In the United States the notion that bike helmets promote health and safety by preventing head injuries is taken as pretty near God's truth. Un-helmeted cyclists are regarded as irresponsible, like people who smoke. Cities are aggressive in helmet promotion.

But many European health experts have taken a very different view: Yes, there are studies that show that if you fall off a bicycle at a certain speed and hit your head, a helmet can reduce your risk of serious head injury. But such falls off bikes are rare - exceedingly so in mature urban cycling systems.

On the other hand, many researchers say, if you force or pressure people to wear helmets, you discourage them from riding bicycles. That means more obesity, heart disease and diabetes. And - Catch-22 - a result is fewer ordinary cyclists on the road, which makes it harder to develop a safe bicycling network. The safest biking cities are places like Amsterdam and Copenhagen, where middle-aged commuters are mainstay riders and the fraction of adults in helmets is minuscule.

"Pushing helmets really kills cycling and bike-sharing in particular because it promotes a sense of danger that just isn't justified - in fact, cycling has many health benefits," says Piet de Jong, a professor in the department of applied finance and actuarial studies at Macquarie University in Sydney. He studied the issue with mathematical modeling, and concludes that the benefits may outweigh the risks by 20 to 1.

He adds: "Statistically, if we wear helmets for cycling, maybe we should wear helmets when we climb ladders or get into a bath, because there are lots more injuries during those activities." The European Cyclists' Federation says that bicyclists in its domain have the same risk of serious injury as pedestrians per mile traveled.

Yet the United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommends that "all cyclists wear helmets, no matter where they ride," said Dr. Jeffrey Michael, an agency official.

Recent experience suggests that if a city wants bike-sharing to really take off, it may have to allow and accept helmet-free riding. A two-year-old bike-sharing program in Melbourne, Australia - where helmet use in mandatory - has only about 150 rides a day, despite the fact that Melbourne is flat, with broad roads and a temperate climate. On the other hand, helmet-lax Dublin - cold, cobbled and hilly - has more than 5,000 daily rides in its young bike-sharing scheme. Mexico City recently repealed a mandatory helmet law to get a bike-sharing scheme off the ground. But here in the United States, the politics are tricky.

SHAUN MURPHY, the bicycling coordinator of Minneapolis-St. Paul - which inaugurated its "Nice Ride" bike-sharing program this year - has been pilloried for riding about without a helmet. "I just want it to be seen as something that a normal person can do," Mr. Murphy explained to the local press this past summer. "You don't need special gear. You just get on a bike and you just go."

In New York, where there were 21 cyclist fatalities last year, the transportation commissioner, Janette Sadik-Khan, is always photographed on a bike and wearing a helmet. The administration of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has nonetheless rejected calls by Comptroller John C. Liu for a mandatory helmet law when New York's 10,000-cycle bike-share program rolls out next year, for fear it would keep people from riding. Still, the mayor says helmets are a "good idea," and the city promotes helmet use through education and with giveaway programs.

In the United States, cities are struggling to overcome the significant practical problems of melding helmet use with bike-sharing programs - such as providing sanitized helmet dispensers at bike docking stations, says Susan Shaheen, director of the Transportation Sustainability Research Center at the University of California, Berkeley.

But bicycling advocates say that the problem with pushing helmets isn't practicality but that helmets make a basically safe activity seem really dangerous.

"The real benefits of bike-sharing in terms of health, transport and emissions derive from getting ordinary people to use it," said Ceri Woolsgrove, safety officer at the European Cyclists' Federation. "And if you say this is wonderful, but you have to wear armor, they won't. These are normal human beings, not urban warriors."

In fact, many European researchers say the test of a mature bike-sharing program is when women outnumber men. In the Netherlands, 52 percent of riders are women. Instead of promoting helmet use, European cycling advocates say, cities should be setting up safer bike lanes to slow traffic or divert it entirely from downtown areas. "Riding in New York or Australia is like running with the bulls - it's all young males," says Julian Ferguson, a spokesman for the European Cyclists' Federation. And that's in part what makes it dangerous. (Many European countries do require helmet use for children.)

In London, where use of a new bike-share program is exceeding all expectations, the number of riders in suits and dresses is growing, Mr. Woolsgrove says. And more Londoners seem to be leaving helmets at home.

We may follow a similar pattern. In her study of nascent bike-sharing programs in North America - including Montreal, Washington and Minneapolis - Dr. Shaheen found that the accident rate was "really low." A large majority of participants strongly agreed that they got more exercise since the program started. And helmet use in bike programs tended to be far lower than among the general public.

Another study this summer found that only 30 percent of local riders using Washington's Capital Bikeshare program wore helmets, compared with 70 percent of people on their own bikes, said John Kraemer of Georgetown University, the study's author, who supports helmet use.

Before you hit the comment button and tell me that you know someone whose life was probably saved by a bike helmet, I know someone, too. I also know someone who believes his life was saved by getting a blood test for prostate specific antigen, detecting prostate cancer. But is that sense of salvation actually justified, for the individual or society? Back in New York I strapped on my helmet for a weekend bike ride in Central Park. But I'm not sure I'll do the same two years from now if I'm commuting to work on a mature Citi Bike system.

Mr. De Jong, who grew up in the Netherlands, observes of Amsterdam: "Nobody wears helmets, and bicycling is regarded as a completely normal, safe activity. You never hear that 'helmet saved my life' thing."

A reporter and blogger on environmental issues for The New York Times.

lack of muscle tone

I remember some time ago, while working in PSA building, I used to attend dozens of meetings a day.  In a boring meeting, when you look down on the meeting table, all you see are your co-worker's forearms.  I used to be very troubled by undefined forarm muscles in my male co-workers.

And then I moved to Taiwan and it's either mostly surrounded by women or fewer meetings or both...  But today, I got a flash of flesh - undeveloped flesh to be specific.  It is awful.  I couldn't stop staring.  I couldn't focus on the words coming out of his mouth.  Even Matty has more muscle tone.  Very troubling.

Working in a small company

We have Bengawan Solo mooncakes in the pantry - gifts from our vendors.

In the past while in Motorola / Seagate / HP, the mooncakes our vendors gave us are from Shangrila and classy hotels like that.

Hah!  Not that I eat any of these 500 calories per mooncake, goes-instantly-to-your-butts snacks :)

Furnishing a new home - my recommendations

It has been a tiring experience but quite pleasant and interesting time.

I benefited a lot from the folks in various forums especially Renotalk and want to be able to give back to Singapore.  So here's my list of recommended vendors if you are looking to renovate/furnish a new home.

Main contractor : Ah Peng.  +65 9831 0570
Why - work direct with the main contractor himself.  He's down to earth and very experienced, not to mention no nonsense pricing.  Only if you know what you want and don't need a designer.  I have absolutely no regrets working with him.  Oh and he speaks Chinese only.

Carpenter : I do not recommend Ah Chuan whom Ah Peng usually partners with.  Pick another carpenter.

Biometric digital door lock : Fred - Digital Home +65 98566260
Why - the best price in town for a biometric digital door lock Yale brand.  But don't expect any after sales service.

Marble slab : Yong Ping - Hot Spring +65 6362 0085 http://www.hotspringstone.com/

Why - they are marble slab suppliers, lots of selection.  I bought a whitish slab over my bay window and love it!

Carpet/Rugs : Fotohi #03-03 Tanjong Katong Complex +65 6735 1578

Why - good quality reasonable price.  I love the carpet my bro/sis-in-law bought me.  Love, love, love it!

Curtains : Kelvin +6591541768

Why - hotel grade curtains (he usually bids for hotel tenders) and very reasonable pricing.  Very nice guy.

Solar film for windows : Huber Optik.  Lindy +65 8418 8922

Why - visibly cooler and not as expensive as 3M.  Sales person a little brusque but the people who install the films are very professional.

Dining set and Italian furniture in general : Calligaris from XZQT.
Why - Italian quality finish says it all.

Appliances : Audio House
Why - they offer price protection and will refund you the balance if you find a cheaper version elsewhere.

Leather sofa : Lorenzo at  601 Sims Drive.  Ask for Ziwei.
Why - I love the ultra soft leather and well designed sofa.

Lighting : www.lighting.com.
Why - there are a lot of lighting shops in Singapore.  But the offerings are often tacky and kitschy.  If you want simple yet classy lights without paying an arm and a leg.  Also lots of LED selections too.

Bathroom fixtures/fittings : Universal Union at 710 Geylang Road +65 6749 0007
Why - you can pretty much buy everything from WC to taps to bathroom accessories all in this place.  Bargain, bargain, bargain to get yourself a good deal.

Ikea, Howards Storage World, Mustafa and Robinsons also feature highly on my buy list.  The biggest surprise being Ikea.  I always had the impression that Ikea products are simply not cost effective, cheap but you need a replacement every 2 years.  I learned that, if you are selective with your choices, there are some pretty good buys from Ikea.  Very nice finish at affordable prices.

Running is becoming a chore

I rested all weekend - no climb no run.  Just rested.  Nose is still dribbly and throat still painful.

Increasingly I feel the stress from the North Face run due in 2 weeks.  死得很难看!

I am thankful I did not sign up for the Taiwan Taroko Gorge run. As much as I love Hualien and the food there, but really it's getting to be a chore clocking mileage and feeling the stress when I don't train hard enough.

What is wrong with Sundays being slow and relaxed?

I'll finish the last 3 races : north face, newton run and the standard chartered run and that's it.   In 2013, I'll just run for the joy of it.  No competitions.

Archbishop and politics

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/archbishop--blogger-clash-over-report-on-isa-letter.html

Uh-oh.  Sounds like a boo-boo on the Archbishop's part and now everyone's milking him for what it's worth. Shame on those using him and the Catholic church for their own agenda.

My own pad

Still very thrilled at having my own place.  I was working on my computer one day and I heard a noise from the direction of the main door, for a while there I froze, then I remember I don't live with mom anymore and I don't need to freak out when she's coming home.  It reminds me again, how grateful I am to God that I can have my own house.  Thank you Jesus.

Some happy moments from the housewarming party : (I regret not taking more photos especially of little Matty).

And Ian/Michy gave me a carpet for my housewarming gift.  I love it!  It looks even better in daylight.  Love it love it love it!

Cal gave me this golden hue sheets.  I don't do the photo justice cos it's a little crinked from my poor folding.

And also gifts for the kitchen/house from my good buddies...  I am blessed.

Food for the soul

I had lunch yesterday with SC.  He was so sweet to drive from NUH all the way to Jurong point to buy Taiwanese beef noodles for our lunch in his new apartment.  Not forgetting the bubble tea to complete Taiwan hour.

His apartment juxtaposed between glamorous Holland Village and heartland Queenstown has pretty amazing views of the Singapore skyline.  Bet his new year parties will be awesome with the fireworks seen from his living room.  And he decorated it so it's really cozy and looks totally lived in.  Hmm... I need more furnishings, mine looks practically empty in comparison.

It was the after lunch conversation that really struck me.  He was very casual about it, and while I knew he leads many of the "eye-doctors-go-to-rural-China-to-treat-poor-people" trips, I didn't know about the side visits/help he offers to charities local and overseas.  Yes, very admirable, but it left me with 2 thoughts :
1. wished I studied something useful : like doctoring!
2. I'm so busy, I don't even sleep enough, but I am failing to do what Jesus asked of me.  Which got me to Sunday mass's reading from James 2:14-18

What good is it, my brothers and sisters,
if someone says he has faith but does not have works?
Can that faith save him?
If a brother or sister has nothing to wear
and has no food for the day,
and one of you says to them,
"Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well, "
but you do not give them the necessities of the body,
what good is it?
So also faith of itself,
if it does not have works, is dead.

Indeed someone might say,
"You have faith and I have works."
Demonstrate your faith to me without works,
and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works.

To SC, you are simply awesome.  

And I need to start thinking about the poor amongst us instead of being fixated on selfish pursuits.

Hewlett Packard

Was checking on the share prices this morning and looks like I need to wait longer to sell my shares... Sigh.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/872641-hewlett-packard-what-happens-when-a-good-business-and-bad-management-collide

How do I wrangle another trip to HK or Taiwan?

I love HK because I love Maxim's cakes.  Especially the Napoleans.... ooo la la

I love Taiwan because (ok, brace yourself for a long list)
- pineapple cakes
- sun cakes
- Starbucks coffee eggrolls (can you believe only found in Taiwan?!)
- Cheese cake strips from that shop in Minsheng
- Mala hotpot
- Suntory drinks like CC Lemon and calypis.

Ok I need to stop now, or I'll drool on this table.

I need to wrangle myself a trip to either HK or Taiwan.  Helppp!

An egg a day?

Thankfully I am a picky eater and never liked the taste of the yolk, even til now, I eat the egg around the yolk, careful not to rupture the yolk or risk contaminating the taste of everything else!

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/-to-eat-or-not-to-eat-egg--that-is-the-question.html

Recluse

Was back in Ikea yesterday over lunch and finally purchased 2 throw cushions for the sofa and a bedspread for the guest bed to keep it clean.

Which means, I'm pretty much settled.  Installed the extra screen for my bathtub yesterday, summed up my total expenses for the house, thrown the obligatory housewarming party, finally waded into the pool... All done.  I declare recluse phase beginning now.

Life in the fast lane

Last week, I was in Hsinchu Taiwan Wed to Fri for a short business trip to our ODM.  Got home late Fri & slept at 3am - after clearing out my luggage.  Woke up early to pre-order BBQ food for the party on Sunday.  Jo bailed on the Sat climbing, just as well I am sleep-deprived from being unable to sleep on the plane (even though I was blessed to get empty seats beside me both ways).  I spent all Sat with Matty Cheng!  How to resist a grin like that?

Sunday morning, woke up early for Macritchie LSD then rushed to midday mass.  Vacuum home & tidied up the place.  I tried to grab a catnap but my phone kept beeping and waking me up.  4pm and my first guests - Peter/Jo/Eric came over.  A real godsent, they started the BBQ fire and kept it going all night for everyone.  Family came over soon after.  Had to order some pizza (I love Spizza) cos I was afraid there would not be enough food to feed us all.  Pizza guy came, he called to say, please open the door, everyone asked, where are you!  He had ninja training & was at my doorstep when we were all by the pool.

Eric (who's going to be a great dad) taught Matty how to kick and hang off the chin up bar.  Matty loves him and also the gentle giant Peter who carried him whereever Matty commands "Go there!".

By 8pm, we were full and the party's over.  Had to beg people to take the leftover food home.  Now if our elephant had stayed longer...  My fridge has half a pizza, half a cream cake, a box of mooncakes and some leftover drinks.  I didn't even clean up much, will do it Mon evening.  First I recover!

Why I love Singapore

You have to live out of Singapore to appreciate what we have.

Why do I like it here?
- Friends / family
- Everything works.  We are efficient.  Nowhere else comes close.  Not the US, not Taiwan and definitely not Australia.  It takes weeks to work the government services bureaucracy.
- It is very livable here.  We have parks, clean air & portable water off our taps.  Low crime.  You can walk along the streets without worrying about being mugged/murdered/harassed.  Yes, it sounds very lame, but you know what, when you are looking for a home - this is an important fact.  You need to be alive in the first place!
- Cost of living is low.  Increasingly this is less true, but we are still reasonably cheap.  Although, healthcare is getting a little out of touch with cost of living, you need to invest in medical insurance.  If you don't buy a car and choose HDB apartment living - life is comfortable.
- Growing sophistication.  We are getting to first world living.  There's F1 races, lots of activities like ballet in Fort Canning, the Singapore symphonic playing in the Botanic Gardens, lots of concerts and musicals playing in town.  If you like sports, then there's a whole plethora of running events, triathlons, cycling groups...
- Open mindset.  The Singaporean is very adaptable and accepting.  In all my work places, I work alongside Malaysians, India Indians, China Chinese, Koreans, Japanese, Americans, Australians...  It's a way of life. Of late, there's some unhappiness towards people from India and PRC - but the overall attitude in the offices is still very healthy.  More than I can say for anywhere else : in Taiwan/Korea/India/China - they only accept their own.  In US & all western countries - the White will rule.  Here, everyone's equal, the foreigner is accepted totally, not politely as a guest/an outsider.
- Food.  It's true!  We have every cuisine available on this tiny island!  You get very spoilt for tastes!
- A stable and good government.  There is no corruption - just look at our South East Asian neighbours, nuff said.  Look at the political infighting in the US and Taiwan.  The enemy is outside, people.  Let's close ranks, accept our differences, work together as one Singapore.

What can be improved?
- Stop whinging.  People are so quick to complain yet are prepared to do nothing about it.
- It gets claustrophobic.  Small country and inward looking people - we tend to all look and criticize.  I catch myself several times.   If we can all be less kaypo and more supportive/loving please?  Starts with me.  Today.

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/blogs/the-flipside/letter-staying-put-singapore-005809050.html

In Taiwan, they like to start each sentence with, 如果你真的爱台湾...

If you truly love Singapore, take an active step towards making this the country you want it to be.  Offer constructive criticism, help out at the grassroots level, join a political party, do something rather than just bitch!

Not feeling so hot again

Ran the Army Half marathon yesterday and it was bad!  I was confident as I am pretty well conditioned (or so I thought!) and gunning for a sub-2 hour time.  But I just could not settle into the run and it got increasingly painful until I gave up the pacing - let coach run on, and that was perhaps at 4km mark.  Things got worse.  I couldn't hold any pace.  Walked and grew increasingly demoralized.  Walk/run until the pain levels eased and I managed to slow jog the remaining 10km or so.  So I finished way off my original target.  Sigh.

Right now I can hardly walk, my core muscles hurts when I sneeze and my shoulder blades are killing me. And I don't feel so good - think I am nursing a low grade fever.  It's funny that last Sunday I ran 25km of trail to Bukit Timah hill, ran up and down the hill and back and was non the worse for it on Monday.

Oh it hurts bad now.

And I got internet again!

Replaced my wireless router so I can finally have consistent coverage.  Signal strength for the whole house is good despite my placement of it - tucked away inobtrusively on a lower shelf near the floor in the study.

My 1.5yr old Cisco (Linksys) router which I bought for a lot of $ is so crappy.  The intermittent service it offers is not enough to hold a connection, it is so bad I hardly ever use it, resorting instead to the WWAN dongle Starhub gave for free. Aesthetically great due to the lack of an ugly antenna, but the compromised functionality affects the usability of the product.  The new TL wireless router boasts of 3 antennas - yes, I clearly overcompensated for my 1.5years of frustration, and the best part, it is half the cost of the Cisco.

Did my first conference call today in the study.  With the internet nice and consistent, in my new study chair.  It is all good.

Ankle strain

Almost twisted right ankle - managed to recover quickly, but damage done.  Now I am nursing a high ankle strain on the right side and the Army Half Marathon is this Sunday.  Not good timing.  Guess I will employ the good ole "tape and go" strategy which worked very well for me for years until the embarrassing "tendinitis episode".  There goes my hope of dipping below 2 hours for a half marathon.

Had another physiotherapy session this morning and my physiotherapist discovered why my shoulders ache so much.  I don't hold myself upright especially the right shoulder so the muscles there are quite knotted up (she was pressing my right pec muscles and oh does it hurt...).  So she showed me how (standing in front of a mirror), when I breath in deeply, my right side chest cavity does not expand fully.  You mean, all this time I have been relying on 1 lung to breath?!  Unbelievable.  She pronounced that I have non-existent butt muscles (I don't use my butts to run) & my arms are weak.  What?  I was miffed, complained to her, "eh, I rockclimb for 12 years leh!". And she says, yes, but you don't use shoulders, I can prove it...   Apparently I use the upper shoulder muscles & pecs, but skip the core muscles (lower shoulders).

New mantra when I run, "butts, shoulders up, butts, shoulders up...".  In the meantime, I am lame.  Ow ow ow...

OMG - my mother is driving me nuts

Sunday - as usual, woke up early for morning LSD, then we went for lunch at Balestier market (yum yum, bought some chwee kueh for afternoon tea), before collecting our race kits for the Army Half marathon next weekend.

After that, I vacuumed, moped and tidied up the house as I invited mom to come over.  As backup against unpleasantries, I asked IMM to come to add some love/positive energy.

At 4:55, I drove out to Kembagnan MRT station and she was not there.  I called her and she said she couldn't find me and so went back into the station as I might be inside the station with my car.  Irrational warning no. 1.

She came bearing plastic bags and her usual bag plus her handbag.  When we stepped into the house, she wanted to put everything on the dining table.  I said, 'can you put on the floor'.  Her response was a shock : she FLUNG everything against the wall in anger.  I used a normal tone, I wasn't even angry, I just didn't want her dirty bag and handbag and plastic bags on the dining table.  WTF.  Irrational warning no. 2.

In my heart, I started to pray for peace.  I asked her if she wanted to see the house still or what.  She stood there seething, then she walked grudgingly to view.  I showed her the study and my bedroom and she stood from the hallway, peered in and nodded in total disinterest - without even stepping into either room!  Then she plonked herself down on the sofa.

Ignoring her bad-temperedness, I asked if she wanted to eat the chwee kueh I bought.  She snapped back, no!  I went ahead and took bowls out, take the chwee kueh out. She came over to eat.  Then she opened her plastic bags and produced a box of durians and started to eat.  I wanted to say, 'wait for Ian/Michelle to arrive to eat the durian together', but then thought I should not antagonize her further.  So I bit my tongue, eat chwee kueh.  Irrational warning no. 3 (strange behaviour).

Finally, IMM arrives.  And Matty in his usual style, made us all laugh and smile immediately.

I wonder if she's going insane - http://www.agingcare.com/Articles/bad-behavior-by-elderly-parents-138673.htm, or am I instead?

Oh I almost forgot.  Her housewarming gift to me?  She gave me the water utility bill.  -__-

On hindsight, I realize her behaviour is neither that of a concerned family member (look out for me and suggest improvements - this is the behaviour most of my friends/family members have adopted) nor that of a proud parent (be happy for me/pleased that her daughter has an apartment), instead she chose to adopt a petulant childish "why bother when I am not part of this" attitude.  I am disturbed and disappointed.

And I think it's time to invite my mom over

I think it may be time to invite the empress dowager for a visit.  The longer I drag this out, the more she'll seethe about the non-invite.  Let's see perhaps tomorrow, now that things are getting more and more ready.

After 4 to 5 visits, many hours on their online store and 1 return later, I believe I have the perfect bedside reading lamp!  Yay!  It's not as if my conditions were that hard to please in the first place :  I wanted LED bulb, white lamp with light bright enough to read in bed and fits in the little space between my bed and the bay window ledge. Just in case, I am fickle (and I am), I will keep the packaging since Ikea has a fantastic returns policy.

Speaking of Ikea, I am now a changed person.  I started out resisting Ikea totally - didn't want anything from there.  Now I have a houseful of Ikea products.  Haha, the best part is the price and the finish is really very decent for that price!

The housewarming party is set for the 16 Aug - poolside BBQ.  Too few people to cater  - most caterers have a minimum no. of 20 persons.  Would have been nice to just relax and eat, but I definitely don't want my apartment full of people - so keeping it private to family and very close friends.  Most of this select group has already seen (and helped me in the apartment), so I guess the highlight of the party will not be the apartment but Matty!   He has 2 weeks to prepare his best acts!

And I have curtains in the room

Got curtains in my room!  And here's my curtain vendor - also a fellow cyclist.  Am I blessed or what?

He arranged the curtains very prettily and this morning, I undid it all to block out the setting sun which comes in to turn my room into a sauna everyday.

I do have a twinge of regret - I thought I picked white for my curtains - Kelvin's swatch appeared pretty white to me.  But in curtain form, it appears very cream colored.  I don't want cream, I want white!

Seeing the look on my face, Kelvin assured me that in the daylight, it will look white.  Because it was evening when he put it up, my yellow lighting in the room affects how it appears.  But in the morning light, I looked at it, and it was even creamier than yesterday.  Sigh.  Too late now.

I know understand why designers say, in a small space, details are magnified.

Almost there

The home is almost fully furnished.  It's still a little bare but main necessities are almost all in... I can slowly furnish the lesser important items with less pressure.

I've also started to tabulate the costs and thankfully it's been lower than earlier forecasted.  The largest chunk was renovation and I spent way less than forecasted since I chose a main contractor instead of an interior design (ID) firm.  My largest pain has been the awful carpenter, but then again, there's no guarantees you pay more with an ID firm, you'll get good carpentry.

I do have a small mountain of laundry to do.  Mostly new sheets that needs to be washed before I can put them away.  Couldn't do any laundry earlier cos the house was too dusty to hang out clean laundry.  And so it accumulates.  I could wear less to save on laundry, but without room curtains (that should be ready tomorrow or the day after), it's a little awkward.  I set the washing machine on delayed-start this morning as I left the house. Looks like I reduced the laundry mountain down to 2 more loads -  probably have the backlog of laundry cleared by the weekend.  I need sunny skies!

Need to return to Holland V tonight to get the last load - my old textbooks and such unimportant stuff.  On my list of to-dos, there is only 1 or 2 more high priority items after tonight's move/unpack.  Can take a short breather before slowly shopping for the lower priority items like throw cushions for the sofa.  I like this floral pattern ones from Ikea, but they are $40 each.  Cushions!  And Ikea ones are the cheapest around.  Ouch.  I'll keep looking...

Getting stoned literally

How ironic, getting stoned and you lower your IQ irreversibly.   Getting stoned and be a stone!
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/08/marijuana-lowers-iq/

Inherent dangers of sports

Last Saturday was not a good day.

Another cyclist got mowed down by a delivery van.  Then a gumby decked from the 25m high wall while rockclimbing at Yishun - I witnessed this accident.

Freddy Khoo, a triathlete and avid cyclist, died shortly after they got him into the hospital, he leaves an expecting wife and a son.  Please say a prayer for him and especially his grieving family who has to continue life without a husband and a father.

The gumby fortunately survived a 10m fall.  He landed feet first and still had feeling in his legs, thank God.  The circumstances behind the fall : they were not tied in with the typical figure-of-8 knot, instead they fashioned a knot and clipped in with a carabina.  So how did he free fall, leaving the knot & carabina still intact and hanging at the 10m mark?

My favourite sports have their inherent dangers.  This is a good reminder towards safety and being careful.  If you are reading this and also a cyclist and/or rockclimber, please observe all safety precautions.  Life is precious.

Marble woes

Decided to go with nice marble instead of glass for my bedside ledge to use as a bedside table, with my bed flushed against the wall to save room in a tight space.

Called a mutual friend and he was really quick with it - his dad, the owner, came personally to measure the ledge.  Roared down in his Porsche, measured and left.  The marble arrived 3 days later.  And it was half a cm off.  So there we were : 4 sweaty men and a slab of marble which does not fit.  4 sweaty workmen look at me : can we grind it to size?  Me : no! it's 8pm! and it's awfully dusty!.  

We compromised. 4 sweaty men heaved it to the carpark, grinded it off by half a cm, heaved it back up and back into place.  Then they sealed the slab down and left.

In the morning light, I inspected it carefully and found some chipped-off areas.  For the amount of $, it's a little upsetting that it is not perfect.  How?

M weekend

First I had D-Friday - last Friday when all my deliveries came in a single day.

Now I had M weekend - a long weekend where I made 4 to-&-fro trips in my little car and physically heaved everything over in boxes.  In between I took 2 breaks : Sat morning to climb and Sun morning to run.  Yes M weekend is 'Move' weekend or 'Moo! I'm strong like an ox' weekend.  Simply exhausting.

My earlier plan was to pack 3 boxes, move, unpack them, bring them back over, pack... repeat process.  Alex gave me 5 more boxes so that I can be more productive.  And I promptly filled all 5 up!  So much for being the minimalist I thought I was.  I always said, if you can live without needing something in 2 years, you don't need it! Yet it's hard to throw perfectly workable stuff simply because I hardly use it!  So how, throw my old textbooks are perfectly good? *mutter mutter*

My new place is a total mess with stuff all over the floors everywhere as I slowly put stuff away.  I was busy unpacking on Monday when I/M/M came over to swim.  I could hear his happy squeals in his first swimming pool adventure - such a happy baby.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151070165248369&set=t.645738156&type=3&theater

I am so blessed!

I officially moved in last night - slept my first night on new sheets, new mattress, new bed, new apartment.  You get the drift.  It is a watershed moment for me.

Moved in early, heeding advice from concerned family/friends who insist I do so officially before the Chinese lunar seventh month.

So, the same evening Ah Chuan the lousy carpenter finally finished his remedial work, I moved in.  He had taken 4 weeks, 2 weeks longer than he committed to, yet with poor quality finish and careless work.  Employed IMM to nego for a price taking into account my unhappiness.  Considering I started out wanting to pay him his quoted price - my only ask was he do a good job, I feel sad that it came down to this.  Plus the many holes in my walls/furniture.  Sigh.

After the protracted negotiation with Ah Chuan, we all went to dinner late.  So Matty ate 2 meals back-to-back.  First his porridge, then his pre-bed time milk.  Back in the apartment later, I tried to clean the room a little (sawdust from Ah Chuan's efforts) but I was so sleepy.  I couldn't arrange curtains earlier while the dirty/messy work was ongoing (didn't help with Ah Chuan's delays).  So I spent last night without curtains - might be a week more of this!  Woke up at 7am to dogs barking and bright skies.  I love this room!

I am Maria

While all of Singapore is singing Majulah Singapura and Count on me Singapore, I was being Maria.  Well, at least I planned to.  I was barely in the house when Alex and daughter came by to help me nitpick faults for my contractors to fix.  Then we went to lunch.  Back in the house for a bit, then Ian/Michy and Matty swung by to do second round of nitpick, well, Michy at least.  Matty ran around opening drawers and doors while his father sat there, just sat there.  Then we went to dinner.

Finally back in the house again at 8pm, I started to clean til about midnight. 

Sat, I cleaned a little bit, Sun a little more... Progress is slow.  You clean some, you drill some holes, dust everywhere again, you clean more, you drill more...

Renovation diary - report week 3

No progress.  Yes, nothing's been done since Thu.  And all the furniture's coming in on Fri and I am moving myself in over the weekend.

Yelled at both contractors yesterday in the afternoon, swung by exhausted after a hectic 2.5 day weekend retreat and was livid. 

Thankfully Ian/Michy/Matty swung by so we had dinner at I12 together.  Now if only the Lord had given me that apartment across the road at I12 - perfect!  Oh well, can't ask for the sky and all the stars in it.  My prayer ask is simple - that both contractor and carpenter can just work hard these 3 days to deliver a finished and clean apartment by end Wed.  In His name all things are possible, amen!

At least I had a great dinner with Matty.  Matty scalded his hand over the weekend.  Dipped his left hand into some hot water (used to wash his bedding/soft toys, since he contracted bronchitis, they've been careful).  If you asked him about it, he'll show you his left palm (er.. then you turn it around to see his little blistered fingers).

When's a cabinet door not a door? When it's a drawer!

My contractor Ah Peng is nice enough, very down to earth and realistic.  That's why I picked him.  The problem is the carpenter he partners with. Ah Chuan the carpenter was a little too smooth for my liking.  Then he said his wife has health problems and is undergoing dialysis, I felt for him and didn't bargain him down when he quoted me his price.  But I impressed upon him that I wanted the finish to be good, that I am fussy.

On Tue night I went over late at night to check on progress.  I was hungry/tired after finally making the last of my big ticket purchases (writing desk/book shelf for the study room) and got most upset. 

Shoe cabinet - door opens the wrong way, against the direction of the door.  Unacceptably awkward.
Overhead cabinet over my fridge & washing machine - corner chipped off.  Apparently he dropped it in transit. -__-  Unbelievable.
TV console - has humongous drawers.  I wanted doors!  Who has humongous hideous drawers the size of Stonehenge!
My wardrope drawers has openings sliver thin, you need to have stick fingers to open them.  Who do I look like, Gretel from Hansel and Gretel?
Shelf over washing machine for doing laundry is positioned at my nose level.  What, now I pick up stilt walking so I can do laundry?

Overall finish was awful, sharp corners, gaps, unevenness, cracked edges, bad workmenship in short. 

Funnily enough carpenter guys behave exactly like those ad agency guys I used to work with.  So eager to show you what they created/made but then it isn't what you wanted at all!

Ever wondered if your style of driving scares the people in your car?

Here's a story of Matty.  His parents turned his child seat in the car to face forward cos he keeps throwing his toys onto the floor and then leaning half out of his seat to pick them up.  We taught him to always pick up his toys!

After turning his seat to face forward, his papa drives.  Matty stares at oncoming traffic and is fine.  Next trip out, his mommy drives.  Matty screams all the way to NTUC and on the return journey screams all the way until he pukes.

If any of you out there, reads this and have always wondered, "hmmm, is my driving style scary for the people in the backseat?", please approach us.  We can rent out our little tester.  For a small fee.