another good read...

Ok, so for almost two years, I managed to keep my word and tell myself that I will not read another Dan Brown's book after reading Da Vinci's Code in 2005. However, I caved and read one last month.

Kevin and I were discussing about books we have read while he was here in August. I told him that I have read Da Vinci's Code and that I will not read another Dan Brown's book, for fear that it may be a let down or the book would have similar plots like all his other books. I said that after my experience with John Grisham books. However, Kevin told me that I should read Angels and Demons. He said that this is the best Dan Brown's book after Da Vinci's Code. Well, I was quite sceptical but I said that I will buy the book and read it after I was done with my long read, The Historian.

However, before he left, he bought me the book. I finally started reading it in early November after I was done with a couple of other books like Zoe Heller's Everything You Know and Dubner & Levitt's Freakonomics. Once I started reading it, I was no longer sceptical. It was such a page turner. I wish I didn't have to put it down but I have a life to live, so I would squeezed in as much reading time as I can during my journey to and from work and would put aside an hour in the evening to read it.

Since Tom Hanks was cast as Robert Langdon in the Da Vinci's Code movie, I had imagined him playing the role in my head while reading Angels & Demons. Although, I would have preferred the part to be portrayed by Sam Neill of Kane & Abel & Jurassic Park fame. I think he has the look of a professor over Tom Hanks. While Da Vinci's Code has a French as the leading lady, Angels & Demon's leading lady is an Italian. From the description when the character was introduced and what she was wearing, I had Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft in mind playing that part. The story was set in and around Rome & Vatican City. Hence, it brought me back there. It was like living the book, which was intriguing and left me riveted!!

I absolutely LOVE this book. No regrets at all having read it but now, I am addicted as I crave for more of such reads. As I can be quite rubbish when it comes down to looking for a good read, I am now waiting for recommendations to come in for a good thriller read, which can keep me intrigue and leaving me wanting more.

seeing the football future...

In May 2008, this is how the final Barclays English Premier League standings will look like:

Top Three
1. Manchester United
2. Arsenal
3. Chelsea

Bottom Three
18. Wigan
19. Fulham
20. Derby

This is my prediction. We will come back to this in May 2008 and see if my predictions are right on the money!

stress test...

What a week! My body went through quite the stress test this past week.

Sunday

I could not feel my legs and feet after running the marathon. After some application of a deep rub & nine hours of sleep (the first time in a long time that I get to sleep more than 8 hours. I usually put 6 and half and 7 hours of sleep every night), I could feel my legs and feet again and was able to walk without much pain on Monday.

Monday & Tuesday

My thighs were still aching. Squatting down at the toilet bowl to answer nature's call or bending my legs to sit on the chair and going down the stairs was a bit of a struggle. By Tuesday afternoon, I began to feel the flu coming. The common signs - bad throat, headache and the body feeling a little feverish. It also didn't help that I did not turn in early on Monday night as I finished the book I’ve been reading in recent weeks and waking up 5 hours later to catch the second half of the live match between Manchester United & Fulham. I paid the price alright. The doctor advised that I have an early night after a light dinner and medication.

Wednesday

Despite a good's night sleep, I was still not feeling on top of the world. I dragged myself to work. Right after lunch, I had an immediate need to answer nature's call. And nature continued to call since. My stomach and bowels were rumbling and tumbling. I think it must have been that stupid fried fish bee hoon I had for lunch - they put evaporated milk in there and the milk must have been bad. My colleague who had the same thing and he said that his stomach didn't feel good that afternoon. I think I was worse hit than him.

Thursday

I thought the rumbling would be gone but it didn't. Anything I consumed turned to water. I could not believe that I endured two days of this crap… literally! By 8pm, I caved & consulted the pharmacist for a cure. Almost immediately after consuming the pills, the stomach began to stop growling and I was feeling better.

Friday

Avoided dairy just to be on the safe side. I could not afford to be sick this weekend! I have been on a 6-day work week for the past two weeks and this weekend will be the weekend where I actually want a real weekend - no work!!!. That 2 in a row 6-day work week were killing me!! I was considering going on strike. Never again, I tell you!!!

Saturday

Thank God the weekend is here. You don't know how much I have been longing for a morning where I can just laze around and not do much

The past week has been a withdrawal. I have been going to bed at 12 midnight on some nights instead of the usual 10.30pm. No physical activities at all, which left me lethargic all day this past week. However, it was important that my body get the rest it needed. I am eagerly waiting for a cycling expedition later this afternoon and also back to my usual healthy regime next week. Prior to the marathon last Sunday, I could see the laziness began to set in and I surely don't want that to happen.

pushing my limit...

It was about 24 hours ago when I was in pain from the waist down. The leg muscles were sore and feet were in pain. I could barely walk and bending my legs was an ordeal. Today was an improvement. Only the thighs are still sore. All these pains were a result of running my first ever marathon - 42.195km - on Sunday, 2 December 2007.

So, I did it! I never thought I could even run to begin with and now, a year since I started running regularly, I participated in my first marathon. It was very much a mental challenge. The first 20km was alright as I could maintain a momentum but after 30km, it was all in the mind. My feet were in pain and my leg muscles began to ache after 28km. On top of that, the heat of sun starts to get to you. Those were the challenges and I could not overcome it and was a bit disappointed with myself.

I checked the results today. Yesterday, the gun time indicated that I finished the race in 6 hours and 27 minutes but my chip time indicated that I crossed the finishing line in 6 hours and 22 minutes. It was about 1 hour and 20 minutes more than my target time i.e. 5 hours and 30 minutes. At this point, I am still stoked that I actually ran a marathon to even care about the time or my placing.(*) This being my first marathon, crossing the finish line is an accomplishment.

If you asked me on Sunday if I would run a marathon again, I would have said, 'No' what with the aches and pains. But my response from today is 'Yes, in a heartbeat!' I now know what to expect when running a marathon and I will definitely put in my best effort in training very hard for my next marathon.

Off course running a marathon is a very big deal for me and I have to let people know. Hee. Hee. So I sent text messages to friends about it. Here are the replies, which I received:

Noridah : Hi. Hope you had a good time at the Standard Chartered Marathon and improved your time. Rest Well.
(Off course Noridah thought I was running the 10km race like I did last year. I received her message before I sent out my text message but I appreciate the words of encouragement!)

Armand : Congrats! You are officially a marathoner. :-D

Andrea : Congratulations! Well done!

Ebrahim : That's amazing. Well done. That's a real achievement.

Dave : Good for you! I guess all the training paid off. Congratulations. Next time in under 6 hours.
(Now, that is a challenge, Dave!)

Liza : Congrats! Sang (our mutual Thai friend) said to come to Thailand now. She already book Thai massage for you!

Wan-Ling: Ran so much. No wonder traffic jam near my place. Because you slow lah. Ha. Ha. Ha. Congrats!

Kim Hong : That's great ! It is an achievement for you. Congrats! Rest & eat well for speedy recovery.
(Kim Hong was the one who encouraged me to sign up for the marathon and has been there with advise this past year. He, off course, is a seasoned marathoner. He completed his marathon in 3 hours and 9 minutes)

Sal : Very impressive! I'm sure there are more to come. London or New York one day eh?
(Hey! Never say never!)

Moh : Well done! Finishing it is an accomplishment. Try for your target again next year.
(He gives me stretch targets, which I always find it a challenge. Meeting the challenged target is another story. Ha. Ha.)

Polly : Well done my friend! I can't imagine how tired you are now. Morever, it was quite hot today.

Wendy : Congratulations! What an achievement. Take a good rest.

Amelia : In fact you wanted to complete it below 5 hours, right? It is not a bad result after all. Congrats for completing the race.

Rohani : Wow! Congrats! Hope you enjoyed it! Time for a good rest now. Take care.
(Enjoyed it? More like suffering it! Ha. Ha.)

Alex : Go and rest now. You earned it!!

Siew Yen : Wow! Congratulations for completing your first 42km race!

Nora : Oh wow! I am sure that's an accomplishment for you. Rest and pamper your legs silly now. Take care.

Jack : Have a good massage! And rest. You did well!

Kevin : Congratulations! Fantastic news! I'm glad you survived it! Sounded like a bit of an ordeal. Hopefully you've rested up, have a nice long bath to rest your weary legs. I hope you are taking a day off tomorrow. If not, I am sure you will be ok. All the best!!
(Kevin thought I was crazy to even attempt it since the day I told him that I am taking part in the marathon. He was just jealous but still encouraging nonetheless)

Rob : That is very good! I think that would have taken me 12 hours. Can you feet your legs again?

Kwai Fong : Give yourself a pat. Well done!

LET : Hope your legs are ok.

Now, with positive words like that, how can I not run another marathon?

* - Apparently, there were approximately 1400 female runners in the marathon category compared to the 10,000 male runners in the same category. I finished 888th place among the female runners.

a surprise admirer...

It is almost a month since I received the package of books from Cyrille, only to be made realised that there is a surprise in that package. The second paragraph in Cyrille's note made sense now:

un dessin de ton amoureuse secret
(a drawing from your secret admirer)

Well, the secret admirer is not so much a secret. The drawing is from Cyrille's little boy, Alexandre, who I had the pleasure of meeting in 2005. However, I failed to see it in the envelope when I received it because it was stuck to one side of the envelope.

I was supposed to look up the word 'dessin' after reading Cyrille’s note (what can I say? I am rubbish at French) but off course, I never got around to it until a few days ago when Cyrille asked me again because he was a little puzzled why I did not mention anything about it when I received the package. I quickly went to look for the envelope and found the drawing. Thank god I did not throw the envelope straight away after opening the package.

Here is the special drawing from my admirer:






























He knows that I like bright coloured dresses, it seems. Brilliant!

I have mentioned this before… In general, I am not well liked by children of all ages, let alone being given something like this from a kid. This is probably the first time, if memory serves, that I have ever received something from a kid. I am very touched. It almost made me cry. I never thought that he would still remember me since he is hundred miles away and I have only met him once a few years ago. This drawing will be treasured.

Merci Alexandre pour le dessin! Je l'aime beaucoup!

in pursuit of cheaper alternative?

I normally do not hesitate to purchasing something I like when it comes down to clothes or shoes. It can get a bit out of hand sometimes. Holding back has been always been a problem – buying clothes or speaking my mind for that matter.

However, last Friday, I saw this dress from the Kate Moss collection at Top Shop:

I love this dress. I think it is SOOOO me and have been thinking about it since I first laid my eyes on it. What made me hesitate was the price tag – SGD179. It will still cost more than SGD150 after utilizing my 10%discount card.

Last night, I was reading a blog, where the blogger saw the same dress and hesitated to buy. She finally bought it after it went on sale in the UK. After reading that, I went to the Top Shop online store and found that the dress is on sale for £15. After conversion, it would come round to SGD45. Now, that is the kind of price I will not mind paying instead of SGD179.

Then, I remembered that a colleague mentioned to me last week that she will be going for business trip to London in early December. I spoke with her this morning and she said she would not mind at all to look for the dress for me. Besides, with the price and that the trip is being paid for, she said that this is a small detour and that she plan to spend some time shopping while she is there. Now, this lady sure knows her priorities. She asked me to try the dress first to see which size fits well, which I did this evening after work and that made it so tempting to just buy it on the spot! I held back off course.

However, my colleague is not leaving till the week after next. I am not sure if the dress will still be available with the sale price by then. If not, I shall wait for the dress to go on sale here. If by sale time, my size is not available, I know that it is not meant to be for me to own this dress. We shall see. Buying a piece of clothing has never been so complicated like this before.

run like the wind...

Today, I bought my third pair of running shoes since July this year. None of the previous two shoes have satisfied me like the first running shoe I bought back in December 2006 when the addiction for running began. As much as I love that pair of Nike shoes, conversations with fellow enthusiasts showed that Nike is not a brand that runners would choose for running. Recommended brands are Asics and Adidas, as well as a small number recommending New Balance.

After enduring much discomfort and pain in the last 5 months with New Balance & Adidas, I went to the Running Lab at Funan Centre this evening to get some professional help for a pair of running shoes. After making observations of my bare feet, the sales person at the shop recommended me a couple of men’s running shoes. It seems like yours truly has quite big feet (long and wide) for a woman and there are no shoes in the women’s range that would fit me comfortably.

After trying both shoes, I decided to go with the Asics TN712. They are not exactly cool looking shoes like my Nike shoes or the Mizuno brand, which I tried with the Asics. However, I had to choose comfort over style, unlike when you buy your regular women’s shoes, where you choose style over comfort. :-P

I have to retire the two pairs of shoes previously bought for activities which do not require much of footwork. I still have the Nike shoes which I still wear it for my cycling sessions. They are not exactly cycling shoes but they serve the purpose for the moment.

I am looking forward to waking up tomorrow morning and go for a run with my brand new Asics TN712. Totally motivated now and hope that these pair will not let me down like the others have in recent months. I may not run like the wind, like the title of this entry has suggested but at least I will not be in discomfort during my runs.

snail mail and reads…

Since the emergence of e-mail in the 90's, you don't get much of the snail mail these days in your real mailbox. The only snail mail you'll get are bills and those stupid flyers from real estate agents, companies trying to sell their products and people offering tutoring services and what nots. But on a rare occasion, in between those bills and flyers, you'll find a postcard, a letter, an envelope with a greeting card or a small package. Those really put a smile on my face! What really put a smile on my face would be receiving a package. It may not be a surprise package but still.

Last Saturday, I received a package containing 3 small books. They were from Cyrille. Two of the books are bilingual i.e. a page in English and the facing page in French. I have asked Cyrille for a favour a few weeks ago to buy for me a bilingual book. These sorts of books are for the Frenchs learning English but I think it will also work for me to read in French with the English translation for me to refer to on the facing page. I have tried reading a French book, with difficulty before as I had to refer to the dictionary quite a lot. I was not aware about this bilingual book until Pierre's friend, Olivier, told me about it. I have tried searching for one at the local bookstores but I have yet to find one. So, I asked Cyrille for a small favour.

What I didn’t expect was 3 books (I would have been happy with one). Two of which are bilingual and Cyrille threw in the package an English book called The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury. It is a science fiction book, which I have never actually read one before, so this will be a first ever in my entire life (Science fiction isn’t really my cup of tea but there’s always the first time for everything).

At the moment, I am at the tail end of reading Freakonomics. I should be done with that soon but next in line will be Dan Brown’s Angels and Demons. I know I said that I will not read another Dan Brown after The Da Vinci Code but Kevin bought for me Angels and Demons after a literary discussion while he was here in August. He said that it is the best after Da Vinci Code. So, that book is in the queue and I will see if the read backs his views on it. Hence, the three books from Cyrille will be read after I am done with Dan Brown's. I have been quite good with the reading in recent months – except that my magazines are now taking a backseat… they're piling up on the bedroom floor, waiting to be read. Well, at least my spare time is now occupied with things to do.

Merci encore, Cyrille pour les livres! Je te dirais s'il sont bons!

4 is STILL the magic number…

It was toss between a good 7 hours sleep or lack of it to watch Man United versus Middlesborough LIVE on the tele at 10pm on Saturday night. Since I was tossing like a salad in bed (my friend, Aminah, likes to say that when she has trouble sleeping at night), the LIVE match on the tele won. It was totally worth it as Man United defeated Boro with 4 goals. From 1-0 specialist from the beginning of the season to scoring 4 goals in 4 successive matches made yours truly quite thrilled that evening. However, I paid the price for watching the match, over turning to bed early as I was supposed to.

this is the REAL run!

3 and half hours after the football match on the tele ended, my Sunday began – a very early start as I dragged myself out of bed and make my way to a race – the Real Run, organised by the Home Team and New Balance. It is called Real Run for a reason. I ran 12km on road, 1km on sand, 1km on trail and 1km on a runway (well, not an actual runway but sort of like an emergency runway) and all that under the hot sun. The race started at almost 8am and by 9am, the heat of the sun was unbearable. With the lack of sleep, my entire body was about to give up but my mind kept pushing me to go. I try with my might to finish the race under two hours, overwriting my goal prior to the race to finish it in 1.5 hours. As I approach the last 100 metres, I saw the timer ticket at 1 hour and 58 minutes. I sprinted to the finishing line and I overtook approximately 10 other runners. That was the fastest I ran in the entire distance. I checked my results today. I finished at number 378 of 533 women runners with a time of 1 hour & 59 minutes. I am beginning to think that I may have lost my touch at this running thing. However, that doesn’t mean that I am giving up.

Today at work, my brain may have been functioning at less than 40%. My colleague was not impressed at how slow I reacted to his jokes, comments and other things that he said. It all didn’t come together for me in my head. Although my body was energized yesterday after the race and went on to spend the remaining of Sunday with some friends, mentally, I was not functioning very well with the lack of sleep. It carried over to this Monday morning, despite the 8 hours of sleep.

I am looking forward to this weekend where I can catch up on some rest since I have not had a decent rest for the last couple of weekends. Also, the biggest game of the season so far is on this Saturday – The top 2 teams in the English Premier League meet in a clash at the Emirates Stadium. Yes, Arsenal versus Manchester United! I will be so ready to be glued in front of the tele!

a slow & late start...

The 2007/08 began in August and somehow, I have not been following with the live matches, news, etc being a football fanatic that I am. Ok, maybe I am not exactly a fanatic then. What can I say? However, I have some views on what’s going in the English Premier League from the catch-up I had so far.

Last weekend, Man Utd finally wrote off their status given by the media as the one-zero specialists, when they put 4 pass through Wigan's goal. It was getting depressing seeing their 7 out of 9 league results ended in 1-0 or goalless draw, when they usually have firing power from all over the park. So, it was very pleasing to see the good results over the weekend against Wigan. Just when we thought the magic have just started, the league matches are taking a break this weekend for the Euro 2008 qualifiers. I wonder with this brief interruption would dampened the sparks that is beginning to sparkle last weekend. I will be in a bit of withdrawal since the next league match will be on the wee hours of Sunday morning of 21 Oct 2007.

So, the special one is gone from Chelsea. I feel sorry for them really because, despite me disliking Mourinho, I think he is a good manager. You can’t deny the fact that what he did at Chelsea was a marvel. Also, it is interesting to see the league title being contended by more than just two clubs. Last season, Arsenal was not doing too well to challenge the title but I can see that they are really strong this season. If only Abramovich did not rock the boat at Chelsea, we could have had a very entertaining season, where the challenge for the English Premier League is concerned. And also, I like it when the special one would cause some controversy over his views of the matches, the rules, the referees when he was being interviewed. We are going to miss a bit of that from him. I think Manchester City may have a chance of staying in the top 5 but I have a feeling they may fizzle after Christmas.

It is going to be quite a season this one.

the way i read it...

The character of Stephen Barley in Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian, reminded me of John, while I was reading that book. John is Ger's brother, whom I met while in Shanghai with Kevin and Ger in August last year. I have imagined John as playing the character of Barley in that book.

The character of Stephen Barley was first introduced when the central character and her father visited Oxford. I don't know how John came into my mind when I read about Barley. I guess there were something about his background and how he is as a person that made me thought of him. John has youthful good looks (from my point of view. Some of you girls may beg to differ) and it was hard to believe that he was 29 when I met him. Some people are just lucky to be born with youthful genes. Prior to moving to China, John was working in some universities as a lecturer, I think, but he still look like he is a student. He has such a charm as well, which I bet would make any girl, tremble at their knees. There were times when he would flatter me giving me compliments on what I was wearing. He also would take my hand before we parted ways, and then gave a slight bow. On the night before we left Shanghai, he took my hand, bow and kissed it with such gallantry (sounds familiar?) before we parted ways. And this he did in front of his brother Ger and Kevin, who gave this wierd grin on seeing it. Off course, not receiving such treatment before, I would blush and giggled a little, like any lady would. At those instances, I felt like I was brought back to the era of Jane Austen.

Also, John is so eloquent. I just love the way he speaks. I found this video of him reading some lines from a notebook we found in Starbucks while we were visiting Hangzhou. The things that were written in there were crap but he made the words sounded so beautiful, like a poem. Ok, I am exaggerating a bit but honestly, I thought he read those words with such eloquence.



John was already engaged when I met him (not like it is going to make any difference if he is not because I still will not make any move on a man, no matter how much I like him). He married his fiancée (lucky bitch!) a few weeks after we left China. When I recently mentioned to Kevin about John and how I found him a real charmer, Kevin’s response to that was, "Well, he is not that charming after all since he did not even reply to your e-mail." Ouch! Oh well, I am discounting all that and remember only the good moments. You take what you can get these days.

I realised that I have been quite mushy about these sort of things lately. It must be hormonal. So there!

a long read..

I admit that I usually take a while to finish a book. Perhaps I have attention deficit disorder (A.D.D.) when it comes to reading - I just could not just sit there for a few hours and read chapters from a book, no matter how intriguing it is. I somehow can put it down and do something else. Take Da Vinci Code for example, it is a very good book, a page-turner. Still it took me two weeks to finish it - while some of my friends took between one to three days to finish it (some even sacrificed sleep) and they don't understand how I can put the book down. I just can't explain it. However, let me tell you, that was not the longest time I took to finish reading a book.

I just finished reading 'The Historian' by Elizabeth Kostova the other day - another intriguing book and quite the page-turner. LET told me about this book in 2005 and lent it to me. The story is about the discovery of Dracula and vampirism, with an excellent journey into Central and Eastern Europe through the chapters. I have never been too keen on reading such subject matter, so it took me a while to even pick up the book and read it. I didn't know if it would capture my imagination. I didn't start reading it until towards the end of 2005 but I would only read several pages of the book and after putting it down, I would not touch it for weeks. Then, LET asked if I was done with it because she has a friend who wants to read it. I returned it to her after having read only 5 of the 79 chapters. In December 2006, I decided to buy the book. I began reading it again from the beginning and the same routine happened. Read a few chapters, put it down and the book would not be touched for weeks, while I read other books which I was more interested in.

Then end August 2007 came. I resolved to focus and read this book. The earlier chapters I have read have detailed descriptions I did not find boring. What made me put the book down, I do not understand till now. I picked up where I left off but I did not finish reading it within days. I began reading it on my travel to work and back home and I spent an hour on weeknights to read the book. End of September now and I FINALLY done reading it.

Captivating, I must say. I have never liked reading horror, thrillers or any scary stories but I forced myself to read this. Towards the last few chapters, it became scary and I have never read a book and have a hair-raising experience until this book. I get shocked when a shadow passed while reading those scary chapters. There were also times when I wished I had not reached my destination when I was reading it on the public transport or when it is time for me to put down the book because it is bedtime. I LOVE this book.

Off course, it was not always scary throughout the book. Elizabeth Kostova provided some relief throughout the book. One of them was through the eyes of the 16-year old central character and the blossoming of her romance with one of the supporting characters, Stephen Barley. Through Kostova's description of the character's feelings, I could imagine how she fell for Barley and sent me reading on for more of those moments where her feelings for Barley were expressed. I have to share those few moments, which are my favourites:

"The bright day and the noisy, speeding cars were more jarring than ever after the hush of the library. I had them to thank, however, for a sudden gift: as we hurried across the traffic, Stephen took my hand, pulling me along to safety. He might have been someone's peremptory big brother, I thought, but the touch of that dry, warm palm sent a tingling signal into mine, which glowed there after he'd dropped my hand. I felt sure, stealing glances at his cheerful, unchanged profile, that the message had registered in only one direction. But it was enough, for me, to have received it."

"I regretted deceiving kind, boring Mrs Clay and I regretted even more parting from Barley, who had kissed my hand with sudden gallantry on the front step and given me one of this chocolate bars, although I'd reminded him that I could buy Dutch treats I wanted. I thought I might write him a letter when all this trouble had ended - but that far ahead, I could not see."

"Barley was angry. I couldn't blame him, but this was a most inconvenient turn of events for me, and I was a little mad, too. It made me all the angrier that my first twinge of annoyance was followed by a secret swelling of relief; I hadn't realized before seeing him how thoroughly alone I'd felt on that train, headed toward the unknown, headed perhaps toward the larger loneliness of losing him forever. Barley had been a stranger to me only a few days before, and now his face was my vision of familiarity."

"It struck me that I'd never before seen him look serious - only humorous or, briefly annoyed. His eyes, blue as chips of sky, narrowed further."

Those words sent me on to cloud nine. Ok, I confess - I am such a sucker for this sort of thing.

So, it took me on and off year and a serious 4 and half weeks to finish reading this book but I did it! An excellent read, even for someone like me who not particularly fond of thriller. It has totally changed my perspective now. Thanks, LET!

spontaneity..

It is not easy trying to get 5 or more people together, especially when you plan in advance. Forget about 5 people, sometimes even with 3 people it can be difficult. You exchanged several texts and e-mails but at the end of the day, only one or two of the many can make it. It is much easier to just make a couple of phone calls or pings over instant messaging at the last minute and voila, you have an instant gathering of 7 people at the very last minute – no muss, no fuss.

It was an hour before lunch time yesterday, when I received a message on MSN instant messaging from Gabriel, a former colleague, asking if I was free to meet for lunch. The next thing I knew, I was on a taxi from my office in the west to Little India in the city for an Indian lunch with 6 of my former colleagues. Apart from some weight gain and loss among us, it is like nothing's changed. The spirit is still there, like we are still working together in the same organisation. Despite the lunch lasting only an hour, you could sense that each of us was enjoying the company. The good food was secondary. Much laughter was had and it is a good stress reliever (not that I was stressed out at work or anything but it was nice to laugh a lot in a space of an hour).

We all hoped that we could meet up like this again but we decided not to plan it and leave it spontaneous like we did yesterday. I can imagine Gabriel saying it in a very Singaporean way when arranging for a spontaneous meeting: "Eh, you can or not? Can? Ok. I can. He can. She can. Ok. We meet. Come, let's go!"

the seventh day...

Yesterday was my seventh working day at this new job. I do not have any opinions, views or any feelings about being here for the last week or so.

Yesterday was also the anniversary of 911 but honestly, who gives a damn anymore? I know I don't. So yes, I spent a minute in silence at Old Trafford with 70,000 other fans in 2002 during the first anniversary but it is now time to move on. I am sorry that people had died but the mourning period is way over.

Ok, so this is a contradictary to my entry on Princess Diana, where I am remembering her and all. Goes to show that I don't care much about what's going in the Land of the Free - it is not so much the land of the free anymore now, innit?

i ran again and then dashed...

This morning, 7000 women gathered at the Esplanade to participate in the second annual Shape Run. Can you imagine the amount of raging hormones (probably a gazillion) and the number of bitches there? Abundance!

However, yours truly was not really bothered with what was going on around her. I was eager to get the race over and done with. There was only one reason why: I needed to use the toilet with just minutes left before the start of the race but I could not find a toilet nearby and the mobile public toilets around the start line have very long queues. I know it is not good for your bladder to hold on the call of nature. I thought I had 'disposed' of what I needed to before the race. I was wrong. I get this way in every race I have participated. I don’t know why but it is super annoying! So, I ran at my own pace, ignoring other runners around me. I was so uncomfortable throughout the race and I didn’t think about trying to improve my time from the previous 10km race. I just ran and ran and crossed the finish line.

After crossing the finish line, I had a quick check on the official time at the finish line. I finished it in 1 hour and 6 minutes. An improvement of 5 minutes or so from the Passion Run I participated in July. However, there was no time to gloat as I dashed all the way to toilet.

It was after answering the call of nature that I had time to think about my timing. Not bad. I must thank my friend, Kim Hong, who recently had been encouraging me to change my training regime a bit in order to improve my speed when running/jogging. I took his advice and for the past couple of weeks, I have increased my running sessions from twice a week to 3 times a week. During the week, I would run 5 kilometeres and try to finish it in less than 30 minutes where possible. Weekends would be more of long distance running or other cardio activities like swimming or cycling.

I know five minutes difference is not a lot to some of us. But to me, it is a remarkable improvement since I would usually finish my 10km run between 1 hour 10 minutes and 1 hour and 20 minutes. Perhaps the need to dash to the toilet had made me run a little faster. It is strange that how I can do better when I don’t think about it. I hope to finish my next 10km race in an hour or less. But I will not be thinking much about it though. I will just do my best - perhaps another need to make a mad dash to toilet will help to improve the time. :-D

diana remembered...

It has been ten years since her untimely death but she will always be remembered.

serendipity...

31 July 2007
Received a new job offer

1 August 2007
Signed the papers for my new job

2 August 2007
Resigned from current job

4 to 14 August 2007
ON HOLIDAY (10 days!)

15 to 29 August 2007
Last days at current job (11 working days of not doing too much!)

26 August 2007
My first ever 21km race

30 and 31 August 2007
On leave – 2 days leave balance to clear (girly lunches and retail therapies were the order of these 2 days)

It was a sweet, sweet month! The order of things that happened this month fell into places so perfectly! How fabulous was that? I love you August 2007!!! Come September, it will be another new beginning in my work life. I am not too excited about it - I know myself - nothing good will come out of anything when I get too excited. It is important to remain calm with the challenges coming my way and lower my expectations.

Three months before we hit December (my favourite month!) and I am hoping for a smooth sailing from now till the end of the year.

i ran further...

This morning, I participated in my first half marathon (21km) race - The Singapore Bay Run/Army Half Marathon. Based on my watch, I completed the race in 2 hours and 45 minutes - 15 minutes more than my targeted time of 2 hours and 30 minutes. Well, it didn't matter because my objective in taking part in races this year is to finish them. Timing is not so important at this point - well, I say that now because I did not finish in the time I wanted to. Nevertheless, I am quite happy that I have taken part and completed it.

It was not that hot this morning but I was struggling a bit after the sunrise. I could not psyched myself to open my stride and run faster. I finished all the drinks on my fuel belt by the 18km. I usually get motivated with music during my runs but the battery on my iPod went flat at the 16km mark. Hence, the last 5 km was a drag without music! Plus, I am not sure why but my feet was hurting almost throughout the run. That was the other part of the struggle. When will my race not be a struggle??

The one thing that I hate when running in these races is running with like thousands other participants, sweaty participants. I hate it when I get I get knocked by a stranger's sweaty arms. Euuughh... I cringe each time that happens and that happened a few times today. I prefer running my own race i.e. running on my own on regular days but sometimes you have to run races in order to have some kind of a goal.

I am eagerly waiting for the official time from the champion chip. I don't think it will be much less than the time I have mentioned but still, sometimes that few minutes can make a whole lot of difference.

compact discs...

The hunt for more heart pumping songs continued yesterday. It has been a while since I went out to buy music CDs - not a lot of newly released albums that have caught my listening ear. However, after a recent obsession with U2 in the last couple of weeks, I decided to go out to buy one of their compilation albums:

U2 - The Best of 1990-2000
There are some tracks in there that I have not heard before and it is worthwhile to add to my U2 collection. Funny, I just recalled that back in the early 90's, my dad bought me U2's Achtung Baby. How cool was that?

I browsed further in the CD shop and decided to get:

Maroon 5 - Songs About Jane
I have always to get this album after having heard to their famous first single, This Love but I kept holding back. I don't know why but now I bought it.

Maroon 5 - It Won't Be Soon Before Long
I also grabbed their new album, which I am listening to right now. Up to track 3 now and I already love this album.

I thought the purchase of CD ended there but received a call from LET before hopping on a train to go home last evening. Drinks!!! After a round of beer, a good chicken kebab with mint sauce and great conversation, we dropped by another CD shop before heading home. LET wanted to buy a CD but yours truly ended up buying 2 more CDs at a bargain:

Take That - Beautiful World
I have been meaning to get this and now finally get around to it. I have a soft spot for Take That. Remember that I only discovered them towards the time when they were about to break up. How bad is that?? With all the heavily guitar strumming on the other albums, I think Take That tracks would ease the ear at the end.

Fall Out Boy - Infinity On High
After hearing and watching their track called 'Thanks For The Memories', which have kept me company during my runs, I had to get their album – a big risk because I don't normally buy an album unless I like 3 or more songs and have read a couple of reviews. Had a quick listen before Maroon 5 and I think I may have a few more tracks to add to my running playlist.

I am at Track 7 of Maroon 5's It Won’t Be Soon Before Long and there is no let-up. I will be musically entertained this weekend, like any other weekend but with new songs this time. These CDs are good buys. Very excited to listen to each and every one of the songs - dancing around in my room and doing the air guitar every now and then when the a lead guitar solos sufaces in any of the songs in these albums.

rock on - part II

It is not often that you actually come across a good live band performing at the clubs, pubs, bars and cafés (ok, maybe not cafes but I just like to end the list of joints with the word, cafe. So French!). During my recent trip to Kuala Lumpur and Phuket, there were a really bad band, a fairly decent and a great one.

The bad one was one that we saw in Kuala Lumpur. I think they are wannabes. We were quite happy with the music which the deejay was spinning - a combination of retro and latest music (of which Kevin was more into the retro ones). Then the band came on and I think that was the reason that made us left the bar. They totally destroyed Usher and Alicia Keys' My Boo. I think they tried too hard to be cool but unfortunately, their diction was quite bad and I could barely hear the words they were singing. I hope they didn't quit their day jobs.

The fairly decent one is this band who was performing at an Irish Pub in Patong, Phuket - probably one of the few decent joints to have drinks at. As I've said, the band is fairly decent - so their performances were soon forgotten after each song ended. I could only recall this French guy, who is not a member of the band, who went up to sing the French version of Frank Sinatra's My Way i.e. Comme d'Habitude. He did a fine job and I just have to say that he was cute too (What is the deal with me and cute French men?) Probably why I remembered this moment.

The most outstanding one is the resident band at Hard Rock Cafe in Kuala Lumpur. They are from the Philippines and they were fabulous! That Monday night when we saw them perform was their very first set of their 6-month long gig at Hard Rock. They started slow but towards the middle, I began to dig them. There were a couple of performances that stuck in my mind up till now. One was the lead female singer did Ashlee Simpson's Pieces of Me. I don't like Ashlee Simpson - I think she sings from her nose - but the version done by this Filipino singer was better than the original version. The other standout performance was when they sang U2's Pride (In the name of love). This is a classic U2 and the band did it very well. Bravo, you guys! I can vividly remember their performances in my head. It is such a shame that I don't remember the band's name but no matter. I think I might just travel up north again between now and the end of the year to see them perform again.

Because of this band, I am now constantly listening to Pieces of Me and all of U2's music from all the way back to 1980s. What is it about the strumming of the lead guitar that make you want to do the air-guitar? U2's music, they are timeless classics. Pride is from 1984 still sounds very current now. U2's lyrics are profound too. Their songs seem to be written about a political and social situation or a tribute to someone:

Pride was written about Martin Luther King Jr.
New Year's Day was inspired by Polish Solidarity Movement.
Sunday Bloody Sunday is about the troubles in Northern Ireland in 1972 and 1920.
Where The Streets Have No Name was inspired by the social situation in Belfast in the 1980's.
Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own was written by Bono as a tribute to his father who died in 2001.
Crumbs From Your Table is about relief efforts in Africa.

U2 has been around for over 20 years now and they still have a strong following. They are not sleazy like Rolling Stones, which I don't quite like. They are also actively involve in addressing issues concerning poverty, disease, and social injustice, be it with with other musicians, artists, celebrities, and politicians. When you buy their album, you know that part of that purchase, no matter how small, goes to a good cause.

I have found some untapped U2 tracks from my collection which are perfect for my runs - The Edge' lead guitar solo in those tracks just make me run faster and also I just want to turn the volume on my speakers at home to full blast!! I am looking forward for U2 to release their next album and hope there will be more tracks with great lead guitar solos by the Edge.

the heat is on...

Being under the hot sun by beach, playing with the waves or sit on a deck chair, sipping cocktails is great. But not when you have to be on your feet to run the miles. Which was what I did this morning - I went for a charity run - Hope Run, organized by Youth for Causes at East Coast Park.

It was a 6km but under the heat of the sun, it seems like the 'longest' run ever. And I thought the Passion run in July was a huge battle with the heat but this August heat took a bit of a toll on me. Still, I run the distance - I was being anal, trying to make up for the runs I have missed while I was away a couple of weeks ago. Also, I have a couple of races coming up that I need to train for and this was a good opportunity - treat it like training. My plan to run faster had to be cancelled - fear that I might collapse from heat. Weak! What made the run seemed even longer was that there was no marking to indicate that you have reached the 3km mark and make a turn to the finish point. I heard quite a few remarks from some of the participants about how the event was badly organised but I didn't care that much. My objective was treating this run as training - so I just ran.

Like battling the heat on your feet wasn't enough, yours truly rented a bike and cycle about 15km, after a quick break from the run. I am barking mad, I tell you!! But the cycle was less daunting.

After a Subway sandwich for lunch and I treated myself with two big cookies - oatmeal raisin and double chocolate chip - I made my way home. It began pouring when I got home and the two-hour 'nap' this afternoon was definitely a much-needed one to put me on the road to recovery for bloody work tomorrow.

I had quite a full weekend, just how I like it these days.

wednesday bloody workday...

Don't be alarmed with the title of this entry. Just that I was listening to U2's Sunday Bloody Sunday on the way home from work this evening. The song is about the bloody massacre in Northern Ireland in 1972, I think. However, this title is about my return to work on a Wednesday after my weeklong holiday and the word 'bloody' is not referring to the real blood but more of intensifying my expression of annoyance that it is a workday. Not that I hate my job but the thought of going to work after being away is such a drag.

Anyway, today is the day where my normal routine resumed. Woke up at 5am this morning for my regular runs. The last time I ran was last Tuesday, while on holiday. This morning's run was rather difficult. I cannot believe that after a week's break, it could be this daunting. Nevertheless, I pushed myself to run the miles.

Surprisingly, work was rather peaceful - it helps when your manager sits on a different floor and prefers to communicate with you over e-mail than the phone and internal messenger. Suits me just fine. I was just a bit annoyed with one e-mail - I hate it when people tell me step by step how I should do my work and this e-mail did just that. But I let it go. No point dwelling over one silly e-mail. I rather focus my energy on something more worthwhile like where am I going to go for my next holiday.

Being brown like a toast was totally worth it what with the compliments I received about how great my tanned skin is. Honestly, I have never had a great tan. In the past, any exposure under the sun would led to sun burn and I would suffer the humiliation of dry and peeling skin for at least a week followed by a week of patchy skin before the skin goes back to normal. Well, I guess now I may have learned how to manage the situation under the sun in getting that nice, if not fabulous, tan. Hard work, I tell you but the admiration that I get, priceless!

Two more days and it is the weekend. If only every work week is short like this.

a sun-kissed week...

Kevin made his return to Singapore soil after having left this small island 10 years ago. Less than 24 hours after his arrival, he was whisked off up north to the city of Kuala Lumpur for a couple of days followed by a good few days in sunny Phuket.

Kuala Lumpur
> Water rides at Sunway Lagoon - checked
> Climb up the Petronas Tower - unchecked
> Climb up the KL Tower - unchecked

Yeah, so we didn't do much but hey, we were only there for 2 days. There is no way that we are going to crawl out of bed early just to get the 800 limited tickets to go up Petronas Tower which are normally distributed at 8.30am. KL Tower was also cancelled - hazy conditions. Doubtful that we will get to see a good view.

Still, I think we had some productive time at Sunway and using the facilities at the hotel the morning before we got on our Phuket-bound flight. Also, I truly enjoyed the music played by this Filipino band at Hard Rock Cafe, while sipping my Sex on the beach cocktail. The band was by far the best band we've seen on this trip.

Phuket
> Island hopping - checked
> Much time under the sun and by the beach - checked
> Visit National Park in Surat Thani where we had a ride on an elephant I named Elly and went on a canoe ride - checked
> Hang out at Patong on a couple of evenings for people watching - checked
> Simon Cabaret Show where we saw the lady boys expressing themselves without the use of their actual voice chords - checked
> Going to A Go-Go Bar - unchecked

Our arrival in Phuket was greeted with wacky weather. Well, the southwest monsoon was hitting the region. However, the weather improved within a couple of days and the time spent under the sun was superb! The beach is just across the road from the hotel at Karon Beach. The idea of spending time in the sun at Patong Beach was scrapped off - that place is so in your face and chaotic. Why go there when the beach at our hotel was so serene - it was like being on your own private beach. But we did check the nightlife at Patong Beach a couple of nights - it had to be done and checked off my list of things to see.

The lady boys at the Simon Cabaret Show made me feel so insecure about my womanhood but after having heard them speak, I am insecure no more. I like Kevin's definition of the lady boys - "They are distinguished by titties that don't move and their voice box. Other than that, they are indistinguishable."

We cancelled the walk into the A Go-Go bar. I am not sure how to describe what can be seen at the Go-Go bar but let's just say it would be too gory for me. Aaaahhh, the 'culture' that I have missed.

Off course, on top of the above activities at the two destinations, there were a lot of consumption of good food, sipping of cocktails and some good local and the occasional imported beers as well as some good live music. We also managed to squeeze in some time for some fitness activities.. well, I think Kevin did more of the healthy activities than I did. On the last day in Phuket, we had a little pampering at the spa, followed by a very late breakfast. Spent the last few hours on the beach before setting off to the airport.

All in all, another fabulous holiday for yours truly. I am all toasted like a brown bread but hey, you don't go for a beach holiday and stay away from the sun. I was a little depressed a couple of days after returning but I am fine now. However, I have a feeling that it may set in again when I go back to work tomorrow. I get this way ALL the time after a holiday but don't we all?

I am happy to see Kevin back to these parts. Took him a while to come back to Singapore now, did he? Thank you for the lovely time, Kevin! Hope to see you again in these parts before long.

As usual, photos are in the process of being edited. It should be up real soon, I hope.

my own race...

I always look forward to weekends but I have never been so glad that this past week was over. It has been a while since work has been this crazy. Gone are the days when I was able to go out for a tea break in the afternoon. Now, my movements outside of the office was limited to just lunch time. Honestly, I get quite stressed out at the office these days. But thankfully, I have been able to deal with stress well and to leave all that stress behind when I leave the office. I am amazed that I can actually do that now. I have become totally heartless about work these days. Yes, I vent sometimes to one of my colleagues and over a few drinks with my friends after work but other than that, I hardly think about it. There is more to life than just work - I have other things to think about ... like my running.

On Saturday morning, despite the lack of sleep this past week, I woke up at 5am with my goal to run 20km for the first time since I started running (or jogging sometimes) eight months ago. Geared up with my Nike Fit Dry running outfit, my fuel belt and my iPod, complete with a play list containing heart-pumping music to get me going, I was eager to run the distance. I set off at 5.35am. We have not seen the sun on the island for days now but the condition yesterday was perfect for my first 20km run - it was a very cool morning. I was not even worried if it was going to rain. If it had been hot, I wouldn't mind it at all - it would have been more of a challenge. As usual, the first 15 minutes were daunting but once I broke my first sweat, I was in a trance and I ran and ran. The next thing I know, I was nearing the end of my route.

I completed the route in 2 hours and 30 minutes. Not bad I thought, considering that when I ran 17km previously, I completed the route in 2 hours and 15 minutes. After a cold shower, a hearty breakfast and watched some tele, I took an hour's nap to catch up on the sleep I've lost this past week. By the time lunchtime was over, I was full of energy and spent the entire afternoon doing things that I have neglected this last couple of weeks. And today, after a good night's sleep, I feel really good. I love this feeling - I think I am addicted to it!

365 days later....

This week marks my first year in this job. I could not believe that I lasted a year in this place, what with the ups and downs… well, mostly downs, considering the frustrations I face here almost at a regular basis. That is why I could not believe that I lasted this long. Shows you that I have persevered and my tolerance level has gone up. Thank you to the years of experience working with the most prestigious MNCs and the less than perfect organisations. The two extremes have helped me a lot.

What surprises me this morning (after that ovation points I received last month) was when I received an automated e-mail signed off by the Senior VP in the States, thanking me for the year of service. Now, that's a first! In all my working life, I have never received this sort acknowledgement for your anniversary with the company after just a year. Normally, you would get an acknowledgement after 3 or 5 years and longer. I know it is only an automated e-mail but the words lay out in there, makes you feel like you belong and that you have contributed so much (even though you know the opposite is true):

"Today, you achieved a great accomplishment in your career - 1 year of dedicated service to this company.

Your performance throughout the last year has been instrumental to accomplishing our vision of becoming the service provider for the enterprises worldwide.

I appreciate your contribution to our business and I am proud of your dedication and hard work. You may print a certificate by clicking Years of Service Certificate. Thank you for your service."

It is funny that the word career was used. I have a thing about that word when it comes down to my job - it not anywhere near my work life vocabulary. I read those words and thought that they were so fake. Yet, I feel appreciated knowing that this organisation takes effort to do this to every employee even though they don’t even know who you are. So, I accepted this e-mail with a little bit of pride - just a teeny weeny bit, ok? Also, I think it is time to have a chat with the boss to see if there is a possibility of, you know, $$ increase.

I was at the pantry this morning when a colleague walked in. Somehow we got to talking about how long we’ve been here and found that we joined in the same month. So we decided to celebrate – we are going for a nice lunch tomorrow and I am sure there will be some moments of us bitching about this place. Ha ha. Oh well, that is what work life is about. There is always something negative to say about your organization. When you go on a day with your job without a single complain, now that would be a day when I sit frozen in the office.

something about this song...

This is song about infidelity. It reminded me of another song about infidelity - Atlantic Starr's Secret Lovers. Ok, so despite the theme of the song, something about this song that makes me want to listen to it over and over again. This is a song that you would put in your playlist of slow tunes for the late night, winding down with a glass of wine and stare out the window. Hhhhmmm...

i ran - the stats...

The official results are in!
For the Passion Run which I have participated last Sunday, that is.

I finished at 303rd place out of 608 other runners in the Women's Open Category.

I reached the 5km mark in 34 minutes and 43 seconds.

I crossed the finish line in 1 hour, 11 minutes and 54 seconds.

In my last competitive race, I crossed the finish line in 1 hour, 28 minutes and 44 seconds. I have made an improvement of 17 minutes and 10 seconds from 7 months ago.

Still, I am an average runner but hey, at least I crossed the finish line in good shape. Here's to better results in my next competitive race!

i ran...

Early this morning, I ran my first competitive run of 2007 - the Saucony 100 Plus Passion Run 2007 at East Coast. This is also my first competitive run since participating in the 10k run during the Standard Chartered Marathon in December last year. And man, the heat was on...literally!

The sun was shining and the weather was beautiful at the beach this morning. However, yours truly seems to be vampire-like when it comes down to running. I am so used to running at dawn and be done before the temperature heats up. So, the sun and the heat was not something I am used to when running this morning, where the start time was at 8am (my usual running hour is 5.30am). I was a little unprepared in facing the run in the sun and was at some point, became dehydrated.

It was a minor setback. I gave my best and wanted to finish this run without stopping to walk (I stopped to walk quite a bit last December). I also gave myself a target to finish this race in an hour. So, I finished the run without stopping but based on my watch, I finished the run in 1 hour and 12 minutes. It was about 17 minutes faster than the 10k run in 2006, but we will have also to wait for the official result from my running chip for my actual finishing time. I am a little disappointed that I did not finish the run in an hour. Well, I guess I am an average runner, who just began running regularly 8 months ago. An improvement in time of 17 minutes from my previous competitive run is a good accomplishment for a novice runner. A seasoned runner can finish this 10k run in 40 minutes or less, which impresses me much! I still have a long way to go and also, taking my age into consideration.

All in all, it was a good run. Competitive runs like this give myself something to look forward to. It is also a good way to prevent me from giving up my regular running - my dose of cardiovascular exercise. I got myself a nice tan after the run and later, I rewarded myself with a healthy toasted Subway sandwich and two cookies - oatmeal raisin and chocolate chip - washed down with an extra cold barley drink. I am still determined to finish my next competitive run in an hour. Whether I achieved it or not, it will be another story. Lets see.

Happy Birthday, Liz!

the bitch switch is on - part 2 of infinity...

I hate it when the bitch switch is on and today is one of those days again. I began picking over the menial things.

Today, I got really fed up (although I was not showing it) when my colleagues decided to go somewhere nearby the office for a Subway sandwich. It was after 12pm and getting seats at this teeny weeny food court place was impossible, what this place being in the heart of the financial district. I have originally suggested going to this mega food court 5 to 7 minutes away, which we ended up going anyway since we couldn't get a table for 4 at the original lunch spot that was chosen.

Then, at this mega food court, after ordering my sandwich at Subway, I requested for it to be toasted. And they said that they could not toast my sandwich. They stated the reason but I know that even if I made a big deal out of it, my sandwich will not be toasted. I was hungry, I had to walk from one place to another for my sandwich and now, my sandwich was not going to be hot. I was upset, very upset that I was having a hot meal.

I could not believe that I am getting upset over all the small stuffs. I blame it all on the hormones. So there!

rock on!!

It is not often that you buy a CD album and enjoy all the songs in it that you listen to it over and over again. When that happens, that album will become one of your favourite albums of all time. The songs will sing in your head even when you are not listening to it and you will remember and talk about it 10, 20 years from now. An impact has been made. There wasn't an album released last year, which has this sort of impact on me. I found one this year. It is Daughtry - a band led by Chris Daughtry from American Idol fame.

I enjoyed Chris's performances in American Idol - I am not really a follower of the show but after seeing him sing in the earlier rounds, I had to watch his performance every week. He didn't win the coveted title but he has won hearts of rock fans all over, including myself. I had listened to his first single, "It’s not over" and thought it was a great song. LET, my drinking buddy, heard the song for the first time when we were in Krabi, Thailand earlier this year and fell in love with it. She went out to buy the album straightaway and started raving about it when I saw her again. She lent me the CD and now, I am hooked!

I have been listening to ALL the songs almost everyday since the last few weeks. It is indeed a very good album, a great rock album. I am not a hard-core rock fan but once in a while when an album like this comes along, it brings out the rocker chick in me. I don't know how to explain it but what is it about rock music that makes you want to head bang, do your air-guitar act and pretend to sing like a rocker with your imaginary microphone stand and leaning forward with it??

Chris Daughtry has a fantastic voice and all the tracks from this album are awesome - very catchy! Some of the fast tracks have kept me company during my morning jogs and they made me want to run faster - I think the strumming of the lead guitar in most of the trakcs just gets my adrenalin rushing. I hope that the band will come up with more great rock albums in the years to come and not disappear in obscurity after this kick-ass album. Daughtry, you rock!!

what have i done?

Eleven months since I moved on to this new job... I repeat, a job and not a career like most people like to think they have. The first three months I have done nothing but complained. Then, the complaints stopped as I decided to direct that energy somewhere else, somewhere positive. I began doing my job as I was hired to do. I admit that there have been frustrations along the way - annoying co-workers, the ass-holes that lurks out of nowhere, demanding clients, blur like sotong boss (that's the Singapore way of saying that someone is a bone-head), unbelievable processes, etc.. oh, I can just go on. However, despite all that, I mainly just vent for a few minutes with some colleagues here and as soon as I left the office, it is off my head. As far as I am concerned, I have been doing a decent job, if not stellar.

Then, this morning, I was surprised to receive an e-mail of commendation. I almost fell off my chair as I read the words penned out for my commendation:

"Congratulations! You have been awarded with the XXXXX Recognition Program. This has been awarded to you for the following reason:

Tuesday's Child dedication, hard work and perseverance have helped bring success to the XXXXXXXX Asia program. Often stepping outside her normal role to mend pre-sales processes or fulfill one of the many needs of our very demanding client, Tuesday's Child continues to be someone the entire team can count on to get the job done! Tuesday's Child has helped make the overall XXXXXXX program a very positive and rewarding experience and we appreciate her contribution and excellent work."

I am still scratching my head wondering what I have done to deserve this. When did I step out of my normal role to mend processes? When did I fulfil the many needs of our client? I didn't even realize that I have contributed in making it all positive and rewarding experience. I have been awarded commendations like these before in my previous job but I expected it because I know my performance was outstanding then… aherm - the ego has landed! But this one, it is very much a surprise.

Oh well, I guess I have to learn how to accept this with grace, which I often have problems with. Perhaps, in my eyes, what I thought was part of my job or my responsibility as a team member, has a different but positive impression by others.

What a nice way to end the week, where at one point, I was getting all lazy and unmotivated. The commendation comes with some monetary value …. A small one though but hey, at least it is better than nothing. I am all motivated now and on a Friday too, where we normally just sit back, relax and do minimal work. But today, I am going to give one percent more of the 50% that I normally put in. ;-) My ego is ready to soar again.

ella..ella..eh..eh..eh..

I am sure that most of us have come across a song which when we first listened to it, we were not too keen on it. However, after a few listens, the song becomes awfully catchy and it keeps playing in your head and you are either humming to it or sing the chorus over and over again all day long. I can't name some of those songs which have made me that way in the past but in the past few days there is this one particular song that have got me singing the lines over and over again and the lines don't even make any sense.

The song which I am talking about is Rihanna's Umbrella, which is currently on the Number 1 spot in both the UK & US charts. When I first heard it, I wasn't too impressed with it. What is the deal with the bit where she went "ella… ella.. eh.. eh.. eh.."? I spoke too soon. For the past few days, I have been going around with that tune in my head and sometimes, I started going "ella… ella.. eh.. eh.. eh..", unaware that I was doing it out loud.

I guess this is one of those songs which can be rather catchy and starts growing on you. Some of you may beg to differ but please don't mind me if I start going "ella.. ella.. eh.. eh.. eh.." in the next couple of weeks until another song supersede it in my head.

Here is the "ella.. ella.. eh.. eh.. eh.." video:

the bitch switch is on - part 1 of infinity...

As a woman, I am entitled to bitch, whenever I want, wherever I want. It is my right since I don't seem to have much control over the hormonal activities in me.

So, what is the deal with some of these old women with their outrageously bright coloured hair? I saw a few this morning with their mahogony, red, fushia and what have you hair colour! The 70's punk era called and they want their hair back! Are you tired of your black hair and you want something different? This is not like clothes where if you have too many black, you can add some splashes of colour. For the love of God, this is your hair! Good woman, grow up! What were you thinking? Obviously you did not! Outrageous hair colouring must be banned to people who are above 25.

man, i feel like a woman...

I have always tried to be independent when I was growing up, which drove my mother crazy. I don't know what it is but I do not like to have to rely on other people, unless I have absolutely no choice and usually, I make sure that the no-choice bit is not an option. Also, in recent years, I have found myself becoming more of a feminist. There are certain things that most women can't and won't do without a man's help like moving furniture or connecting the cables of a new DVD player to the tele, replacing the huge bottle at the water dispenser when it ran out or change the light bulb on the ceiling.

Being the feminist that I am, I get very determined to do all these without any assistance from the stronger sex (hell, I am strong too, mind you!) The hard disk on my PC went kaput; I'll buy a new one and replace it myself. I'd move my own furniture when needed and assemble one of those self-assembly furniture when I bought one. Hell, I'll try to figure out everything on my own.

Having grown up in Asia, where women are generally not treated equal - it may not be so obvious here in Singapore or other parts of Asia but such gender bias do exist around these parts of the world. Come on, I am sure other Asian women agree that generally the men here can be quite chauvinist. Do you ever see them let you board the train first? Or open the heavy door at the entrance to the shopping malls for you? Give you compliments when you are looking your best? I think most of you female readers would say the answer is 'No'. And it suits me just fine. I can open my own door. I can board the train after you, no problem (I just need to shove you if the train is full and you are not moving further into the train car). I don't need compliments from men too because Asian men (or Asians in general) are very not eloquent when it comes down giving compliments and who needs to hear a bad compliment? A simple "You look very nice today" would come out from their mouths as "Why you dress so nice today?" I keep telling myself that it was just direct translation from what they are used to speaking in their dialects and translating it to English just sounded like it was a crime to dress up nicely that day. I can dwell on that but I'll save that for another blog post since this could be a whole other topic on its own.

Back to the point about being independent…… I have been told I can be too independent and that is the sort of thing that drive men away. It seems like being a woman, I need to learn to let the man help me sometimes. It seems like a man likes their women to be dependent on them, a little less smarter, not to be too strong minded, etc. In other words, be a bit of bimbo. Frankly speaking, I cannot see myself being that way. If I do, then it would not be me. It is out of character for yours truly.

However, the other day, I decided to put the bimbotic act to the test. I was in the pantry at work to get some water. Unfortunately, the bottle at the water dispenser was empty. To replace the empty bottle wasn't hard cause the new water dispenser doesn't require the bottle to be lifted, you simply has slide the bottle to the tube and voila! I was about to slide the bottle to the dispenser when this 'hunk' of a man walked in and saw me trying to replace the bottle. I knew at the back of my head that he was going to offer to help and I told myself that I was going to let him. He did offer and I gladly accept. He was a visitor and has never seen a dispenser of this sort before. He asked for directions on how to replace it. In my head, I was saying "Man, I could have replace the bottle in less than 10 seconds but now, I have to explain and it will take a good minute!" However, I explained it to him with a smile on my face and we had a quick conversation before he left with a glass filled with water.

I had a mixed feeling about my experiment. Having a man helping me to do something which I could have done myself made me feel so incapable. On the other hand, I may have boosted his ego a bit and had a little chat with him, which was pleasant. I’d like to get experimenting again soon and perhaps this time in an environment outside of work. It will not come naturally for me but I think I will give it a try. Grins!

withdrawal mode...

I am in a total football withdrawal mode. Two Saturdays ago saw the final match of the English football season. The Spanish & Italian football season only ended over the weekend but it was wierd that there are no 'live' matches on Saturday and Sunday nights. I guess this is the life cycle that a football fan goes through each year during this time and worse, this will be the longest that we will go through without 'live' football matches considering there will be no major tournament in June i.e. either the World Cup or the European Championship. Oh well... We will be 'alive' again when August comes

Not only do I not have any 'live' football matches to look forward to on weekends, my friends changed plans this past weekend that throws my schedule out of whack. My Saturday mornings especially has to follow a certain routine- I alternate my Saturday mornings between a 10km jog followed by a 20km of cycling and a long distance run (generally aiming to reach 20km at some point). This routine will not be followed if it rains before I could start jogging but that rarely happens. Afternoons will be spent either taking a nap or meet up with friends. The evenings will be spent watching football.

This past Saturday however, not only was I suffering from football withdrawal but this was the first time that I did not wake up at my regular Saturday morning time. I did not go for my jog and my usual alternate cycling session was changed to Sunday afternoon to accomodate a friend's schedule. I don't know what it was but it just felt wierd. I know that it is good to live a litte and be spontaneous and not to follow a plan to the letter but when it comes down to my exercise, I just like to do all of that in the mornings and get it over and done with. Once the morning routine is not followed, my whole day is ruined - I don't feel energetic. I get a little moody (not too much like before. More like the energy has been sucked out of me). I lost my focus.... oh, you get my drift. Sunday mornings would be a sleep-in day and Sunday afternoons are spend not doing too much strenous stuffs considering that Monday is a workday. I like to spend Sunday afternoons drinking coffee with friends, a spot of shopping or just stay home and do some cleaning up.

Don't get me wrong. I did have a good weekend but not keeping up with my usual morning weekend routines bothered me. Now, it bothers me that this bothered me. I am supposed to be easy-going but now I have just become so anal. I don't know what it is - can't explain it. The worse part is I am so determined to get back into my normal weekend routine this coming week. Oh god! What have become of me? Pathetic!

no time for losers...

...cause we are the champions! Manchester United that is - The English Premier League Champion. This after Arsenal held Chelsea to a one all draw yesterday - Thank you Mr Wenger. So, the trophy is going back up north after 3 seasons of dominance by London clubs, with two matches left to be played before the end of the season. As a loyal Man U supporter, it is such a thrill to see your club win the league again after 3 years of a close fight to regain the title.

Apart from the FA Cup final on 19 May 2007, the next two matches will not be too much of an agony since the title has already been won by Man U. However, I expect them to be still as entertaining, what with the so-called showdown with Chelsea on Wednesday.

After 19 May, I will be in withdrawal.

the hunt for the red razr...

I am not one of those people who would pay big money i.e. not more than $500 for a desirable needs (oxymoron that last two words) like MP3 player, PDA, mobile phones, good sound systems, DVD players, etc. Well, maybe except for the tele I bought last year – that was almost a thousand dollars but that is like a few years of investment. Ha. Ha. For gadgets, I’d pay a decent figure and would normally wait for the 3rd or 4th generation model to be released before I’d buy a particular gadget. That, or I would wait for Mister D’s to grow tired of the gadgets that he has and buy it off him or borrow it for a trial before I decide if I want to own one. However, since Mister D and family are in Dubai, those “offers” don’t come in handy these days.

Anyway, I have been using a Nokia 6101 since September 2005. It was a flip phone – something I wasn’t too keen on before. But now, I am hooked. Since earlier this year, I have been looking out for a good deal on another phone. I was not a big fan of Motorola until the Razr V3 came out in the market. It was expensive when it was first released. I hung on to my good old Nokia. Early last year, I bought a used Motorola Razr V3 from a friend for a mere $50 – he had paid $1200 for it (including accessories). Ouch! It was the 1st generation Razr but I thought it was a small price to pay to see if I can get used to a Motorola phone, after all these years using Nokia (apart for a couple of years where I switched to a Siemens). My verdict – not a bad phone after all. The manoeuvring with the interface was not as difficult as I have heard from first time Motorola phone users.

So, in early April, I saw a good deal with my mobile provider – a Motorola V3 Red. Only $68 when I extend my contract. It was a small matter with the extension since I have been loyal to them since 2000. It is quite a bargain. Since it is a (red) product, I am also helping to eliminate Aids in Africa. I am not sure how much of my $68 will go to that cause but nonetheless, it is a small part to play… a very small, teeny weeny part. I doubt that Aids can be eliminated totally but at least something is being done about controlling the disease but that is another story.

I finally started using the phone this week – three weeks after I actually bought it. It took me a while to get the contact list sorted but I managed to sync my contact list from my Microsoft Outlook to my new V3. I have customised my ring tunes too. I have extracted tunes from some of my favourite songs to be my ring tunes. I have the likes of Kylie’s Love at First Sight (Remix), Mya’s My Love is Like… Wo (Remix), JT’s My Love and Nelly Furtado’s Promiscuous as my ring tunes. Okay, I know, it is a bit teeny bopper-ish but it beats having those dull ring tunes which came with the phone. A few people at work has complimented my ring tunes when they heard Mya’s My Love is Like .. Wo. They thought it was not too noisy and really cool. Hey, this phone is meant to be cool and so, it will be.

You may wonder why would I want to buy a Motorola V3 Red when I already have that 1st generation V3? Well, that one is being used for work – I was only given a corporate SIM card but not a corporate phone. Besides, the other V3 is in Silver – very serious looking phone. While this Red one appears much cooler. It will be my companion for the next couple of years. I have not thought about what my next phone will be. I just make full use of Red for now.