Suntec Food Republic

was at the Comex last nite with an objective to get a M2 card for my new phone.. it's quite funny that every yr when there's an I.T. fair like this i only buy memory cards...haha... ok only once i bought a printer... oh and some yrs ago i bought a digicam... that's abt it.... not a big spender on I.T. gadgets...

but we were looking ard.. thinking of getting a cheap cheap laptop for surfing at home.. since got wireless set up le... and not convenient for yb to be using the working desktop which is on the floor now.. but to think abt spending a thousand bucks... hmm.. sim tiah leh... anyway end up we got a 1GB m2, 1GB duo pro and a 160GB portable HDD on behalf of her colleague....

aiyah i side-tracked too much....

Dinner!!

it was a long queue for yb's wanton mee.... so took some pic to kill time...

hey it looked nicer in real life when i was queueing... perhaps i was starving...

this is too much i guess.... haha!!

the food is not bad... quite nice... a bit pricey for foodcourt standard though... but if u think u're having it in Crystal Jade (minus the crowd, minus the rubbish trolleys that keep coming by, minus the absence of waiters to refill ur drinks), it's still ok..

Wanton Mee + Char Siew Siew Yok Fan

Total damage: $10 (no drinks)

MRT @ Yishun

was awaiting for the north-bound train this morning then i realised something....
at ALL cabin doors.....

yar la there's hardly anyone alighting during the peak hours along the south-bound train... but still.... not nice leh....

oh a gd thing i took these very discreetly... nv get pushed down the track...

Army Half Marathon 2007

this is the very 1st time that i joined the Safra Army Half Marathon (AHM), aka Sheares' Bridge Run (SBR), and now more recently known as the Bay Run. Yar the offcial distance is 21km.. half marathon mah... but i doubt i can do that distance la... im no runner man... and haven't been training for this... only decided to do it the same week it was held... so only signed up for 12km! still!! it's the longest distance so far i've run/jog non-stop!! (i did 12km b4 actually... abt 6-7 yrs ago...when my army unit was training up for AHM 2000 i think.. i actually joined them for training with my torn ligament still un-repaired..)

i cant help but asked the wife to help me take this shot... i like the morning sky too... =)

joined by brother wyn in last min on this 12km route.. he signed up for 6km but ran 12km with me! kudos!!

one last shot b4 we go... serious abt our run u see..

oooh... wyn-ge looking for/at his sources of motivation for the run... and grinning...

the CBD skyline... im nv really a fan of urban landscape actually... but this is actually quite nice...

changes.. (warning - boring stuffs ahead)

i think i embrace changes relatively well...

other than the MAJOR change in my marital status, i was juz informed yesterday that members of my team at work will be absorbed into the 3 other teams. reason being that the company is not able to find a team leader for us in the past 2 yrs.. and the contract in singapore running out in abt 3 yrs, they finally decided that it's near impossible to find a leader for a team who's role no one can define definitely...

so all 3 of us will be splitted up into the 3 teams... my allocation came as a surprise to all of us because we were informed initially that we will go into 2 of the teams... the splitting up of the team wasn't a great deal to me... at least until now im quite satisfied with the arrangement.. some details... i'll be joining the team of DMPK (Drug Metabolism and PharmacoKinetics) and be involved in some of the in vivo work.. which isn't the main part of the excitement yet... the thing im more interested in is the exposure that i think i'll be getting in the coming times.. mass spec and stuffs... be joining seminars and perhaps courses and conferences.. all the perks of having a boss to take care of u! being in the team also means that i'll haf higher chance of learning the in vitro stuffs - analytical chemistry! who knows, i might haf a chance to cross over to chemistry industry and earning big bucks!! *dreamy*

for now i'll still be doing wad i've been doing... at least till the end of the yr till another guy from the other team gets trained up to support my ex-snr scientist... so till then.. we'll see wad happens bah!!

a new life...

was chatting with hp juz now and she mentioned having a fren who had countless suitors in her life finally decided to "settle down"... and her fiance, was a guy she was attached to for 2 mth... ya sure they know each other in the past... but still... 2 mth is waaay too short for a marriage...

was telling her that now that im a married man, coming together into a marriage isn't as simple as 2 ppl being compatible... i think it's more than juz loving each others' company, or being able to communicate with each other.. yb has juz moved into my house, i say that she might take some time to get used to staying here coz in any sense, it's still a different environment compared to her house.. but in actual fact i think she's adapting better than i thought.. i was the one who needed to get used to having another person TOTALLY in my life... no no im not saying that i need more space... juz that now i haf another person to take care of... someone to be responsible for...

as the Flying Dutchman puts it, "when u marry a person, u marry her/his family".. which is in a way very true.. i've yet to encounter any situation in my married life to give any anecdote... ok i'll juz talk abt the wedding itself.. there're sooo many things which we think we can do / do without... but in fact we cant.. u can say it's already such a modern age alrdy but still parents will prefer to follow certain traditions.. even if the parents r fine with certain new concepts we wan, wad might the more distant relatives think? will they be ok? will they speculate?

u may not believe it, but i think i've grown in the past 2 months.. i din know it myself.. when i was painting my room.. shopping for furniture.. having certain discussion with my in-laws.. having heated arguments.... making decisions... i think i've aged as well... now that the bz time is over... i think i wanna get back to my younger heart, with a more matured mind...

new journey begins

quoted from Eunene:

"I think it's the start of an amazing journey...
probably fraught with difficulties...but yet deeply enriching and rewarding too.
No trek would be as challenging and fulfilling as this one."

post-ICT post

juz out-processed (i think "processed out" is more appropriate actually)... and now nuahing and catching up on the web-surfing i've been deprived of for the last 2 weeks..

in-camp for us storemen is quite unlike wad civilian will expect of combat soldiers... some ppl (girls mainly, since guys all go NS) think that going back to the army is like hell like that... chiong suah, mud, rain, sleep while hugging ur "wives" and all.... actually it's not totally like that... mayb only infantry cammandos and guardsmen are like that bah... im from an artillery unit... so even if im a combat gunner, i dun chiong... ladies who're deeply attached or married usually feel that in-camp is damn slack one... ppl juz go there for a couple of weeks of time-off from work and do "body maintenance"... so when i groaned abt having to go for in-camp, they'll say "aiyah damn relac one mah!!"

well im speaking from the point of a service soldier (in contrast to a combat one)... service soldiers includes clerks, storemen, driver, medics, technicians... koh said sth which i totally agree with eralier today during lunch...

"i think logistics department the most boh huar one leh!! we come in earlier than ppl to prepare stores, bunk, weapons for the combat ppl.. then during exercise, they go outfield, we haf to pack their meals (near 400 of them) send rations to them.. ourselves we also gotta go outfield, set up tentages, camouflages... then after outfield we gotta receive the stores back from them.. accounting for all stores in quantity and serviceability.. then when ppl are cleaning and resting in bunks upstairs, we're still downstairs doing store maintenance and chasing ppl for missing or damaged stores.. when they are preparing to be out-processed we're still doing handing over of the bunks back to the active unit..."

im not really complaining abt our vocations la... but it's not fair to always think that we're not as impt as combat soldiers.. sometimes we need our recognition too de.. most of the time when the unit has performed well, the combat platoon will be rewarded.. this brings me to a old old story... to cut the long story short, 4-5 yrs ago we went overseas for live-firing... the unit has done well and "everyone" was treated to a sumptuous CNY Reunion Dinner... while the storemen had to serve food for near 500 ppl... then clean up... clear up... wash trays... etc etc... damn f**ked up lor... damn pissed that time... the other platoons were treated to beer at the end of it... except HQ... sigh...

watched "Troy" juz now... there was sth like
"the world only remembers the Kings, never the soldiers..."

uploaded photos!!

yup!
the photos are uploaded to my Multiply acct le....
to access to them, click here!!
haf got HUNDREDS (possibly thousand) of photos with me... so it's not possible for all to be uploaded... so do enjoy the essense of them!!

A friend had this blog entry made for us... really very nice of her...
Thanks Sop!! (if u rather i take it off the blog tell me ok? i'll juz save a copy in my HD.. )

QZ & YB- Celebration of the Beginning of their Lives Together
First, my sincere apologies for being away at work on the most important day of your lives. But this is an entry dedicated to the both of you- Qiuzhang & Yanbin.

On this day of 7th July 2007, my 2 dearest friends are here today to ink the beginning of their happily ever after story- A love story that will go on for a few thousand chapters with laughters, good health, peace and hope. In this confetti of joy, I wish for your entwined souls to be filled with love that will last for eternity. As this journey through forever love begins, may the path be filled with harmony and faith. I hope for your love to be tenaciously rooted to the heart in all moments as there's trust beyond eternal love. Thus, with my heartiest congratulations, may you guys live in forever marital bliss and happiness.

it din felt like it happened..
time juz whizzed by almost like i'm not part of it... i sort of know it happened, but unreal... it felt somewhat like a dream last nite..
mayb coz i was too busy making sure all small details goes on smoothly

perhaps coz i wasn't sleeping well...
so it din register well...

but the ring on my left ring finger reminded me... that it indeed happened... hehz...

Thank you everyone who came and especially those who gave their all to help out... really really appreciates it very much.. really glad to have u guys as friends..

*tears in eyes; sniff sniff* ='~)

celeb face

chanced upon this on a friend's blog... sitting ard in office waiting during incubation time..

i tried 2 quite different photos of myself with different expression to see if there's any correlation in the search results...

no leh... dun haf...

i only heard of Rain in this list leh.... who're the rest???


woahaha!!! me and Jay Chou 72% alike leh! i shldn't smile so much when i go out next time... show ppl si lang bin...

call me...

Jay Chiu....

*timer goes off* oh back into lab!!

solo sunday morning ride

alarm went off at 630am... juz before it did, vaguely i think i heard a reminder tone for incoming sms... oh Chelsea sent an sms at 604am...
"was just informed that i need to go back office later. sorry.. ride next weekend ok? paiseh..."

"ok... see how next week bah... good nite..."
reset my alarm and head back to slp....hehe!!

woke up at 730+++ instead for my own ride.... din wanna waste the Sunday morning away.... =)

Seletar Reservior.. i like the symmetry from the water reflection....

didn't intend to take breakfast outside de coz i think breakfast alone with bike quite troublesome... need someone to take care of ur belongings while u order food... and a solo cyclist taking 1 whole table for himself din look too nice in the crowds on a sunday morning.... anyways..... was riding by along Upp Thomson Rd passing by this row of shophouses with some kopitiams... looks like ppl only drive here for breakfast, so there isn't much of a crowd.. i'm not someone who will NV eat out alone and i was hungry... so... =D

ta-daa~

total distance = 38.4km (on my cyclo.. not zun one...)

total damage = $3.50 (kopi-c ice, fried beehoon/mee with egg, chix wings and stir-fried cabbage)

random and messy thoughts

Extracts of the misses..... taken from friends' blogs

"I miss the sounds of crickets and insects as I lay awake in the tent...waiting to fall alseep. Not forgetting the sound of the rushing waterfall in the distant. It's been a long time since I played Hunter-and-Bear!"

"I miss...
1) Cycling in the mud...on the road...under the sun...and in the rain...
2)
.
.
.

10)
.
.
.
13) trekking in the wild...with "nice" body smell
14) shivering in the tent...but want to get outta of the tent becos it's smelly...
15) cooking outdoor
16) sweating under the sun with heavy backpack...
17) having fun in the river, sitting on the rocks with water splashing on me.
.
.
20).............."

these are the voices of ppl who're working day and sometimes nite, days after days, weeks after weeks... slogging to earn their living, to get a car, to go travel, to get married (oops), to haf a life(style).... sometimes ppl are sucked into the monotonous life of waking up, going to work, coming back for dinner, slp, waking up, going to work...... it goes on... (sure there're ppl who realised this, and so play MORE during their sch yrs.. and end up missing their sch days even more... haha!!)
we always say that we MUZ NOT fall into such a whirlpool... we most of the time, we do... dun haf any more energy after work to go out for jog, cycle, and worse still missing out on social gatherings...

effort and determination bah... and depends on the work nature and company u work in... for myself i m trying to keep to some form of a regime in my typical work-week.... to go gym at least once a week... try to go for 2.... evening ride at least once.... blade once... weekend (road/offroad) ride once..... the rest of my week will be flexi... to fill in with an extra session of any of the above, or i meet up with friends for dinner... pary-tor... or i juz go home to relax....

fave time of the day

haf i ever mention b4 that my fave time of a day is in the evening..?

it's a great time for EVERYTHING!! to cycle... to blade... even juz taking a stroll....

whenever i've got a chance to leave work early and be home b4 7pm, i'll be back home and immediately changing into my cycling gears for "sun-chase"! it juz feels nice to be outside in the evening time to do things... it's not too hot, it's usually windy, there is still light.. and most imptly, the sky looks nice....

gives me a sense of euphoria....

shrek fever

finally took one shot of our blading session.... hehe... not confidently enough to take photo during blade... so take after!!

he quite funny leh... juz sit there nicely for minutes for us to take so many shots of him!!

kick scooter

rcv a call from a colleague last nite asking me if i wanna go for a short spin (reads cycling).. i figured that since im not experiencing unbearable pain in my legs and shoulders, some light exercise shld do me good... to improve circulation to accelerate my muscle recovery... im juz itching to ride again la....

was already running a bit late for the appt time so i tried to speed up... as i was along Yishun Ave 1, i passed by this bus stop, and then suddenly i dun feel any resistence in my legs... i din know im THAT good... anyway i stopped and turned back to find my chain on the floor... dammit...

gotta call off the ride and i rolled myself home...

a couple of weeks b4 my bro was riding and the chain broke on him too.... so last nite he asked me...

"eh u kick-scootered home ah?"

"yar..."

im not going to do this again......

went to this race ytd... on a bright, hot sunday morning... woke up at 550am so that i can set off at 6... lugged the bike rack, the bike, my change of gears (shoes, helmet, gloves, shades etc..) walked to my pa's stall where he was setting it up getting ready for business.... i had some things to eat and drink so that i'll haf enough energy for the expedition later on... as i was setting up the rack onto the car, this familiar sensation came in my stomach.... dammit!! im kinda behind my schedule already... gotta rush to the nearest loo.... it's a good thing that yan was with me that morning...

m i getting too long-winded?? ahah.... okok.... let's keep it to the point....

flag off was at 8am.. it looks like a smaller group than the near 300 ppl i saw on the list the day before.. looks like it's going to be kinda competitive... but i din feel the adrenaline rush like i'd expected... i've already carved it in that im juz going to complete it at my comfortable pace... i dun wanna injure myself... externally or internally... i still need my legs to drive me back home later... other than stupid blardy hot weather, the 1st 10km run was finished RELATIVELY comfortably.... though half the time i think im overheating like an overloaded engine... was looking for water points so that i can juz pour water over myself... as i was coming to the end of the 1st 10km, i planned to stopped a distance from the bike point so that i can rest slightly else i'll haf difficulty changing into my biking gears.. damn!! my legs cant stop!! i haven't had this feeling like in 4-5 yrs already!! it's been very long since i did such a longer-distance non-stop run/jog..

i was reeeaally looking fwd to the cycling leg during thr 10km run... it shld be more comfortable to be on a bike that can juz roll on the road... damn this is the longest 40km in my life.... even each lap of 10km were the longest 10km rides i've ever done... in the 1st lap my left calf started to twitch... shit it's coming.... i need to relax.... as i see some cyclists stopping by the side of the road seated down stretching their legs and massaging their muscles.... i told myself i cant stop, if i do, it'll become a full-fetch cramp... gonna be painful and damaging man... then still on the bike, i quickly rub on the part of my calf where i can see the muscle twitch... rub and rub, rub and rub....

then i got hungry... so hungry that my tummy was growling... shit i din prepare any food.. all i had was a bottle of water.. plain water... getting tired...how come i din prepare any snickers, banana, or glucose?? and how come i nv bring gatorade?? why did i juz bring water??? hate my stupidity then...

was drinking so much water during the road ride that it became very difficult to finish my fianl 5km of run.... it bacame 5km of walking along the singapore river... i became a tourist...haha... when the stiches finally subsided i tried to jog once again... oh i feel ok!!! was slowly jogging for 5-10m then i feel sth in my right thigh... cramp!!! shit shit.... i need to stop and rub my muscle again.... i was half-squating by the side of the route rubbing... from the corner of my eye i know that there's an usher juz a few metres ahead... i was wondering if she'll come over to offer some help.... i think she was also battling within if she shld help...haha... only when i feel better and stood up properly.... she made some movements towards me... "u ok..?" yaya.... ok then i can stand up mah.... *tsk*

it was a 1-hr walk... haha... i din feel exceptionally tired... juz body aching... legs sore... shoulder stiffness.... took a long while to stretch and cool down after the distance was completed... hehe... yan bought me all kinds of drinks... H2O... Gatorade... that i put aside a bottle of mineral water given to me after the race... it's still at home now.....

oh did i say that this is my 1st completed full-distance ANYTHING??
all the triathlons, adventure races, duathlons that i've joined so far were all either the mini ones or i joined the relay events... so...this is really something which i shld remember for a long time... it's a step for me....

im not going to do this again..... mayb.... some time from now.....

heavy hearted

guess u might haf heard of the news abt the NIE trainee teacher who died on Mt Ophir when a tree fell on him in the bad weather...

Mt Ophir was one trekking spot which i kinda frequent when i was in yr 2 in NTU... I've experienced some bad weather there there as well.. unable to cont' trek coz of bad weather.. leaking tents, cooking in tents (NOT advisable!).. streams-hopping becoming gushing river-crossings.. im not saying that the weather is always the worst there la... im juz saying that i can almost imagine how was it like...

juz know today that a fellow NTU Odacian of mine was there when it happened... the NIE teachers were trekking there... i was already half-expecting she'll be there...

he's at a better place making sure that all future trekkers will be safe....

feeling not as competent...

nah... nth specifically bad happened...
i feel... not really more stupid... juz less smart and short-visioned these days...
perhaps from the comfort with the current status @ work, lifestlye, socially... in life in general...
sometimes it's not good living in too much comfort hor? makes me stagnant.. not moving fwd...

wad m i up to these days...? work wise... nth very much... within jobscope was at a all time low... waiting for some stuffs to arrive from U.Penn... technical difficulties... that's why delay... so we cant start wad we planned... thing not within specific jobscope, been helping ard with other departments.. providing support... tissue collection, animal surgery/preparation.. departmental back-up support... the misc stuffs... bascially quite brainless stuffs.... yah in a way im building up my work profile.. with more knowledge and skills... but i see them as techincal skills... things which i need no planning or follow up.. easy, but impt jobs... but the better side of me thinks that i shld do better things than that...

perhaps all the anime watching is taking it's effect as well....

FULL METAL PANIC!

dinner @ Holland Drive

quick post..

met up with some school friends over dinner last nite!
these were the sbs ppl i hanged out mostly with during study time (that is.. other than odac ppl)...

one of them juz came back from permanent work in Beijing so it's a good time to meet up.. plus it was another's bdae juz the day b4... thou we din really celebrate...