Sand and Sun

I like to do things on the spur of the moment and that includes my training *wink*

Woke up and decided to hit East Coast Park for some sand & sun but i gotta go to the bank first. Couldn't find the coin deposit machine. By the time i knew the location (Serene told me), i was on the bus. Ended up i had to carry 220 $1 coins in my pack for training. Good also...that makes an approximate weight of 6kg.

Managed to find the exit/entrance that Serene & I always take via Marine Parade Hawker Ctr. Changed into my shoes & stuff. Got myself settled & started timing from BK. As expected, i got a few puzzled looks along the way but none bothered me. I had sort of anticipated it.

Since it was my first trg on sand w/load, i din plan on running. Well, i found it tough to even walk fast! Hahaha! I started with 2 poles but changed to 1 very soon. My left pole was not exactly useful & took up some energy. The heat was bearable.

I walked til the golf course area of NSRCC. Saw a paperboard and decided to take my break on it. Took off my shoes to get rid of the sand. It was nice...the sea breeze , sound of the waves & aeroplanes flying over occasionally.

Continued my return journey 20min later. The sky was overcast. The return was a little boring cos i was alone. But again, i wld be too tired to talk if a friend was there. Tried to keep my eyes "open" and find interesting stuff to self-entertain. So funny...someone wrote "我好想我的家" on the sand. At one point, i took pics of the 3 kinds of sand i was stepping on...here u go.

The extreme right type is the softest and the one i chose to train on. Heard from HH that it's gonna be way softer than that.

I ended my training before Fort Road toilet...where the trail of sand ends (FINALLY!). It started to drizzle then. I hurriedly washed up & left ECP. 4 and a half hours. Where did it ache...my ankles and shoulders.

My 3 Little Pigs

These are my 3 little pigs.


In order of seniority...

Extreme right 大猪: I got it when i was a kid. Bought it cos it looked cute to me then. It has been full for quite some time but i din wanna empty it.


Middle 小猪: It's a Christmas gift from Christina i think. I found an old $10 bill inside!


Extreme left 小小猪: Bought it at Vivocity early last yr. I wanted to start saving $1 coins since i dun have any savings at all (quite ashamed to say this actually). I needed to see the savings increase to feel motivated hence got a transparent bank.

Today, i poured everything out from the 3 piggies and counted them. Why so? Recently, my mom casually reprimanded my sis for carelessly leaving the keys at the lock when she went out. Luckily my mom was at home to arrest the error. At that instanc, it suddenly dawned on me that if someone was to break in, the money i stashed at home will be gone! Though the amount isn't big, it's still money. I then decided to save it in a proper bank.


After segregating the coins and counting them for about an hour plus, i got my figure......ta da! $283. Quite little right? But i learnt a simple rule - if u save a bigger amount, u reli reap more faster. Errr...sounds a bit redundant right? Ok. Let's put it this way eg. I got $173 from 小小猪. This amount is more than the other 2 pigs combined though i only saved for a yr. On the other hand, i spent a longer time filling up the other 2 but ended up with a lesser amount cos they were all mixtures of smaller denominations.


Yeh! I'm going to the bank tmr....but i'll deposit just the $1 coins. The bank charges $0.0075 for every coin. As for the others, i'll try to change it with the provision shops near my place. Good nite!

月 半 灣

While doing up my music playlist for the blog, i found my favorite Jacky Cheung song on Utube! I first heard the song on the radio when i was a kid. Loved it so much but had no idea how to find out the title. Luckily, the lyrics & rhythm of the chorus were rather catchy. I memorised by heart & managed to find the missing piece of my puzzle when i grew up.

Gosh! I was only 10 y/o when i heard this song! So that makes me a Jacky Cheung "fan" for 23 years! Hahahaaha.

Watching the MV of this song for the first time, the content really appeared corny....the moving crescent moon, the storyline. Til today then I know 羅美薇 was the actress in the MV. She looked so sweet then...no wonder Jacky Cheung married her after that. Though passe, it brought back fond memories of my childhood.

跑吧! 小牛

First run of the 牛 year and I overslept (#$^%#!).

Supposed to meet at 8am but i only woke up at 7.30am. Imagine my shock! My 5 minutes of snoozing became an hour! Luckily i got everything packed the nite before...yep...all but the water...hahahha. So i smsed (poor) Serene who was waiting for me at the kopitiam near Tampines MRT Station since 7.30am. Karen gotta rush off after the run hence Joanne & CM went ahead with her.

By the time i reached, the trio had finished their round. Serene & i were thinking,"wah so fast?". Having not done the Salomon Run, they were unfamiliar hence took the 4km route i/o the looping 10km. Talked a bit before Karen went off. Joanne & CM ran their 2nd round with Serene & me.

my pair of puffy eyes are a tell-tale sign tat i woke up the latest of them :P

It was drizzling a little when we started. Thankfully, it stopped and the skies just continued to stay overcast. Nonetheless, the orange l/s tee i bought from HK did not work. The top couldn't wick the perspiration.

I could feel the fatigue on my legs from the past few days of running. Was lagging behind...quite usual actually. My collg remarked that it's good to run with me cos i could retrieve whatever he dropped. So mean right? :(


We saw Ming & Rina (adventure-racers) biking. Hahah...seems like we weren't the only "on" ones to work out on 1st day of CNY. Not long later, Joanne spotted a snake (apparently a cobra!) but it has slithered away by the time i reached. Being the last has got its benefits.


Had prata for breakfast & left for home...continuing our programs for CNY. Gong Xi Fa Cai! Huat ah!!!

Mona Lisa Smile

Caught Mona Lisa's Smile on Channel 5 yesterday before reunion dinner. Josh ever said the movie was the female version of Dead Poets' Society. I watched the former first hence i like the movie on its own. Even now after viewing the latter, the same preference stands :)

The show and Mona Lisa has near-zero bearing on each other...except that Julia Roberts was an art history teacher in the movie & Mona Lisa is a piece of art. Anyhow, i've always wondered what is so fascinating about the portrait. Cos seriously, i never thought the woman was smiling beautifully (no offence tho). So i hit the net (i'm so free these few days...).

Voila! Wikipedia has everything!

Some info abt the portrait
Mona Lisa (also known as La Gioconda) is a 16th century portrait painted in oil on a poplar by Leonardo da Vinci during the Italian Renaissance The work is owned by the French government and is on the wall in the Musée du Louvre in Paris, France with the title Portrait of Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giocondo.

The portrait was not well known until the mid-19th century when artists of the emerging Symbolist movement began to appreciate it, and associated it with their ideas about feminine mystique

My own blabble after Wikipe-ing
Mr Leo started painting it in 1503 but left the portrait unfinished til shortly before he passed away in 1519.

A critic described the figure as a kind of mythic embodiment of eternal femininity, who is "older than the rocks among which she sits" and who "has been dead many times and learned the secrets of the grave." What a way to describe eternity...

Why named Mona Lisa? Well...the lady's name is Lisa and Mona is a form of Modern Italian address similar to Ma’am, Madam, or my lady in English. (In Italian, ma donna means "My lady". This became madonna and its contraction mona). I wonder if that was why the pop queen, Madonna named herself as such?

The portrait reflects some interesting traits of its time. Mona Lisa sits markedly upright with her arms folded, a sign of her reserved posture. And erm..the next comment was actually very refreshing to me cos i never noticed that before - Mona Lisa has no eyebrows and eyelashes! Apparently, it was considered unsightly hence it was common at this time for genteel women to pluck them out.

I was ignorantly oblivious to another observation since I always focused on her facial expression and forgot the other components. The sitter is depicted before an imaginary landscape of undulating valleys and rivers. Coupled the lady's faint smile, the portrait gives a calming feel -said to be characteristic of Leonardo's style & reflective of his idea of a link connecting humanity and nature.

Well.. after blogging so much, am i captivated to want to see the real mccoy? Nope. But i would check it out if i have a chance to visit Lourve...for all the paintings, not just this one.

The dogmas of the quiet past, are inadequate to the stormy present

Siggie (my company’s CEO) quoted the above on our latest newsletter. The first word already stumped me. Well…in fact, many words that followed had the same effect. A few sales guys sarcastically joked that our CEO has nothing better to do than to draft such a cheem message with all the bombastic words.

I am a humanities person hence anything to do about words, language, lit, history interests me (but ironically, I don’t like to read the news). I proceeded to hit the Net & find out more.

Apparently, this is a well-known sentence in one of former USA President Abraham Lincoln’s messages to the Congress. It holds an immense meaning if one reads it in context, rather than on its own. In my own opinion, his urging desire to want to do more was manifested in the message. His individual strength wasn't enough…he required the wholesome support of a nation.

To me, this meaningful quote couldn’t have come more aptly with the recent new appointment of USA president Barack Obama in times of a PROGNOSTICATION ((hehehe..applying a word that my CEO used) of the sharpest & longest recession we are gonna face in 2009.

If only most of us can SEE (not just left ear in, right ear out) ....the strength of unity in trying times.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
December 1, 1862

One month before signing the Emancipation Proclamation, President Lincoln sent a long message to Congress which was largely routine, but also proposed controversial measures such as voluntary colonization of slaves and compensated emancipation.

Lincoln devoted so much attention to preparing the message that his friend David Davis said, "Mr. Lincoln's whole soul is absorbed in his plan of remunerative emancipation." The concluding paragraphs shown below demonstrate Lincoln's passion for this plan and contain some of the most famous statements he ever wrote. Composer Aaron Copeland used excerpts in his evocative "Lincoln Portrait."

I do not forget the gravity which should characterize a paper addressed to the Congress of the nation by the Chief Magistrate of the nation. Nor do I forget that some of you are my seniors, nor that many of you have more experience than I, in the conduct of public affairs. Yet I trust that in view of the great responsibility resting upon me, you will perceive no want of respect yourselves, in any undue earnestness I may seem to display.

Is it doubted, then, that the plan I propose, if adopted, would shorten the war, and thus lessen its expenditure of money and of blood? Is it doubted that it would restore the national authority and national prosperity, and perpetuate both indefinitely? Is it doubted that we here--Congress and Executive--can secure its adoption? Will not the good people respond to a united and earnest appeal from us? Can we, can they, by any other means, so certainly, or so speedily, assure these vital objects? We can succeed only by concert. It is not "can any of us imagine better?" but, "can we all do better?" The dogmas of the quiet past, are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise -- with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country.

Fellow-citizens, we cannot escape history. We of this Congress and this administration, will be remembered in spite of ourselves. No personal significance, or insignificance, can spare one or another of us. The fiery trial through which we pass, will light us down, in honor or dishonor, to the latest generation. We say we are for the Union. The world will not forget that we say this. We know how to save the Union. The world knows we do know how to save it. We -- even we here -- hold the power, and bear the responsibility. In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free -- honorable alike in what we give, and what we preserve. We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth. Other means may succeed; this could not fail. The way is plain, peaceful, generous, just -- a way which, if followed, the world will forever applaud, and God must forever bless.

http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/congress.htm

后知后觉

I'm in such a "thought"ful mood tonight. Kept tearing til i can't get to sleep. Maybe it's that time of the month again *tsk*

Going thru a rollercoaster of moods these few days.

Joy - Yesterday, i finally found my CNY dress after quite a long search. Was (rather) exhilarated when the cashier told me I have enough Citibank points hence i need not pay a single cent!

Uncertainty - I received the payment confirmation email from the race organiser. It still seems unreal though. Joyce told me she only realised it was real when she stood at the start line. Serene asked me why i wanted to do it. I pondered for a while and replied that i wanted to test my endurance limits and i've never been to such a country, ran on such a terrain, under such harsh conditions. My colleague showed his support in practical sense. I reckon he's gonna be my 恩人...errm, maybe not for my entire life but at least for 2009 :P

This brings me to my next mood.

Reality bites - Did my sums and realised i'm gonna pay my arse off for 2009. Well, i shld be done by the last quarter if i am disciplined enough. Hahah..sounds like i'm moving hand in hand with the economy. It's a choice i've made thus i can't complain. Let's hope the economy improves by last qtr

Doom's day thought - Retrenchment and paycut are imminient. Having done my sums, i am concerned about my family's overall financial condition if i tio porked. A lot of "what-if"s followed. What happens if 1 of my family members falls sick? I won't be able to bear the expenses. Over dinner, a casual mention to my mom abt an impending retrenchment brought me to a shocking realisation that my sis could possibly be UNINSURED! To worsen the "scenario", she doesn't watch her diet aa well as spending habits. In fact, she owes my mom & granny big-time (and God noes r there any legalized loansharks). If anything happens (touch wood), i'm too old to sell my body for any financial gains...heheh.

I went into the room and started to google "drafting a will". Afterall, i wanted to make sure my assets (tho i have little) & liabilities are taken care of if i am gone one day. At least my family doesn't have to grieve and worry abt money issues at the same time.

Mom sensed that something wasn't right & checked on me. The oredi teary me started to pour. Behold, as it's a rare sight at home :P I always hold back my emotions in family's presence. We had a long chat & i shared my concerns with her. She verified that Sis has her insurance cover *phew* Nonetheless, Mom also revealed some stuff that i'm unaware of.

In my attempt to sleep, many thots flooded my mind...randomly.

I know my thoughts are all "what-if"s and whatever has not taken place, don't worry unduly. Maybe this trait has to do with being the eldest daughter in the family? Mom is getting older and it's our turn to take care of her. If only Sis can think & act towards this direction.

My thought then roamed to...what do i wish to leave behind when i've passed on? And at that point, i'm thankful for what my mom has taught (in her limited time when i was a kid) and provided me. Perhaps that's what my legacy shld be - a worthy grand-daughter, daughter, sister, friend & colleague (my current capacities til date).

Colleague, if u happen to read this one day. Grieve not, instead, take time to remember your Mom in fondness and gladness that she has left behind 4 legacies :)

My Top 10 Saddest Film Scores

Why did i suddenly come up with this list? Abstract linkage actually...

I saw the TV ad promoting this love song compilation CD and it has got tis song "Dying Inside to Hold You". I went to search for the mp3. Suddenly i recalled a soundtrack which i had bought many many years ago...a cassette, to be specific.

Dying Young - This movie captivated me and i bought the soundtrack. I was still a poor student then so buying music has to be a careful choice. A pity that my sis threw away all my cassettes when we shifted house the 1st time.

Smtg abt the film - I only remembered Julia Roberts starred in this movie and the story was abt some guy dying (i'm speaking the obvious..duh). I went online to find the mp3...no luck. I found the music clip on UTube instead and the synopsis after that. These findings "provoked" me to list 10 movies & themes which made me cry...A LOT!

In no order of volume of tears...

(1) Love theme from DYING YOUNG
(2) SCHINDLER'S LIST
(3) THE PIANIST
(4) TITANIC. I hate to list this but i reli cried a great deal. My eyes were swollen when i came out of the movies. Went to buy another version of the movie pieces (nope...not My Heart Will Go On)
(5) Offenbach's Barcarolle from LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL - The ending ain't like the title though
(6) GHOST 1990
(7) LOVE ACTUALLY - omg...the scene when the guy expresses his hidden feelings to (oredi married) Keira Knightley on Christmas Eve.

(8) LEGEND OF 1900 - Tim Roth's acting was great! The last scene reli broke my heart :(

(9) FORREST GUMP - Who could forget this movie? I simply lurveee the piano solo of the theme song!

(10) Last but not least, 新不了情

New Year Walk

It was the 2nd day of 2009. I had wanted to take the bus home from Chinatown Point until i felt the breeze amid the sunny weather. The climate took to the cooler side these days hence it was enjoyable to walk about.I decided to stroll home via 1 of my fav routes - the Quays.

The streets weren't crowded since most people are working. The quietness was tranquil. Occasionally, i could hear the light rustling of the leaves.

As i passed by Kim Seng Park, the sun was about to set. The reflection cast on the Singapore River was beautiful. So I took a pic of it.

My end point was "Chopsticks Canal" (my nick for the park connector near my place). The clouds formed a pretty contrast against the blue sky. I reckon when one is in a nice mood, the world seems to be on a string.