in-store art works of artartist sheryosketch bookadrian and sonwith steven, saff and meow happy hardcore Excerpt from the race referee message:'Other violations include failure to wear race number, riding or running with an IPOD or any other communication or musical device and outside assistance.'They've made it officially illegal to use music this year. Not that I was going to use the shuffle anyway, but man, it's going to seem like one helluva run tomorrow. what a friday! It was one of those whirlwind days when I completely lost track of time and got sucked into the vortex at work.It was like a neverending day of people to see, phone calls to field, files to send and emails to answer. It sure didn't feel like Friday! The only thing that reminded me of the big race this weekend was the yellow plastic band on my wrist, which I felt was a silly thing to wear two days before the race. By the time we got down to the Playground, all the food was almost gone. We managed to scrape together a paper plate full of pasta and noodles each before we sat down with the rest of the team. I felt really disoriented and frazzled - But a little while later after some bubble tea and a few laughs, I felt like I had wound down a bit.Now I'm really excited about Sunday!! Finally got a chance to think through my transition and gear bags, my nutrition plan and check out the race course. I'm really looking forward to running into the sea of green at the finish line again. I think it's going to be a great weekend. Although it feels really odd not to be in dreamland already and catching as many Z's as possible before the usual early morning ride on Saturdays. Lie in tomorrow, yippee!all set methinksclick to enlarge I feel like I'm going to kick some ass - Well some of my own from last year. What are you doing this weekend? :) sally's booties Sally shuffles.... a lot. She shuffles so much we were told she was filing her nails down funny. So we were told to get her booties to help her be more conscious about her walk. I thought it was going to be a waste of time to be honest, but I was earnestly pitched to so I thought we could give it a go.The booties lasted less than half an hour each time 'coz they kept falling off. a sparkling success Waking up this morning was that much harder and I was almost tempted to sleep in a little. But I knew I'd committed to meeting dsparklingb at the canal at 7.20am for the morning workout, and even though I wasn't quite late, she was already there waiting when I got there after my pandan-mooncake-milo mix!!Workout today was 1km warm-up and then 5.45 steady pace to the end and back. We kept speeding up to 5.30 and then dropping down to 5.50 and I couldn't quite find the pace in between. But I think we did alright, plus we got a good chat in! It kinda helped me put things in perspective for this Sunday's race.Although we managed a warm-down at the end, I am still absolutely pouring with sweat. How to get ready for work liddat?!?!Meanwhile, I'm back to black 'coz that's the colour of my soul. the start of a good habit? This morning, I did a guilt-free 4km along the canal - A great way to wake up.After a quick quarter pandan snow skin mooncake and quarter cup of milo, I made my way downstairs with a mind to complete an effective workout that was lovingly assigned by the Hubba. As soon as I told him of my intention to go for a morning jog, he gave me the deal. 1km warm-up, 1km of 100m intervals and then 2km back at a 5.30 pace.Felt like a million bucks after I finished the workout and like I've started the day on a good note. I feel so good that I want to do it again tomorrow morning - Maybe I'll be able to start a new good habit.Meanwhile, is it possible for one to be a techno snob? The old work lappie was so shite but the new one is equipped with a dual-core processor and I am feeling tonnes better working as well. It's almost like I'm on my ickle acer again :) OK, Redoxin taken. Work now. Goombye. Tue, 02 Sep 2008 09:39:35 GMT I'm annoyingly perky today. I've been bouncing off the walls since this morning - Is that what one day's worth of Redoxin does to you? :)*boing* almost all right! So I got almost everything right last week when I did this silly quiz about Hubba - He says he probably wouldn't have raw fish all the time if he could. But then again, he couldn't think of anything else he'd rather eat, so I took it as 100% correct! Meanwhile, I kind of wondered how he would fare if he was faced with the same quiz as me. Especially after Wunderpants' CNLee did so well on her reversed quiz. So since we're both sitting around with glasses of wine tonight, I made him try!1. She's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen?E Entertainment [Correct!]2. You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does she get on her salad?Any kind, as long as cheese gratings to go with it. [Correct!]3. What's one food she doesn't like?Raisins [Correct!]4. You go out to the bar. What does she order?Dirty Martini [Correct!]5. Where did she go to high school?MGS [Correct!]6. What size shoe does she wear?UK 5.5 [Correct!]7. If she was to collect anything, what would it be?Bags [Correct!]8. What is her favorite type of sandwich?She doesn’t have one. [Correct!]9. What would she eat every day if she could?Chili padi in soya sauce [Haha! Correct!]10. What is her favourite cereal?Oh’s [Correct!]11. What would she never wear?Nike [Correct!]12. What is her favourite sports team?AAA [Correct!]13. Who will she vote for?Hillary Clinton (she wouldn’t know she’s no longer in the running) ]This one made me die laughing - Correct! I am so NOT political, in so many ways...]14. Who is her best friend?Her Hubba [Correct!]15. What is something you do that she wishes you wouldn't do?Turn into the Hulk [Correct!]16. How many cities/countries has she lived in?Singapore, London, Leeds, Edinburgh [Mostly Correct! He missed out Malvern but that's not a city anyway]17. What is her heritage?Teochew [Correct!]18. You bake her a cake for her birthday; what kind of cake?Chocolate fudge [Correct!]19. Did she play sports in high school?Basketball [Kind of correct - I did play a lot of basketball and volleyball non-competitively, but if I did do anything interschool, it was squash]20. What could she spend hours doing?Playing with gadgets [Correct!]Oh well, he did well enough! *grin* accomplishment for monday Joy is going through your 'To Do' list and realising you've ticked off 13 out of 19 things you needed to get done for the day.My brain is officially fried for the day. celebrate originality with adiartists Check out some seriously cool talents at the adidas Originals stores at Pacific Plaza and Raffles City from this weekend onwards!click to read moreclick to read moreFeel free to spread the love :) so touched You know your friends love you when they do little things that show you they care so much. I almost got teary eyed on Saturday morning!vitamins from fembotI will remember to take my vitamins every single morning from now on. I will remember to take my vitamins every single morning from now on. I will remember to take my vitamins every single morning from now on. I will remember to take my vitamins every single morning from now on. I will remember to take my vitamins every single morning from now on. I will remember to take my vitamins every single morning from now on. I will remember to take my vitamins every single morning from now on. I will remember to take my vitamins every single morning from now on. I will remember to take my vitamins every single morning from now on. the weekend in short So we're officially down to seven days before the big race and I'm so doing the typical Janice thing by trying to cram as many miles in as possible at this very late stage. Our team gear arrived in Hollywood fashion at Shem's place on Saturday morning - And with the cropped tri top and tri shorty being the only outfit that fit me, I'm feeling all self-conscious about the unwanted spillage that's happening around my mid-section these days. I have entered the secondary thickening stage and I so refuse to get sucked in. What shall be sucked in? My tummy, that's what!!! Meanwhile, I've gotta say the suits are seriously striking and I owe Hubba a big fat apology for saying that I didn't like them when he got them designed. What do I know about tri fashion, eh? Ha. The brick session yesterday was fairly successful - Got off my bike after 95km of solid cranking and pretty much felt fine in the legs. But I'd neglected to feed myself sufficiently during the ride so by the time I got back to Shem's and climbed that last little stretch before his house, I felt like I was going to bonk. Hubba saved me with a gel, but that wasn't enough for me to go on so I don't think I managed to get more than 2km in for the run. But I still felt pretty satisfied anyhow.Matty, who'd not felt well enough to come on the ride, came to Riders' with us to celebrate Blackheart's birthday. The entire team was buzzing from the workout and I could almost hear the growl from everyone's guts. Man, we were hungry!!! At one point, my brain stopped functioning and I literally could not hold a conversation with anyone because of the hunger. So as soon as the food came, the conversation died and we pretty much wolfed down everything that was on the table. retro fembot, aaron kwok, lazy lashes, birthday hotmale and joycea bonked out chancho and chetzaaron kwokall hail da blackheart!me and matty jAs usual, I had a great time with the team. It was so nice to have most of the group together again for a big lunch - It's been a bit quiet what with everyone trying to cope with hectic jobs and concentrating on individual training. We really need to get those group sessions sorted again. Hubba and I wolfed dinner down at Cheong Gong's peranakan birthday dinner and felt a bit braindead :/ And then we were in bed by 10pm and slept like babies :)Then came sea swim training this morning - Last chance to get out there and battle the currents in real life before race day! We got up at a comparatively decent hour (7am) and immediately I felt like I couldn't breathe - Last night was a huge night for the hungry ghost festival somehow and everyone was out in the estate burning for hours. The pavements were lit up with incense and candles. Anyone got any idea what that was all about?So there was some sort of haze in the air and I couldn't breathe very good - I took it easy and just concentrated on feeling the water. The cool thing was the water was really pleasant today, for Singaporean standards anyway. There was no oil and gunk floating around, and nothing floated into your mouth when you breathed. I hope the water stays that way next week.When we got home, we decided to take the doggies out. Afterall, Rosco and Sally deserve some outdoor time too. So we took them to the Butterfly loop and did some trail running with them both. They got so excited and sprinted along almost the entire way. Rosco was dying to jump in for a swim but we managed to make sure he didn't this time!I am so glad my knee is better these days - I remember suffering like hell along that loop, avoiding the roots and stuff during Action Asia 2006. Today, I ran it with ease and realised why Hubba had been so frustrated during that part of the race. I must have been moving so slowly... It was really nice to be back on the trail. I got all wistful about it and wished Adventure Racing would come back to Singapore!Gosh, what a load of babble. I think it's 'coz I really need to eat. Bye. This is how they play... A sight I see almost every morning :) slam dunk! who said little people couldn't jump? saffry thinks I think therefore I am...? take me to holyrood I closed my eyes tonight and took myself back to my reason to run. It never really was about the medals or timing with me. But somewhere along the way the pressure got to me and everytime I ran, I felt it wasn't enough. And somehow I'd forgotten that great feeling I felt everytime I hit the road after work, when all my cares would melt away and all my frustrations turn into a whole lot of nothingness.I ignored my watch. I didn't think about my pace, or the distance, or next week. I just thought about how I felt. When the path was clear, I literally shut my eyes and cleared my head. And you know what, it felt really great.Runner's high. It's fab and it's legal. The last time I remember feeling that carefree when I ran was in Edinburgh as I ran through Holyrood. Really, I was so fortunate to have been able to witness such beauty as I ran... And now all I have to do is close my eyes and I can relive it anytime I want...Even when I'm pounding the streets of Singers :)Steve, you are one lucky man. Distance: 17km coffee break meme 1. He's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen?either american chopper or myth busters 2. You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad?balsamic vinegar and olive oil3. What's one food he doesn't like?smelly cheese puddles4. You go out to the bar. What does he order?pale ale5. Where did he go to high school?anglo-chinese school6. What size shoe does he wear?UK 107. If he was to collect anything, what would it be?bicycles8. What is his favorite type of sandwich?spicy tuna melt9. What would this person eat every day if he could?very fresh raw fish10. What is his favourite cereal?doesn't have a favourite one but whatever it is, he always piles in the sunmaid raisins11. What would he never wear?bell-bottoms12. What is his favourite sports team?tiger woods is not a team13. Who will he vote for?obama14. Who is his best friend?yours truly 15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do?mmm dunno... get crazy psycho every once in a blue moon?16. How many cities/countries has he lived in?three - singapore, goldcoast, edinburgh17. What is his heritage?hokkien18. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind of cake?either a double layered chocolate cake or an ice-cream cake19. Did he play sports in high school?yes, quite a lot but badminton and bowling competitively20. What could he spend hours doing?cycling, faffing with his bikes, cleaning the car, playing with the dogs, hitting balls at the range breathing new life It was one helluva trek to News Centre to get my brand new iphone from Chetz. The damn GPS brought me through Braddell and right about when I was on a flyover over the building, it announced I had arrived at my destination!?! So I zoomed over the News Centre and had to find a way to turn back... Suddenly I was at Lornie and heading home. Raaarr.... Finally, I'm back on the device I feel most comfortable on!!! I was just about getting tempted by the E66 and E71 but now I think I'm pretty much set. Love it! I can finally discover the world of MobileMe for myself. Does anyone know of a good NemusSync replacement though? I need to sync the phone with my Gmail Calendar... looking up is the new goal You know sometimes it's all in your head.... You know Mr Anonymous, you are absolutely right. I've not been doing a lot of blog reading, even of my own, of late so a quick recap of my last few posts really gave it all away. I have been whinging a lot. And if not for a comment by a too-right anonymous poster, I would have probably gone on complaining. What is wrong with me!?!I had a long chat with Hubba about what's happened in my life this year, how fast the time has flown, how I've not felt like any of my races were achievements and generally how I should look at things going forward. I hate being so negative about everything and believe me, I know I have been. I guess it just takes someone who's not you to point it out for you to realise how serious the situation is. I want to have fun again. I want to find joy in the littlest things achieved. This year has been a whiner simply because I've not been able to cope. If you don't put in the base and the training, you can't hit your targets. And if you can't hit your targets, you feel like you've failed. So I've made a decision about how I'm going to approach my goals for next year. I'm going to finish 6km runs and not feel disappointed that they weren't 12km. I'm going to do 4km tempo runs and still feel like they count. I'm going to join and finish long rides for fun and not feel shitty that I didn't do a brick after. I'm going to hit the trail again and have fun and not worry that I didn't get the mileage in.Basically, I'm going to get out of this rut and enjoy myself again. The goal for next year? To be more positive about everything and everyone again.Thanks for the wake up call. did not start - big fat boo This morning I discovered that the worst person to be mad at is yourself. Woke up to a fuzzy chest, throat and head and a slight nasal dribble... Stood around the kitchen deliberating for the longest time about what to do. I was wide awake, my gear was all ready to go. I'd fed the doggies and breakfast was piping hot and waiting to be eaten. To run, or not to run? The biggest bitch about the whole situation was that I actually felt fine. Yeah, okay maybe a bit chilly (I had a huge jumper on without the air-conditioning and I still felt cool) but I wasn't down enough not to run. But the voices inside me were having a full-on battle. And then Hubba piped in about it not being a key race and ensuring my health held up in the next few days so I could make-up for this run on Wednesday, instead of risking bringing myself all the day down today and consequently screwing up the big race. I felt like a three-year-old kid who'd just been told she wasn't allowed a lolipop. I was incredibly upset and as I jumped up and down, my arms pumped down in frustration. Hubba wrapped his arms around me and gave me some coachly reassurance. Apparently the decision I was making was a wise one.... So how come I felt so friggin' stupid and not to mention, annoyed?!!!!Sally wandered up behind the counter and stared at me in wonder.I sent Hubba off at the door and felt like my world had crumbled for the day. So I skulked back to the room and got under the covers - the doggies on my tail and curling up like donuts under the duvet. Hours later and I still feel really annoyed at myself - My head feels a little better but my throat and chest are still off. Mission for the day: Get myself some liang teh and super hydrate. Oh yes, also have teochew porridge for lunch. I am so hungry right now.... That must be a good sign, no? wii played golf The rain pretty much kept us in today.Hubba gave the Goat new life by sorting out new wheels whilst I lazed around watching telly with the doggies. I guess I'll be all ready to hit the trails again in a few weeks time after 70.3 is over. We watched Absalon trash everyone in the Men's Olympic MTB race and it definitely inspired me to get my ass to BT quick. After awhile though, I kinda fell asleep with the doggies snuggling up to me. With the rain coming down hard outside and these two snugglebunnies next to me, I was quite happy indeed in dreamydreamyland. When I got up, we decided to indulge in some indoor sport...... Ahem.... So we thought we'd play some golf - and wii did!!!hubba's miiand that's mii!!Where does the day go??! Suddenly our tummies were growling and we were starving! Decided to give Buckeroo's a try and met the Leongs for a quick pre-race feeding. The food is pretty crap - The only thing worth having is the spicy buffalo wings. Everything else was bad and we were all trying to persuade one another to finish up.'Try mine! It's nice....' Col said, with shifty eyes.oh well....Despite not being caught in the rain today, I still don't feel all that well. I really hope nothing develops before tomorrow's race. Time for a cocktail of cold tablets, vitamins and sleeeeeep... lazyyyyy me What a failure this morning's ride turned out to be.I had all sorts of good intentions for a long and even 90km but the downpour cut the ride down to a third of the distance. It was probably a very lame for Fembot and I to wuss out on the ride, but she was concerned about staying in one piece for TTT tomorrow and I was more interested in not getting ill before tomorrow's half marathon or the big race in a few weeks time. Oh well, at least we got a climb in at Rifle Range before our lovely soup treat at Binjai. Meanwhile, the women's MTB isn't showing on telly like it should and we've got a still channel playing The English Patient soundtrack instead. Really brings me back to the days when Kiran and I used to play it over and over whilst studying for our A's. Time to sit back and relax :) visit from a gazpacho bearer Chetz came over earlier bearing a huge vat of Gazpacho - Yum. Thank goodness Hubba got us pasta for dinner.... Would have seriously tasted very wrong with the usual belachan tang hoon!A couple of bowls of cold soup and a Bloody Mary later, I felt like I was bursting with tomato. Urk. Meanwhile, Rosco and Sally had a great time hassling Auntie Joey for attention.Check out the little attention seeker!princesses are we sometimes i miss the long hair bring back casual fridays, please On my run home tonight, I had a sudden thought about casual Fridays and how much I miss them. Thursday nights were exciting 'coz they made you anticipate kicking off your heels and getting comfy into your jeans. It was acceptable to meet your client in funky boots, instead of the more conservative court shoes. Even Aero used to roll up his sleeves and come in khakis, instead of the usual shirt and tie get-up. But working in a place with a casual culture has kind of taken the fun out of this. Don't get me wrong, it can be quite novel to a certain extent. Today, I went to work in my team tee and a pair of black berms with my running shoes, coz I intended to run home after hours. I went for a fairly serious lunch meeting with a bunch of people who expected nothing less. When I finished at work I got straight into my adizero shorts, strapped on my backpack and pegged it out the door without anyone noticing. So I guess it is cool in that way but then I miss kind of trying to mimic my mega gorgeous ex-colleagues who were always up-to-date with the latest trends and who were always accessorized perfectly. Oh, and I miss eyeing the girly handbags they used to carry. Heh. I guess I've really been getting in touch with the very girly side of me. Seriously ironic. Bloody Mary, anyone? I still don't get it Pete Tong's favourite joke - I've heard it millions of times but I still don't get it. Two nuns in a bath, one says 'where's the soap?', the other says, 'Yes, it does rather, doesn't it?'HELP. carbo loading for all the wrong reasons I have no idea what's wrong with my luck but for some reason, I can't seem to get a workout in.Something keeps happening to keep me from exercising. Either it's rain or a last minute meeting, or something! I feel like such a slob. Meanwhile, politics super sux. Damn the man. Save the Empire. a bit of beach fun the boys go swimmingrosco the otterand sally snuggles favourites from macau macau ferry terminalsteven the starmy superstarswall artgetting strapped in68 stories upthe amazing venetianme and patsiao fei and siao jiesunny daysbrand babesteam shot mooshi mooshi wifey! The sun has set and the day is finally over.Here we are at Hong Kong airport and I can't wait to get home to Hubba and the babies.This team building trip has been a heckuva long one. We've been in transit like... forever and I feel like we ought to have gone to heathrow and back. The good part, of course, is that I got to bond with some of my colleagues whom I didn't really know and that I got to see Pat and Dex. Alcohol is baaad, mm'kay.Hubba has been a sweetheart, updating me on all that's going on at home and generally bemoaning my absence. Apparently the doggies spent most of the weekend in front of the front door and awaiting my return. Hubba mentioned the word 'Mummy' once and Rosco came straight out from under the table and rushed to the door. Such a darling.It's times like these when I really appreciate my family. I just wish I could have bought everyone presents, especially for the birthday girl! ;)Meanwhile, why do trips always make you feel so bloated and fat!!?!