little things

work can get so dull that little things will cheer you up, such as:

getting dropped off right infront of the train station
riding in a non-crowded mrt carriage
getting a seat on the train
a good novel and fifteen minutes to read it
not having to wait for the greenman at the cross junction
not having to wait too long for the bus to arrive
tehcsiudai in the mornings
less spicy korean beef ramen
purple coloured agar agar
tea breaks
weekend plans
telecommuting
public holidays
music while at work
five minute foozeball

feeling accomplished

things have been looking up =)

after having been abroad for 2 years, i cant seem to be able to stay in one place for too long. i've booked myself an air ticket to tokyo in june (whoopppeee!!) and will also be heading to vietnam with the family a couple of weekends from now. yay im a jetsetter globetrotter backpacker nutttt. the idea of just being out of this tiny little country that i try so hard to persuade others to visit on a daily basis excites me.

i went down to smu the other day. caderas is setting up an alumni, so we had a little meeting. got to see lots of people that i havent seen in a long time! including benkoh. time for meetups and catchups!

speaking of which, vinny dude is back in singapore so i am forseeing several prata nights. unfortunately, most of the dudes will be overseas doing something or other, and so i don't think there will be a karaoke session. but i have been getting more than the usual dosage of KTV since starting work so that's ok ;)

we met up last saturday to celebrate yong's birthday. my alcohol tolerance seems to have decreased significantly. oh! what happened to all the training that i went through in the US?? i had 2 frozen margaritas (tiny cups too) and threw up my unagi rice burger and nachos one hour later. this only means one thing: i need more training!

i have also started spanish lessons. had my second one yesterday. im still very lost and i couldn't say something even if i had to.. ok well i can say good morning, and good night, and hello gorgeous (yes that last one is very important and useful aye).

i like making lists of things that i am doing/have done. at least im not sitting at home rotting away so much anymore. been reading, although not the economist. ive already accumulated a backlog with those. they just seem to keep on coming before you can even get halfway through the previous issue. seems to me to be a conspiracy of some sort! between who, i don't know, but definitely against me.

and, i went to the gym today (i did take a 2 week break though) and ran a full 30min, 4km! not very fast, but im slowly slowly creeping towards the half marathon target in december.

hooray for me being hardworking and making things happen! =)


ps: go here, select any country, and click on the marina bay weekends banner. its one of the projects which i did some work on! =) although i didnt do much, and the process of getting it done was a pain in the butt and rather ugly, it feels kinda nice to have your work up on the world wide web with millions of people (ok i exaggerate) viewing it.

i feel like screaming f***


i hate hate hate hate hate hate hate... all of this.


but, i did get a flower delivery today. =)

overhaul and revamp

march 31, i made a list of things i needed to work on:

read the news, and literature
learn something, a language or a skill
pick up a sport, or some type of exercise
keep in touch with my friends
spend more time at home

since then, ive made some progress on some:

1. purchased a subscription for the economist. while i have yet to read an entire issue, some is better than none? although, i have come to realise that i don't like the style and voice that the economist adopts. i also started on memoirs of lee kuan yew, which i have since abandoned for 1984. will get back to mr lky shortly.

2. enquired about violin lessons, which are bloody expensive. considering learning spanish. after some thought, i've decided that i might like to work for the UN World Tourism Organisation eventually, and thought perhaps knowing some spanish might land me up in south america. but still thinking. the other option was continuing with salsa.

3. made it to the gym twice this week and once last week, and am slowly getting back my stamina and loving it! targeting for the standard chartered half marathon in december. yes, im still up for it. woooot!

4. im meeting up with cherie this saturday. i last saw her... in january. and i initiated it too. yay! brownie points for me! and planning on a trip to japan in june to visit the ex-roomie and bj. just keeping my fingers crossed that it will eventually work out.

5. been spending more time with the grandma and talking more nonsense to her. sometimes, i just sit next to her and read a book, but i guess just having someone accompany her is enough for her. she is feeling much better too and is even able to walk some.

i guess, all in all, i've been making good progress. just need to keep it up, and work harder on 2 and 4. would like to also get involved in some charity work and have registed with nvpc.

work's been slow but its gradually starting to come in, so i guess things have been improving on that front too.

cheers to a new and improved life! one more thing i need to work on, is getting my photos uploaded promptly. it is such a chore though, on this broken laptop and lousy internet connection!

part three: hamilton and two

we weren't sure of where we were going from memphis. so we hit the highway and when the sun had set, we stopped at the nearest town, hamilton, where we spent the night.

dinner at oh!bryan's. the chimney was smoking and lots of truckers were parked upfront when we drove past!


steak and onion rings, catfish and hushpuppies for dinner


the next day, we explored the town a little, and found piggly wiggly's!


heading out of hamilton, we weren't quite sure of which direction to go...


pulled up at a sketchy diner for lunch just on the edge of the town


where i had a greasy burger and tater tots. the waitress was astonished when she heard i didn't know what tater tots were. boo.


detoured to natural bridge..


this is what an indian face looks like (the plant! not the person)


puddle


under the natural bridge


since we had visited one bridge that day, we thought we'd might as well visit another one

the last covered bridge in cullman county


feeling like the king of the world



to be continued...

part two: walking in memphis

and finally.. more pics from the december road trip! (i know, very very slow la)

all excited to be hitting the road


we got lost, and look where we ended up at!


sunset in memphis on christmas day


elvis' abode in graceland


possibly the oldest department store around


a peek inside a.schwab


lost and found in the store


we found treasure!




sun studio, where elvis' path to fame and glory started


sweet! red velvet and chocolate cupcakes


the road out of memphis leads to southpark

nothing and somethings

extra idle today because i am a sickiee. fine dining at dolce vita on friday left my taste buds tingling but my stomach rumbling. it turned into occassional bouts of gastric pains on saturday and sunday. i had ruled out gastritis since i had not missed a single meal, or even crumb, past few weeks, and had considered perhaps heart burn, stomach flu, stomach ulcers.. worms?

the doctor dumbed it down to gastritis and excess wind this morning, and dashed all my hopes of a big hoo haa full body check-up, x-rays, and whatever scans that exist in the world of medicine today. gave me 4 types of pills to choke on and a day off from work. woohoo i was delirious! but i ended up writhing in bed (or maybe just rolling about in my sleep) most of the day as the pains got worse and evolved itself into diarrhoea as well.

ok, im a wuss. its just gastric, no need for a press conference. anyhows, the reason for narrating my uninteresting, unexciting lack-of-a-story, was to say, that i have alot of time on my hands today and hence i'm writing another post!

inspired by the bucket list, the idea of it but not the movie since i have not watched it (especially with the increase in movie ticket prices!), i am of the thought that i should do more with my life than work, and sleep. of course, chances are i won't get down to doing even half of them, but making the list and checking it twice is half the battle won?

and so, here it is...

read the news, and literature
learn something, a language or a skill
pick up a sport, or some type of exercise
keep in touch with my friends
spend more time at home

okay, not much of a list, but work and sleep do take up alot of my time already so i think its pretty ambitious, what i've come up with.

grandma suffered a fall sometime last year and injured her spine, which put additional pressure on her knees. that made walking difficult and painful for her, so she did minimal of it. as a result of her inactivity, her legs started to swell due to water retention, which made movement even more challenging. we've been having to move her around the house on a wheelchair, and she doesnt do much all day except watch tv, most of which she doesn't really understand anyway. it just seems like she's just waiting for time to pass, and for the time to come.

she's eighty-something, and it is a fact of life that everyone has to pass on someday. but im just realising that that day is going to come sooner than i can expect it, or that i want it. and its scary.

i think im at a point in my life where im realising how i live, the decisions i make now, will affect what my life will be like in future. and im not ready to be responsible for myself.

mathematics

the dust has settled. things are back to normal, although i'm not quite sure what normal means. life seems to come at me in waves and tides; and at its peak i seem to be struggling for breath but during the lull i yearn to be running the adrenalin race again. one can never be satisfied.

but you know where the median, the perfect fit, is when at any point in time, that is the one and only place you find rest and solace in.

certainly though, the median is not the norm.

day one: atlanta

look who's up to no good


breakfast at ihop - two eggs, two pancakes, two sausages, two strips of bacon, all gone


creatures in the georgia aquarium

an unsolvable puzzle

i dreamt that my colleague was pregnant for twenty years and gave birth to a twenty-year old "baby". my question was, does a twenty-year old baby act like a baby or act like a twent-year old?