Little Elephants

There was this Singapore Guinness Book of records event about the most Hand Painted elephants on display and my sis and their family got us some tickets for it. It was a Charity event the 2 kids enjoyed themselves and this was them after the mess with their little elephants which they painted all by themselves.

2nd Marathon

Completed my 2nd Marathon the Standard Chartered Marathon recently. I ran it last year and this year the route was the same however there was definitely more people participating and it was a huge event. I usually book a room to stay around the area (end point) so that I can rest up after the event and this year was no exception. Was a little pump up for the event but had not really been training heavily, slacking off this year.

As usual I got up at 3am and prepared myself for the race. I put on extra coating of gel this year as I did not fancy myself getting any abrasions as in last year. Used up practically the whole bottle of it. They say don't use anything new on race day but this year I did something different I put on sunscreen as I knew what was coming the heat and I had a running cap which I recently bought and it was the first time I am using it. It was one of those 2XU brands and it had ventilation at the top as well as a sweat band and it was washable. Made my way to the start point which was at Orchard Road.

START

Massive human traffic everywhere, this year the entry to the pens was terrible. I had a hard time finding the entry point and just made it into the pens 15 minutes before the start of the run. I don my cap and waited for the flag off. just had time to stretch a little. The atmosphere was great. At 5am we were flag off and it took me like 10 minutes to just get to the start point it was basically walk stop walk stop till I reached the start point and than more walking and stopping due to the sheer number of runners 19,000 from official figures of people who signed up. At this point I have to make a confession .... it was the first time in any race that as soon as I started I had to pee !! managed to rush off to the bushes just 200m from the start and relieve myself. Well practically everyone was doing it. Never had to do it until now, really bad planning on my part.

RUN

I notice this year the start was a little better not too congested once you got on the way I think they open another lane, but at the 2/3 KM mark the lanes squeeze into 1 and this was really bad. also the distance markers were non-existent this round. I hardly ever saw one !! That was really bad. I think on the entire 42 km run I saw at most 10 distance markers. Last year every km I could see a clear marker. By the time we hit Nicoll Highway it was better as the lanes widen and the runners spread out. Made it to the 10k point in 1hr 25 mins, I reached the half way point in 3 hrs. Got to the 30k mark at around 4hr 15 mins which was the beginning of the construction site and that was it I knew the last 10K would be the killer as it would be HOT, HOT, HOT !! that was where the cap helped and the sunscreen but it probably wore off by all the sweat at that point. My will to continue was gone (will never be a Green Lantern), mind over matter did not really matter to me any more. Practically walked all the way back to the Finish point. It was the longest walk ever. Took me close to 3 hrs to get back. ended with a time of 7hrs 20 mins. But I was glad I completed my 2nd Marathon. woopee ...

FINISH

After I got back collected my T-Shirt and participation medal headed back to the hotel all smelly, wet and tired. The missus got me a sports massage for the afternoon which I had last year as well and surprisingly I got the same elderly lady masseur as last year, she was good my aches were not really there and by evening I was walking around quite comfortably, no abrasions this year thanks to the gel. Only felt a little sore on my left calf and that was it. Surprisingly cramps did not really feature maybe it was because I walk most of the 10K back but my shoulders ache a little. Had a good dinner of Curry Fish Head yum yum and than a good nights sleep.

see ya all NEXT YEAR !! .... I'm a sucker for punishment.

Last Week to the Big Run

Have not been writing much. Preparing for the kids Birthday Party, signing them up for clases next year has taken up most of the time and also quite excited for the Marathon.

REAL Run 2011

Went for the yearly REAL Run that I REALly like, ha ha pun intended ... Held at the same place at Changi, this year they scraped the 15K category and added in the 21K category which suited me just fine as I really wanted to do a long run. As usual I bought the bus ticket which cost $3 for the bus ride to the start point. The bus pick up time was 4.45am, so I was up around 3.30am to get myself ready and took the walk to the pick up point which was about 10 minutes away from my place. Arrived at the Changi Exhibition Centre, dump my bag at the bag deposit which still cost $1 and this is the only bag deposit I hae ever used as it is in a building so away from the elements, did my warm ups and was already for the 6.30am start.

We were flagged off on time all 3000 of us, th 10K run had abotu 7000 participants, hit the trail, surprisingly I felt good. I was running slow as I wanted to maintain a nice comfrotable full marathon pace. Did the 10k in 1hr 15min which was cmfortable for me, the trick was to maintain that pace and I knew the ending the last 2 or 3 kilometers were killers as its on an open road with the sun beating down on you. But by the 14K I started to cramp a little and the beach was coming up so I ease up. Just as you entered the beach there was a medical tentage and I guess the medic's there had a lot of free time as they made 'ice-packs' from rubber gloves and handed them out. It was really refreshing as I ran along the beach maybe that help me to at least run 3/4 of the beach and walk the last bits. The beach run was longer this year and hot as hell. Out of the beach top up water and it was the final stretch towards the finishing line in the hot sun. Just as I started the long trek in, muscle cramp started, don't know why but again same spot as I got my cramps last year. It was the entrance area just along the up slope. Maybe that is why. Anyway jog/walk the rest of the way in, just managed to complete it in under 3hrs. The first thing about the race that struck me was for the 21K runners I think they are mostly people who run alot and have water point discipline as I call it. At the water points and mainly after the water points you don't see many paper cups thrown all over the place, they are all thrown at the side of the road so you don't have to run through mountains of used cups. However once the route merges with the 10K runners you see cups all over the route. The other thing was 3000 runners was a very comfortable number not a very crowded race until you meet up with the 10K runners that is.

Next run would be the Full Marathon as I have to skip the Newton 30K as it clashes with my holiday plans. On a side note don't ever go down to MacRitchie on a holiday as it's Jam Pack with people, the car park was full and there were 20 cars at least waiting to get in. I think it's due to the completio of the renovation works now the park has better amenities..

3 Day, 2 Nights

My little boy went for an operation recently, after visiting his doctor, we were advised to have his throat check by a specialist due to the panting he sometimes gets. We were referred to an ENT specialist at KKH, it was found that he had an enlarged Andenoid, his Tonsils were big too and his left ear was block so a full ENT would be done. Hopefully after they clear the wax in his ear there would be no water behind else they will need to drain that too.

Made the appointment and both me and the missus took leave, his sister had to stay home for a few days and not join him. We checked in a day before as they needed him to stay as the operation was early the next morning. The poor little boy could sense something was not right. He was a little grumpy the whole day.

Next day 9am was the op, doctors came in and got him ready for it we went to the operating theatre he was really fussy now. In the end only 1 parent could bring him in and the missus took him in, he was screaming a lot the poor little boy. The missus came out told me they have put him to sleep and will call us once it was over would be about 45 mins to an hour or so. We waited in the waiting area, really hate this part where you don't know what is going on and you just wait outside. After 45 mins, still no word, an hour passed and still nothing. After about an 1hr 15 mins the nurse came out and asked one of us to go in first. The missus went in to see the little one. 5 mins later I was allowed in. The poor little boy was a little groggy but awake. The doctor told us his ear was fine no water in it. The op was successful his Andenoid and Tonsil were reduced so now they needed to monitor him for another day. Thank god everything went well.

The boy was so very groggy with all the sedatives, he slept most of the time. Aunties, Uncles and grandparents came visiting, he got lots of new toys to play with. At night he did not want to sleep and was very fussy he did not take his medicine well and refused to drink his milk. Then he vomited and the nurse check his vomit and said it's ok he just threw out the bad blood as there was trace of blood in the vomit. The boy threw out one more time and after that he was better, he took his medicine, drank his milk and went to sleep through out the night. Guess he just needed to get the stuff out of his tummy and he felt better after that. I on the other hand had to make a quick detour home to change as he had threw up on me.

Next day doctors came to check he was find everything ok and he was discharged, Had to stay home for 1 week and go for a post op check. All cleared after the post op check and he is doing better now.

Freaky Rain

It rain so heavy yesterday as I was leaving work for home that I got totally SOAK !!!! My bag was soaked, shirt was wet, pants even the umbrella I had was kind of useless !! even my underwear was soaked !!! The new drainage did not seem to help !! It made things WORST if you ask me so much water ponding !!! But had a nice warm shower after that and had a good night’s sleep on a cool night.

Our Lady’s Procession 2011

The Annual Procession at Novena was held on 4th Sept 2011. It was crowded as usual, every year it’s crowded, this year I think they managed to get more people up into the terraces. It was great weather, not to hot and there was a gentle breeze. I went early to get a spot but seeing the crowds, I decided to stay back a little. There were people everywhere even across the road. This year’s booklet with the message “Blessed Are You”

There was also the electric candle that were being sold and I got mine a couple of weeks back, bought a couple for my parents and sister as well. It’s a ice little battery operated candle that flickers like a real one I figured it would be good for the alter with the 2 small ones around, no fire hazard. Anyway we were told to bring the candles and we had them lit, great for reading too once the sun went down.

I have been going to the 9 weeks novena and the procession for a couple of years now, and when the little kids grow up, definitely will bring them to attend one day. Its about 3 hours long (6 to 9pm) so they are too young now. But one day will bring them for the procession.

PE

So the Presidential Election is finally over. We went early that day to vote, yes it was raining and all that but we figured lets get this done and hoepfully more people stay away due to the rain so that we would have less of a crow. Well it seemed that way and the process seemed a lot more smooth than the last election held a couple of months back. Maybe the people were now more season in running the polls. What drama on the day. It went to a recount, I had stayed up but by 3am was too tired to wait up any more. In the end the margin of victory was less than 1% !!!! out of 2.3 million voters. That was incredible.


So what was the impact of the PE, seemed as today is Hari Raya, the Istana was open to the public. We wanted to go as we thought why not since I have never been to he Istana before. Bad idea !! MASSIVE amounts of people were there the queue not only snake up and down the entrance but spilled over to the main road leading to Plaze Singapura, all the way to the MRT and evern beyond. I guess everyone wanted to greet and meet the out going President one last time before he steps down. We kind of gave up on that and decided to head to Botanical Gardens with the kids. Looking forward to the Food Court and the swans, brought some bread too. Another disappointment. The Food Court was closed, for renovations I think, and for some reason there were no swan in swan lake !! They looked like they had all disappeared. I used to see them at the Gardens whenever I had stopped by. So in the end we fed the fishes.

Captain Ape

I caught Captain America and Planet of the Apes a couple of weeks back. I have to say, Captain America to me seemed a little young and not as beefy as I would have imagine him to be. Dont really like the costume, just does not seem right. However the Red Skull was awesome. I think they did a great job for the character. The wait at the end for the clip of the Avengers was really long, had to wait till all the credits were done before it came up. Nice little preview if I have to say so myself.


The Planet of the Apes was way cool. Kind of a spin on the origin of how the apes took over the world. Cesar was cool especially the last bit when he said "Cesar is home" .... talking ape :)

and the REDS go marching on …

Read in the papers where the Liverpool team will be today quite a few places and so I decided to go down to Novena to catch Glenn Johnson and John Flanagan. It wasn’t too crowded and since the event was sponsored by Carlsberg you just needed to purchase $50 worth of Carlsberg beer to get a free pass to the Fans Area. Seems Harry’s was the co-partner in this as they were selling 2 buckets (each bucket 5 bottles – $35) for $70 which will allow you to get your pass.

Luckily when I got there early there was not much of a queue, it started to get heavy just a few minutes after I got my Fan Access Pass. The place was basically set up in the Basketball Court and all ready for the 2 stars to appear. When I got into the holding area they announced that Glenn Johnson would not be turning up instead it would be Joe Cole.

At About 2.30pm they came in and after a few words they were down to the Autograph and Phototaking. These were actually for those winners from the Carlsberg Fan Site I was not part of that group just behind them in the Fan Area. The top 10 were allowed autographs and personal photo’s with the stars, while the other;s were in team shots of 5 each. There was even Mr Liverpool Fan who actually had Liverpool Tatooed on his Body !!!



After they were done it seemed there was still a little time and so the organiser allowed those in the fan area to come up for a photo in groups of 10. I was one of the first to get in and the first group to go up. There was an official photographer who was taking the photo’s which would be posted on the Carlsberg Fan Web Site on Facebook. But for some reason the organiser saw me with my camera and asked if I wanted someone to take the pic (maybe it’s because I was in my Carlsberg Pool shirt), I said ok and he took the camera looked around at the official photographers but no one around to help him so he decided to take a shot for me. But by then all the official photographers where done and the security personnel was moving everyone off the stage getting ready for the next batch of 10. Somehow I was left alone and got a Solo Photo with Cole and Flanagan … way cool that was ha ha. My lucky “Group” shot.

There was lucky draw at the end of the session after the stars left at 3.15pm they were there like for 45 minutes only. I managed to snag one of the Carlsberg Liverpool Jersey’s. Other items up for the draw were passes to their training ground and for the super lucky person a Liverpool T-Shirt signed by the entire team.

Finally a shot of me with my winning T-Shirt at the event they had this booth where you can take a picture of yourself at the event and they will email you the picture. Yep that is me below with the wacky hat (they gave a Carlsberg Plastic bottle too but that was on the floor) and my lucky draw T-Shirt.

 

VISION

Got some tickets to the Magic Show VISION held at the Esplande. Luckily it was a Mantinee show as it clashed with the NDP rehearsals and we were able to get out before the closed off the roads. The show started at 2.30pm and ended around 5.30pm about 3 hours with a 20 minute intermission.

It was by the local father and daughter team of Lawrence and Priscilla Kong. It’s a local act pretty good I guess. Nothing in the form of David Copperfield or David Blaine kind of stuff but the storyline was ok rather hard and at times a little dark to follow. Wonder how all the kids took it. It’s about the father daughter relationship and flash backs to the younger times kind of story. A couple of slip ups like the Magicians calling his younger version by the boys real name and not his. Notice the lady did not seem very comfortable doing the fire bits and the close up magic probably not meant for the stage. But overall a nice afternoon with the missus just the two of us.

Final 3

I just signed up for my final 3 runs for the year. It will start with the REAL Run which basically is kind of my favourite running event, will be doing the 21K at that event. It will then be followed by the Newton 30K and as the event states its a 30K run. All this will culminate in the year ending Standard Charted Marathon Singapore where I hope I will be able to complete my second Marathon. Time to get serious about training ha ha ..

T3 : DotM

Transformers 3 : Dark of the Moon, was looking forward to this movie, I even got the trading cards which were selling in the 7-11 stores before the movie came out. It’s a very nice card set. Lots of specials to collect including Chromium Cards, Acetate Cards (what they call specials), Gold Cards, Silver cards and Metal Collection. I like the Chromium’s best and the base cards were picture puzzles like this one.

This shows Sentinel Prime puzzle on the right and the left is the back of the Optimus Prime card set. More like the Chromium (below Bumblebee) and the Metal Cards include the company logo.

Anyway back to the movie I got a free ticket to catch it on opening day. Went for a late show as the missus wasn’t really interested in catching these sorts of movie’s. The theatre was full !! I have to say I was a little disappointed with the movie, They should get back Megan Fox, the new lady just does not fit in and I have no idea what her name is. As usually the Michael Bay kind of action scenes were everywhere. Lots of Product Placements in the movie, someone will probably come up with a list soon. This year definately has been the year of the comic book movies, Thor, X-Men, Green Lantern, Transformers and next up CAPTAIN AMERICA woo hooo …..

Sole in One

Had a bad day at the office. Went to work as usual, just changed out my shoes to something I had not worn in a while. I had used it the previous week before with no problem but this time at work I notice my right side shoe was getting a little loose. Checked it out and to my horror found out that the sole was breaking. So had to make the journey back home quickly to get a new pair. Did not make it all the way. The back broke as I was half way home and had to shuffle the rest of the way. First time I have encounter a shoe-drobe malfunction

Here’s what’s left of it.

 

The Emerald Ring

“In Brightest Day, In Blackest Night

No Evil Shall Escape my Sight.

Let Those Who Worship Evil’s Might

Beware My Power, Green Lantern’s Light”

and so the Oath goes, I caught the opening day movie with the Fan Boys. It was organised by the local comic shop, which was great it meant no queue for tickets and you usually get freebies as well. I’m not exactly a big fan of Green Lantern … more a Superman, Batman, Justice League fan. (Marvel would be Spiderman, X-Men and Fantastic Four) but a comic book movie I would definitely go and watch it. Got the tickets, great seats at Cathay where I caught the movie and man I think it was in digital. (you know I have yet to catch a 3-D movie maybe one day I would)

Anyway I get my tickets and my GL Ring and the place was packed … total sell out, all the tickets had been snapped up. Had the lucky draw and did not get anything ah well at least I caught the movie. It was great, actually the other GL’s were better than Earth’s very own Hal Jordan. I kind of prefer them especially Kilowog. Way cool, Not sure why they start making “planet destroying evil enemies” cloud creatures !! Probably borrowed from FF2. All in a fun movie to catch, so that’s the 3rd Comic Movie I caught this year after Thor and X-Men : First Class. Next up I think it Transformer’s and then it’s the debut of Captain America !! And oh do stay for the credits for the little extra …….

Tooth Fairy

I finally decided to get my wisdom tooth taken out on the advice of the dentist when I had my regular check-up earlier this year, yep it’s almost 5 months since I went to get it checked out and had been procrastinating the removal till now. So made my appointment and was all set for the removal. I knew it would be a long process as I had to remove 2 teeth upper and lower right side. The dentist had already told me it looks like 1 was a straight forward removal while the other had to operate on to get it out. The lower one was the complicated tooth. I arrived at the dentist at 10am for my appointment. They took an X-Ray of my mouth just to be sure where everything was and there was an explanation of what to expect. What was wrong was my lower tooth looked like this …..

The tooth was lying on it’s side and was growing towards the other teeth, it was also near a nerve (in red) and to get it out needed to operate and cut the tooth into 4 to remove it. The nerve maybe damaged I was told, but it was not a motor nerve more of a sensory nerve so I would have use of my mouth but in a small percentage of cases I could loose some feeling. Anyway I decided to go ahead with it.

The Dentist injected my gums both upper and lower to numb the area and then she proceeded to cut up my lower tooth. It was a huge tooth and I was told it’s why you should get your wisdom tooth removed early as it is softer when you are younger and easier to remove. They gave me a squeez ball to hold in case I got over excited. So the drilling and cutting began halfway through they had to change the drill bit as it was worn out. Guess I had like iron teeth or something like that. After sectioning and pulling and cutting and more digging, a part finally came out. On to the other 3/4’s left behind. In the end they had to section it into 5 pieces and the tooth finally came out. By now the numbness was wearing off and I was given another injection so that they can work on my upper tooth. Just a tweak and a twist and a pull and the tooth came out. It was not noon. I was there at 10am, the briefing was about 15 minutes, to take out the upper tooth was 5 minutes, the rest of the time of 1 hr and 40 minutes was spent getting the lower tooth out, half way through I was really nervous and I think I started praying especially when the drilling and cutting started.

The 2 days after the operation were the worst, swollen mouth and the aching was there just a mild one but still persistent.it’s like a headache that never goes away. The painkillers help but it got better after that. I have just return to the dentist after 10 days to get my stitches out and everything seems to be find now. The cut still needs some time to heal but it was healing well according to the dentist. Most scary and painful thing I have ever done.

GROSS

WARNING

Here is my big upper tooth in 1 piece and the 5 fragments from my lower tooth.

X-Men–First Class

Got to catch the First Day opening of X-Men First Class as the missus had some complimentary tickets from her company as part of a company event. We were given popcorn and a hot dog as well as a cup of coke together with the free tickets.

As a comic fan, really love those comic movies that have come out. X-Men First Class is about the beginning of the X-Men or as I would like to call it when Professor X had hair ha ha …. Its really strange seeing him with hair and walking !! Anyway its a great little movie even the missus enjoyed it, go catch it.

I have seen Thor this year and X-Men, I also got some tickets for the first day screening of Green Lantern which was organised by the local comic shop. Free gifts and all that will be the order of the day at that event. Probably wear my Green Lantern Shirt too.

FCBD 2011

I finally found where I downloaded those pics from my phone to. Just in time to write about FCBS 2011 as well. The first weekend of May is usually FCBD – Free Comic Book Day. That is where you can get some samples of various comics for free. Its a way for creators to showcase their works and get readers interested in their comics to continue buying them.


As you can see above it’s a relatively huge event long queue at G&B comics where if you are a member you get 10 free comics while non-members get 5. I went there quite early but still there was a queue. But it was fast moving, besides the free comic books, there was also a sale for Graphic Novels as well as an Artist Signing/Drawing session by Gary Erskine.

While in the queue met "Spiderman" and "Green Lantern" ha ha that was hilarious but the costumes were cool.



Was in the queue for about 20 minutes before I got in. Picked out my 10 free comics and they were giving away other free reads as well, older stuff just good for those bed time reads. Took some of those. And I got my book signed by Gary. Here he is doing a sketch for someone.



Till Next Year !!!!

My First 800

I signed up my kids for the Cold Storage 2011 Kids Run. Wanted them to have a try at the under 2 Stroller race. Got their strollers in good shape, the missus even went to the gym to get fit so that she can push the little one through the 800m course. It was very exciting, I did not get a shirt size to fit them as that was all taken so got them the smallest size which basically was still oversized for them. On the day we left the house at 7.30 to get to the Padang by 8am their race was at 9am. It was a hot and humid Sunday. Strolled around the area to catch the festivities, when it was time got the kids to wear the shirt but the boy had his own ideas and refused to wear or sit in his pram. So in the end only the little girl (my brave little girl) went with mummy to do the race. It was just a short 800m walk round the Padang and they did it in 2 waves and when she cross the finish she got a little medal for her efforts, her first one and she’s not even 2 yet. Maybe next year it will be a parent and child race no more stroller event.

		First 800 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

PAssion Run 2011

Man oh man oh man …. PAssion Run 2011 was a run to forget. I guess I did not really train for it have not been running regularly and my knee was giving me issues lately. It was a HOT saturday afternoon when I did the run. Second time I am running the 25 km route. This was what I got in my goodie bag.

Lots of stuff but the watch was really nice. Anyway I went early and knowing the Chaos that might happen at the end and the narrowness of the East Coast Parkway Service Roads, I decide to park about a 15 minutes walk away from the start line. Took a scroll to the starting area lots of time to kill walked around a little. 4.30pm was the start time. I was planning to do about a 3hr run. Get back buy some food at the Food Centre before going home. This year the race seemed badly organised. Their website the day before still had not put up the run routes (it was under construction) the route map they gave out did not show where the water points were or any gel or banana station (there were none)

Around 4pm we were ushered into the holding area for the first wave of runners, I figured get it done over with as soon as possible. The MC was trying to get everyone in the mood there was some NUS Cheer Leaders or something like that.The Guest of Honour the MP for Marine Parade GRC was on hand she tried to work the crowd but to no avail. Runners were not responsive until the man of the moment stepped up, none other that the RO Extraordinaire Mr Yam Ah Mee. Whatever he did or say, the crowd would go wild !! I think if he told everyone to jump into the sea everyone would do it. He was given the honour to flag off the runners.

The race for me did not start well, I felt heavy, legs were not exactly coorperating. I think the first 5km I had stopped at least twice, don’t know why maybe the heat or something it was really hot that day. Struggled to get to the 8km mark felt a little better but was still not getting into my stride. Did not really feel comfortable. One of the slowest 10K I have ever done. Teh route actually was quite nice, love the run to the airport runway. At the 12k mark it felt a little better but then disaster struck. Right thigh muscle started to tighten at the 13K mark, that’s the half way point usually the muscle tightens at the 20K mark, this was early !! Slowed down to recover and then the right thigh tightens up. Had to walk off the cramps and eventually started running again but at a slower pace. The sun had set by then and it was cooler and also I could keep a steady jogging pace. The last 2 or 3 kilometres was comfortable but by then I was really drain out so drain that when I cross the end I totally forgot to check my timing and ony remembered when I got back to the car. I got my medal and wanted to scratch my back, reached back with my right arm and wham !! muscle cramp on my arm !! so had to shake that off on the way to the car I tried to use my left hand to scratch my back and wham !! Muscle pull again, now both legs, and both arms are cramped out !! My time was like way way over what I had expected I think close to at least 3.5 hrs. It was so hot I got a sunburn and had abrasions even thought I had put the lubricant probably this pair of running shorts has not broken in yet. Felt very very tired and on top of that there was still a jam trying to get out of the place took me close to 45 minutes to get out.

Well I leave with this parting comment, all I can say is that Pursuant to Section 1, Subsection 1, Paragraph 1 of my running log, this has been by far the worst run ever !!

GE 2011

The General Election is here, Polling has arrived and we all know that the incumbent government won the day. This time I went to only 1 rally which was nearest my house but in the end it was not even the candidates for my area. The unique thing about where I live is that if I go out the main gate is 1 area, the side gate over the canal is another area and the back gate cross the overhead bridge was the another constituency I’m like at a 3-Way Junction !!

Anyway as the nights were rainy I did not go to any more rally speeches. On polling day me and the missus got to the polling station early, just a small 5 minute wait and we were done. This was my 3rd time voting and my 3rd different constituency. I always go where the action is ha ha …

The unsung hero from these elections was the Returning Officer who became an instant online success !!

New Soles

The soles of my office shoes were worn out and so decided to get them done up. Cost me $25 for both pairs, took a weekend to get it done but I guess that is ok.

Lent

Finally got some time to write about Lent. Actually not been updating the blog for about a month now. Lent has come and gone and this year I actually decided to give up something. What it was was to give up soft drinks, which basically means no Coke for a month. I have to admit, it was harder than expected. It was not so much the sacrifice but the need to remember not to order a soft drink at meal times. The first week was tough, as I drank coke almost as soon as I started as it was part of a set meal. But I did learn my lesson and I never ordered a soft drink again for a month with any set meal. I got coffee instead. The other time I broke it was on the following where I was at a friends birthday party and just happen to drink a cup of coke. I was more careful from then on and I think I managed quite well besides those 2 slip ups. One whole month without coke was I think an achievement for me. It did not feel so bad actually and I just had it again and strangely it felt like I was drinking it for the first time again !

Election 2011

Well it is the event that happens every 5 years. The countries political leaders go into battle again. Date has been announced 7th May 2011. The hastings begin on 27th April 2011. I got my polling card already so I guess I am all set to vote !!!

2XU Compression Run

Have not been updating this blog for a while. Anyway on 9th April I wen for the 2XU Compression Run, held at the Marina Bay area. I got there pretty early to be in the first wave of runners I figured run and be done with it, it was also my first run of the year.

The distance was 12K and it was one of the better run routes except for the beginning where it was a little cramp near the Lavender area. It started at the F1 Pit Building, headed out towards Lavender turn and head back by the Kallang River and Marina Bay towards Esplanda and then to Raffles and pass the Marina Bay Sands before ending again at the F1 Pit Building.

A couple of my friends ran the race into but I did not meet them as it looked like rain, it actually pour for 10 minutes before the start and half way through the run it started to drizzle for a while too, so I left quite early after the run. Completed it in 1 hr 25 min, the uniqe thing about this run was the Medal they gave otat the end was gender specific, there were male and female medals. Next up the PAssion Run (25K)

Inagiku

Me and the missus recently went to Inagiku the Japanese restaurant at City Hall for dinner. Pretty upmarket place. Very nice atmosphere and service. The first thing that struck me was the setup, where the chopsticks was double sided !! Like Darth Maul’s lightsaber. Was not too sure how to use them.

We ordered the trial set (which basically had everything) a Suki Yaki dish and an extra side dish of California Maki sushi. The appetizer came it was some toufu dish and some mashy thingy. Not really sure what it was but it was very nice even the missus liked it.

Next up the Sashimi, wow it was really fabulous ! Excellent stuff served on a bed of ice. There was the Salmon, tuna and some fish which the waitress mentioned but I forgot the name.

The assorted sushi dish came next followed by our other side dish the California Maki. The sushi was perfect, the rice not too big and not too small just nice for a mouthful and the fish stayed on the rice and the whole thing did not break apart. When the California Maki came the missus remarked that “wow it was an expensive maki, those sushi tea ones so much cheaper” That maki was priced at $40, which comes up to $5 a piece. I told her lets try it and see what’s so special. After the first bite immediately you can tell why it cost so much. Its very different from what I have tasted. It was very very good.

Our main dishes came next the Japanese Beef and the Suki Yaki set. I have to say the beef was fabulous I order mine medium well and it was just perfect, soft and juice, just the way I like it. The Suki Yaki was excellent too. Me being the sua ku fellow was not sure what that egg was for but the missus told me you had to cook the meat then dip it in the egg and eat it.


The Tempura was up next and the missus loved it, she was more of a tempura fan than me. I’m not a big fan of tempura but I guess it was ok.
The udon was next up and it was excellent. I love the flavours from the soup it was really nice. Again I usually just have sushi and sashimi, not a udon fan too.

Finally the dessert arrived. That was it below some sherbert like dessert, it was lovely.

All in the meal was excellent, the bill came to close to over $400 for just the 2 of us, but I had a 50% discount, probably the only reason I would eat there. So the bill ended up around the $200+ range. Would I come back  ?Definitely if someone was buying.

Car Check

Got my cert of health for the little car, have to do it every 3 years and it’s goldie’s turn to have her checkup. Passed with flying colours. The whole process was rather fast but there was a queue and the taxi in front of me getting checked up ran into problems it seems as the car took forever to clear the stations.

Race Pack Collection - 2XU

I had signed up for my first run of the year the 2XU Compression Run – 12km. Went down to collect the race pack and since last year I did the bid number display thingy. I figured this year why not show what the goodie bag was about.
So this is what was in the goodie bag. Had the standard Race T-shirt, timing chip plus the race map and details. A shoe string the easy lace type for triatholon’s. A gel to warm up the muscle and the reason why I signed up for the even the hand carry water bottle. They added in the Pocari Sweat information pamplet on the benefits of Pocari.
I picked up my goodie bag at Velocity and as there was the 30km challenge run in October and they were having a road show. I signed up for that too and got a MIO watch.

PC Show

I was at the recent PC show held here. Don’t think there was any records broken this year for attendance or sales as there was no mentioned of anything in the newspaper’s unless I missed it. But it was still crowded. I decided this year to go after work on a Friday (I figured I’ll beat the weekend crowded) but man it was still crowded. So many floors could not even find the Apple booth. I went to check out the Singtel booth but it was so crowded that I gave up. Headed for the StarHub area to see if I could get a better deal on my subscription but could not get a free helper there to answer my queries so in the end I just did a quick walk around of the floor area. Wanted to get some more photo paper but again queue was too long. Was about to head dome when I spotted the Camera bag area, it was not too busy and I had seem their advertisement for $30 camera bags. Lowepro pretty good brand. I saw their cheap $30 bags but it was really too flimsy. Then I saw their $80 bag usual was $260 or there about. It was a backpack and big enough to fit my camera with the battery drip it also had a place to hang the tripod which I though was good since during the visit to the zoo I had to lug around the camera bag plus the tripod. This really saves me a lot if I am carrying a tripod. There was a side quick access panel as well. It even had a ‘raincoat’ cover to protect it in case of bag weather. You can take it out at the base and it wraps around the bag. Again the zoo visit highlighted a need for some water proofing since it rain as well there. Pretty happy with the bag now can sell off my other 2 Lowepro bags that I got ha ha.

My Bag that I bought from the PC show and the only thing I got from it.

Speaking of photography, I got myself a simple water proof camera it uses normal 35mm rolls of film and man it has been a long time since I loaded one of these.

 

Finally got it loaded, Remembered to fire off the first few shots to clear the roll and it was off to take pictures. Photo’s actually came out, well at least something came back however really do miss the digital age where you can manipulate your shots after you have taken them but these cannot do that. Really should not be taking babies with these cameras wasted many picture like that but still great fun and it works.

Best Place to Practice Music.

You would never believe where people go to practice. I was at Toa Payoh park recently and as I was jogging through the park, I heard the sounds of a Violin playing. As it turns out it was someone practicing their violin playing in the park. At Macritchie Reserviour Carpark encountered a man playing his Saxaphone !! That probably is the strangest sight ever.

Japan will recover !!

I’m amazed at the devastation the recent Earthquake / Tsunami has done to Japan. After seeing Christchuch in ruins, hey I’ve been to the Cathedral that looks like it is going to have to be demolish now, hopefully they can fix it. It’s the talking point these few days. The Japanese seem very calm in the face of this disaster, you see the news reports very practical people asking just to have the services restored, they queue up even if only 1 store is open to buy food you don’t see mad rushing around, everyone walked home after the quake hit as transportation came to a halt. I think some of the Japanese would have gone back to work if the authorities had not closed down the building. Heard this story about a company who had a branch in Japan and they called in to the head office here and in a calm manner requested permission to evacuated the building !! I’m thinking what the hell just get out and call later man. But then I think that company probably got the news here first even before the cable networks were able to report on the Earth quake. My prays are with the people of Japan. 

GUG

Growing Up Gifted - the kids weekly play group which we have just signed them up on. It has been 2 weeks already since we signed them up and today they went for their second lesson. Much better behaved this round and not like the first time where little boy just wants to do his own thing. Just dread the day he goes to school can just image the teacher calling up on the first day "your son does not want to sit down". Little girl was better at least she likes the story time she could sit there and listen and look at the book that the teacher was reading on. There was songs,activities, play time, crafts and story time. This week both were slightly better behaved.

 Little Nat with her dirty dress after the painting class on the session with GUG

TREE

I took this by the side of the road one day astonishing how the tree cold actually grow through the fence !

Adrenalyn Champions League Tournament 2010

The Adrenalyn Champions League 2010/2011 Tournament or what the organisers called the Grand Final was held recently on 6th Mar 2011 at Velocity. It was my first time at this tournament decided to partake in it since I tried out the Adrenalyn World Cup tourney and found it interesting. Rules and stuff were basically the same.

The Tournament started at 11am with a briefing on the rules and regulations (something which would haunt me later) and then we were split into our groups. There were 8 groups and 4 players in each group with the top 2 going on to the next round. I was in group 5 and as someone did not turn up there were only 3 of us in the group. All 3 were adults so did not get a chance to meet any young kids. But I heard from my friends who faced these kids they were tough to beat as well.

I lost the first game 5-6 but won my second 6-5. So it was between the other 2 players and the outcome from those matched. Turns out the guy I lost to in the first game won so he had 2 wins, me I had 1 win and 1 lost and the other guy had 2 loses. Managed to get through to the round of 16. So that ends the round robin play.

Elimination round starts. I was picked to play Nas a friend I met recently to do some trading and he went for the friendly games recently, he had just picked up the game and in the friendlies he was basically white-wash by the other players. But now he has made it into the top 16. I won the toss and went first which was the advantage. This was crucial and I manage to win 6-5. So it was off to the top 8 and at least got some prize money as well. The Top 8 will walk away with cash prizes.

Quarterfinals I played Edwin. He won the toss and had the advantage. He played a strange formation 4-1-5 and started with a Midfielder, everyone I had played always started with a Striker. It kind of blew me away and I had to think a bit. I managed to catch him at the right time and won 6-5.

Semi-Final play offs was again the defending Champion Luk. I lost the toss and basically was no match for him and he won with a resounding 7-4 victory. Had a hard time trying to catch him.

I still had one more game and it was the 3rd/4th placing $50 for the 4th and $300 for the 3rd. I would be playing against the guy I lost in the first round. With the help of some friends I did some quick tweaking to the deck and went into the match. He won the toss and first card I though I would get him but he fooled me and I lost a major card to him. I was going oh dear that’s it lost game here. But somehow I managed to get back into the game with some timely placement and caught him the second time. Score was 5-4 in my favour and I just needed 1 more point to win with 2 cards on the table I have a Goalkeeper and Striker and he had the same. It was my turn, I played my Keeper Cech against his Ronaldo and SAVED !! The shot was saved by my keeper score 6-4 and only 1 point left. But then to my horror when the last card was slip my striker turned out to be a Goalkeeper I had made a wrong substitution and that cost me an immediate Disqualification ! I guess lesson learned here and anyway if I had not tweaked my deck with the help from my friends I would have lost anyway. So 4th place for me not bad.

I won a lucky draw prize and took home a mini speaker as well as a Vuvuzela (cheap one) for answering some trivia question. The Vuvuzela was a real hit with my little girl she loves it and thinks its a vacuum cleaner.