Last post for the year

Have a great 2009 ahead.....

Course outline

Mged to d/l some course materials for my various modules and it sure looks formidable. I guess this approaching semester is going to be a really hectic one. As they are all 3 pointers, the amount of weekly contact is quite massive. Besides, there are assignments that also need to be completed plus the occasional quizzes and tests. Well, with the long-term goal in mind, just have to bear with it for now....

Life is short

I attended a former colleague's funeral wake last night and it sure was a difficult one. She was killed in a road accident the night before and was just 28 years of age. What made it even more difficult is that her parents are quite shaken.

Met many of my ex-colleagues there and all of us agreed that there could be a better place to meet up but all of us came to a common conclusion. Life is short and precious. Basically, make your time here on Earth a good one. Live life to the fullest and appreciate all that you have. Count your blessings daily and be thankful for those around you especially your loved ones.

It is the blog owner's birthday

Posting will take a break today as it is the owner's 33rd birthday.

1 more week to go

I am down to my last week of the holidays before term begins. This coming semester is going to be a challenging yet exciting one. 7 modules does sound formidable but besides this, I have IDT plus other commitments as well. Having already signed up for 2 events which are in Feb and May, I have to schedule in my training sessions in between my course work.

Car park 4 is now the only FOC parking area starting Jan 5th. It seems that they will start charging as they have already installed the gantries at all car parks. Only the one at car park 4 will not be activated for now. Hopefully they will only activate it after Jul'10.

zoo outing

Never offend those who handle food....

I read in STOMP about some unethical things hawkers/waiter/waiteress do if they are dissatisfied with their customers. Allow me to stress that certain customers are just as difficult and unreasonable who are out just to be picky so that they will escape with a free or discounted meal. There are countless stories of how the kitchen staff will get back at unreasonable customers by doing things that I will not describe here lest it creates some sort of discomfort!

Basically, if you are not happy with the food or service attitude ( i sincerely mean bad attitube and horrible service standard. Please refrain to trying to be a difficult customer), DO NOT create a scene or make your displeasure obvious at that point. Just act normally and after you have consumed your meal (assume there is no 'extra' stuff put into your food), that is when you can use your "big 2" or "dai di". Call the manager in charge and make your unhappiness known. It could be the service that was atrocious or the waiter/waiteress was extremely rude etc... You can ask for the service charge to be waived since they do not deserve that extra 10%. Sometimes they will try to give a voucher or other freebies. What I will do is to firmly ask them to waive the service charge and never step into that outlet ever again. Who knows what might happen to your food that is being served....

Those who drive into Msia, beware.....

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA: The police have yet to uncover evidence that car thieves are getting help from the people within the industry to steal vehicles.
Federal Criminal Investigation Department (CID) chief Datuk Bakri Zinin said this in a statement in response to the report "Many car thieves getting inside help", published in the New Straits Times last Saturday.
The report had implied that car distributors believed that car thieves received inside help as the jobs were often "clean" and the vehicles not damaged.
"Breaking into cars or immobilising car alarms is not rocket science.
"Car thieves are resourceful and very capable of finding their way into any car they can get," Bakri said.
The article also reported that most of the 12,427 vehicles stolen last year were luxury cars, multi-purpose and four-wheel drive vehicles.
"Police statistics show that car thieves target any make of car as long as opportunities exist for them to do so."
Bakri said the increase in car thefts was almost proportionate to the increase in registered cars in the country.
"In 2005, there were about 6.5 million registered cars in the country whereas last year, the figure had increased to 7.4 million.
"The number of cars stolen last year is only 0.17% of the number of registered vehicles in the country."
He added that the CID took vehicle thefts seriously and combats the activity by gathering intelligence and monitoring areas prone to thefts.
Bakri advised vehicle owners to install appropriate anti-theft devices.

I had a very gd workout

After warming up, I went to the 30 storey block opposite and began my climb. Compared to the stairs of my block, this other one seemed to have a greater gradient. With each step I took, it felt as if I took a little more vis-a-vis that of 2 days ago. Along the way, i spotted many unusual items. Graffiti on the walls, laundry being hung out to dry, residents with green fingers based on the many potted plants I saw. There were also 2 pairs of 'love birds' who decided to sit on the stairs away from prying eyes to have some private time of their own. Imagine their reaction when they saw 'the roadrunner' scaling the stairs! Not once but twice. Yes, I scaled the 30 storey building twice with a short break in between. I think this is a good way to train on rainy days when I cannot run outdoors.

Last 10 days of the year

How has 2008 been for you? Did it sail by faster than Felipe Massa's ferrari? What were the highs and lows for the year? What are some of your plans for 2009? Did you feel that 2008 was a good year in terms of adjusting certain things in life so that you can ride out the hard times ahead which might even drag into 2010 and beyond?

Started scaling the stairs today

As I am conditioning for the Vertical Marathon in about 8 weeks from now, I started formal training earlier. Did some warm up exercises before taking lift down to the 1st floor and began climbing 18 storeys. Once done, more stretching was being carried before taking lift down and doing it one more time. I reckon it takes more energy to scale the stairs than running a short distance? My next target will be the block opposite mine: 30 storeys

"no more aldy", "one"....

I seem to have some problems uploading a video of Esther helping out the laundry. However, please go to my facebook profile and it is available there.

Family pic

went to the zoo today

Spent a good part of the day at the zoo. I think it was an eye opening experience for us and for Esther especially since she got to see many animals 'live'. Being the school holidays, it was quite crowded but thankfully we were there early in the morning so it was not so warm but also not that crowded in some areas. Photos are still being consolidated so please be patient. In fact, I will most probably upload them on FB.

F1 woes, now WRC

Just 24 hours after Suzuki quit the series, Subaru cited the worldwide financial economic crisis as to why it will also not continue.
David Richards, the boss of the Prodrive company that runs Subaru's efforts in the WRC, was saddened by the decision which brings to an end a 20-year association.
"Subaru's departure from the World Rally Championship is a great loss as it is one of the sport's icons," said Richards, who helped Prodrive win six WRC titles.
"The Subaru World Rally Team has created true champions such as Colin McRae and Richard Burns and its absence will be felt by many the world over. Although this decision closes a significant chapter in Prodrive's history, our focus now turns to the future."
Richards said Prodrive would look to redeploy their WRC workforce elsewhere in the company - having also confirmed that their customer rally teams will continue.
A statement from Prodrive suggested that they were looking for a swift return to the WRC, especially with new regulations are set to come into force in 2010.
"Looking ahead, 2010 will see the introduction of new World Rally Championship technical regulations, which provide Prodrive with an opportunity to prepare for re-entering the championship with a new team and build on its 24 years of World Rally Championship experience and success," said the statement.
Subaru has struggled to find form with the Impreza in recent years. The last victory was in September 2005, when Petter Solberg took victory in the Rally GB after Sebastien Loeb chose not to triumph following the death of Michael Park. The last win on merit was the Rally Mexico in March 2005.
The long-awaited new Impreza was introduced in the Acropolis Rally in May and, although its performance was originally encouraging with Solberg finishing second in Greece, it was never able to genuinely challenge Citroen or Ford for victories.
The team were hoping to push ahead with the development of the car ahead of next season and were planning to run four cars in 2009.
The withdrawal of Subaru and Suzuki in the last 24 hours leaves just two manufacturers in the sport - Citroen and Ford.

Santarina

New Balance Cert

Mum's bday

We had a simple celebration for mum as it is her 61st bday today. Met up with my brother and his family at the home and we bought a huge bday cake for mum and it was also to share with the other residents and nursing staff. It was a great time as she got to have her 3 grandchildren entertaining her. Esther had a great time as well with her 2 cousins.

As per planned, we went out for dinner afterwards and it was fantastic to have an extended family outing. Basically, the best part was when the 3 cousins were 'let loose' at the playground as they really enjoyed themselves. Despite them perspiring, David, Derek and Esther had a whale of a time chasing one another and climbing up and sliding down the slide. While the fathers kept a watchful eyes on the 3 of them, the mothers were chatting. Perhaps we should have more of such outings?

Went cycling today

Met up with the same group of fellow NIE kakis as the Sentosa outing today at East Coast. Other than David n his wife who decided to relax in their hammocks, the rest of us rented a bicycle each and went cycling. Would have liked to stop at Changi Village for some nice food but decided to turn back at the Sailing Centre. But everyone had a great time and we are already planning for the next outing which is a BBQ at one of our friend's place. Seems like we are having a wonderful time during this break. I guess it is a good way to relax and celebrate the upcoming Christmas season plus all our good results.

Results

I did alright. Basically the best word to describe is satisfactory. Like all teachers will comment in the report card, can do better. In fact, I am thankful as it was only the last couple of weeks that I managed to understand some of the abstract concepts and the intensive drill-and-practise helped a lot. My resolution for next sem is to improve by 1 rage at least. Though there are 7 modules, that is no excuse to say it is tough.

Tough times ahead for F1?

Times are really hard. The F1 scene has seen some casualties of which the Honda team is now up for sale as they have decided to pull out for good. Then there is the 1 engine supplier which has seen top teams threatening to pull out altogether. Some race circuits are not having it good as they still owe money to the FIA which puts them at risk of not being able to host the next round of F1 when the 2009 season starts. Seems that F1 is riding to the sunset?

SCM 08 is over what next?

Now that I have completed 2 full marathons (1 over night and 1 in the day), 1 half marathon, 2 15k runs (1 on normal rd while the other was that of cross terrain) and 1 10k run for 2008, what's in store for 2009?

I have signed up for the Sundown Marathon 09 which is about 5.5 mths away. So ...

30 May 09 - Sundown Marathon
Jun - Jul - Saucony passion run & Goldcoast Half Marathon (depending on how ready i m and of course $$$$)
Aug - Sept - Army half marathon (i m prepared to look beyond the huge mis-mgt of the event this year)
Oct- Terry Fox & New Balance Real Run
Dec- Stanchart 42k (the highlight of all)

My exhaused look...

SCSM 42k

I completed it. Though it was 30min faster than my Sundown Marathon result, physically it was much tougher. I was actually limping from the car park to my home and ard the hse. At least it is slightly better now. But I am very thankful for the good weather as it was not too hot nor humid. And part of the route took me through parts of the F1 track and in front of the pit building. Though I was walking for most of the remaining 14k, the pain was worth it. So what's next? I am still deciding if I should go for the Sundown Marathon 09 once again.

Early post today

Will probably be in bed early this evening as I need to have sufficient rest so that I can enjoy the run tomorrow. Just dropped by the SG Runners Forum and I can sense the excitement among many. Basically, the rule of the thumb is to enjoy the run and listen to one's body. If the need to stop and rest is necessary, that's ok. No pt forcing oneself and end up having a torturous run. I aim to enjoy every bit of it and though I have set a target for myself tomorrow, achieving it wld be a bonus as completing it is already an achievement.

Race pack collection yesterday

Joanne and I queued for about 2 hrs prior to us being served. From outside hall 5 at Expo, the queue snaked all the way to the MRT and it even made a U turn just in case the crowd does not obstruct the entrance to the station for safety reasons. We had our lunch while standing up just so that we will not be starving by the time we get to Minds Cafe to meet up with the rest.

Once inside, it was another long wait as the organisers probably miscalculated the number of counters for the various categories with respect to the number of participants. However, it was a good move for them to shift it to Expo this year as Suntec might not be able to accomodate so many people.

Now comes the crunch when all these people will be at the Padang come Sunday. Imagine the car parks nearby as well. So as usual, I will be out of the house by 0400hrs.

My SCM number tag

Great day with friends

7 of us had a great time at Tg Beach today. The weather was great except for the many sudden changes which left us high n dry and sunburnt as well. It has been a long time since I enjoyed myself with friends and what better way to do so during the holidays and with a great bunch of friends. Beach volleyball, frees bee (is this how you spell it), behaving like little children, having a picnic, taking numerous photos etc etc.....Round 2 tomorrow at the mind cafe

Pump prices fell again for the 13th time since Jul

When we drove past a Shell station this afternoon, the numbers said it all. The recent drop of 4c/lit for all grades of petrol and diesel reflects the slide in demand for crude oil amid this economic downturn. I recall paying close to $2.25/lit 5 mths ago. Since jul, the price has been obeying gravity and many had expected it to fall at a faster and greater rate. Isn't it funny when crude oil prices soar, the pump prices soar just as fast but the coverse does not seem to occur.

Name tag