the ironman invasion begins
Friday, February 29, 2008
29th feb>
yeah!an extra day in the calendar means an extra day for me to study for my test...lol. anyway tomorrow is my 2nd race of the year - SG Biathlon 08. hope all will go smoothly as planned. will go slow on the swim and go fast on the run. hope to finish in 1 hour and 15 minutes. bold target, but achievable.
all the best!
Monday, February 25, 2008
making the right choice>
Its not in the stars to hold our destiny, but in ourselves. - William Shakespeare
Sometimes i wonder if i had made the right choices in my life.
i once thought of going anglican high school. i went dunman high instead.
i once thought of going to polytechnic. i chose junior college.
i once thought of signing to the armed forces. i chose teaching.
i once thought of going overseas to further my studies. i chose to remain in nus.
i once thought of joining aquathlon. i chose scmc.sometimes i look back in life, thinking that i should have done this, i should have done that, and maybe things would have been better for me now. i dunno if i am living a live with regrets, not being able to do the things that i wanted to do, but rather following what people wanted me to do instead.
but probably some of you might call this fate. fate has brought me to jc, to army to nus. where i had known so many people from different walks of life. i dunno where would i be now if i had not gone to junior college, if i had not chose to study locally, if i had not chose scmc.
everthing in life is a gamble. nothing is fixed. i hold my own destiny. i have to fight for it.
Leap Years>
Leap Year has been the traditional time that women can propose marriage. In many of today's cultures, it is okay for a woman to propose marriage to a man. Society doesn't look down on such women. However, that hasn't always been the case. When the rules of courtship were stricter, women were only allowed to pop the question on one day every four years. That day was February 29th.
St. Bridget's Complaint
It is believed this tradition was started in 5th century Ireland when St. Bridget complained to St. Patrick about women having to wait for so long for a man to propose. According to legend, St. Patrick said the yearning females could propose on this one day in February during the leap year.
February 29th in English Law
According to English law, February 29th was ignored and had no legal status. Folks assumed that traditions would also have no status on that day. It was also reasoned that since the leap year day existed to fix a problem in the calendar, it could also be used to fix an old and unjust custom that only let men propose marriage.
The first documentation of this practice dates back to 1288, when Scotland passed a law that allowed women to propose marriage to the man of their choice in that year. They also made it law that any man who declined a proposal in a leap year must pay a fine. The fine could range from a kiss to payment for a silk dress or a pair of gloves.
Sadie Hawkins Day
In the United States, some people have referred to this date as Sadie Hawkins Day with women being given the right to run after unmarried men to propose.
Sadie Hawkins was a female character in the Al Capp cartoon strip Li'l Abner. Many communities prefer to celebrate Sadie Hawkins Day in November which is when Al Capp first mentioned Sadie Hawkins Day.
Greek Superstition
There is a Greek superstition that claims couples have bad luck if they marry during a leap year. Apparently one in five engaged couples in Greece will avoid planning their wedding during a leap year.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
pictures from decorating joce's room.>
haha. its been a tradition to decorate our dear joce's room. and this time its CNY theme. enjoy.
look at her lucky red room!
and her adorable piglet
all dressed up and looking pretty. courtesy of me and weikit.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
crystal jade dinner with my directors>
4k and andy. sulking at god knows what. haha.
du xin! enjoying her meal at crystal jade restaurant.
oops! sorry. its me and my muscles.
the 4 musketeers.
weiming... glad that day our food did not freeze.*audrey... send me your pics!!!haha. i know this had occured like a few million years ago... pardon me...
the dinner was damn fun lor... haha... imagine bringing someone from china (our dear Du Xin) to eat chinese food at some chinese restaurant. and of course its not gonna be as good as what she's having at home! Nevertheless, dinner was good... despite me wanting to have peking duck and they had no stock, we had to settle eventually for roasted duck instead.
then, we went to audrey's friend's sister waffle shop at suntec L3. Its $5.50 for 2 waffles with choice of topping plus a drink! the pricing is reasonable and the food is good! try it if you happen to drop by suntec. Its at level 3, tucked in a small corner at those cluster of teenage shops at the linkway between the Carrefour building and the Adidas building (haha... adidas rox!). the place is small but its got a homely feel. the owner, serves you personally... haha.. what better treatment could a customer get man???
3 cheers for standing comm!!!
some time to myself at last!>
finally i had sometime for myself today. went to watch p.s. i love you with two other friends. missed the 1st 10 mins of the show cos i got to the cathay instead of the other one at cineleisure. haha. names are so confusing these days for aging people like me. Nevertheless, the show was not too bad. haha. at least its watchable. teaches one how to cope with the reality of life. go watch it if you have time!
today was a rather fufilling day for me. i finally finished studying for my test this coming friday, did my mass tutorial for this coming friday too. i continued training for my march 01 biathlon despite having a blocked nose. guess i must pay a visit to the doc one of these days to check out my nose. haha. its getting a litle too prone to morning sinus problems and flu. or maybe its just my room becoming a little too dusty. gotta give it a clean sweepdown some day during the break next week.
nus biathlon last sunday had been a massive disaster for me. but for the swim leg only. i swam the 1st lap at 15mins and guess what? my timing for the 2nd lap ballooned to 28mins. what a drastic change in timing. lol. i was totally shocked when i came out of the sea. my watch was reading 44mins. haha. and i told myself i must sprint for the whole of my 10km later... at least i did try my best for the 10km and managed to shave off a few precious mins, enough to set my new personal best of 1 hour 35 mins. if only my swim could be faster.... well, its all over. i have about a week left to sg biathlon next saturday. hope all goes well. targetting a 1 hour 20 mins finish this time round.
there is not much things up for me this coming mid-term break, except for school work and science club stuff. so if you are looking to date me or spice up my life, please do. if not i will spend my time running, swimming and cycling. sigh. this is the life of an ironman wannabe =) haha.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
my race. my game.>
nus biathlon 08. all the best.
Friday, February 15, 2008
happy valentine's day>
mr. flirt
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
died>
there are some days when you feel totally screwed. today, that was my day.
how i wish i could be knocked down be a car.
Monday, February 11, 2008
way back into love>
I've been living with a shadow overhead,
I've been sleeping with a cloud above my bed,
I've been lonely for so long,
Trapped in the past,
I just can't seem to move on!
I've been hiding all my hopes and dreams away,
Just in case I ever need them again someday,
I've been setting aside time,
To clear a little space in the corners of my mind!
All I want to do is find a way back into love.
I can't make it through without a way back into love.
I've been watching but the stars refuse to shine,
I've been searching but i just don't see the signs,
I know that it's out there,
There's got to be something for my soul somewhere!
I've been looking for someone to shed some light,
Not somebody just to get me through the night,
I could use some direction,
And I'm open to your suggestions.
All I want to do is find a way back into love.
I can't make it through without a way back into love.
And if I open my heart again,
I guess I'm hoping you'll be there for me in the end!
There are moments when I don't know if it's real
Or if anybody feels the way I feel
I need inspiration
Not just another negotiation
All I want to do is find a way back into love,
I can't make it through without a way back into love,
And if I open my heart to you,
I'm hoping you'll show me what to do,
And if you help me to start again,
You know that I'll be there for you in the end!
Sunday, February 10, 2008
just a random post>
yesterday i played mahjong till wee hours in the morning. today i went to my friends house and was greeted by another round of mahjong. omg. is it really that addictive? i was quite satisfied just now with what i have done so far. finished reviewing 2 modules and done half of my homework for the coming week. really looking forward to the coming week, not because of school, but rather going to teach tuition and more training for my race this sunday. sometimes i really wished i have chose to go polytechnic instead of junior college so i can be freed of the burden of studying... and start working. of course, i do know that working is not fun too...=)
anyway think today marks the end of my cny celebrations. for me, cny celebrations are always the same, at least for the portion of visiting my relatives. the only part that makes my cny celebration different each year is the part where i go hang out with my friends, be it sec school, jc or uni friends. this time i'm looking forward to my sec sch gathering next saturday. yeap. lots of long lost faces... that i have not seen for almost a year as some of them have gone overseas for their studies.
and valentine's day is coming soon! haha. i've got no sweetheart or honey or darling right now... so its gonna be another lonely v'day this year for me!=D
Saturday, February 09, 2008
momentum>
i can't find my momentum back. i feel lost. oh god. studies. training. races. ccas. omg. i want my life back. i've got too much things to handle and too little time for myself. hope this kind of feeling will be shortlived.
anyway nus biathlon 08 is next sunday 17 feb 08 0700hrs at East Coast Park. hope you guys will come down and show me and this event some support=).
Thursday, February 07, 2008
chinese new year x 22>
well, its my 22nd time celebrating chinese new year already. it has been pretty much the same for me for the past few years, probably except for last year cos i flew off after the 2nd day of cny to langkawi in preparation for my ironman attempt. this year chinese new year seemed alot quieter than the past few years. maybe its just me, doing the same old routine for the past few cny. waking up, having breakfast with my family, laze around, read newspaper, bathe, go visit my grandma (father side) and have lunch. as usual, my family would then proceed to my other grandma (mother side) house... haha... over there its a little more crowded cos my mother got 9 other siblings!!! of course not all will be there at the same time if not the house would be so crowded le! my dad's side is a little quieter cos my uncle has migrated to canada with his family and only comes back occasionally. my aunt is going over to malaysia to work soon coming this august... haha...
ate quite a mouthful of bak kwa at my grandma's house today... haha... watched 881 there too! quite a touching movie coming to the ending part. then watched my nephews play street fighter... haha... that game is so damn old already lor... lol... but when i was young i used to look forward to playing that too...haha... and that was on my sega 16-bit and mind you, i was still using cartridges then... damn ancient lor... lol...
dinner was a simple affair. macs at lido. then went to watch cj7 with my family. it was super hilarious. but got one part which i found rather touching. here's a small little trailer, courtesy of youtube... enjoy=D
& chinese new year came>
so fast! no time to react at all! chinese new year is here! its time again for visiting relatives, having a long long break to chill out and relax with my old friends and uni mates. hope this holiday will be a good one for me and i would not waste it by playing around. haha. anyway cny shopping this year was fun. haha. in total, i went to zara THREE times to buy THREE different kinds of stuff. haha. how stupid right? when i could have done it all in 1 day. but i was quite satisfied with what i bought home. 1 long sleeved, 1 polo and 1 jeans. total should be less than $300 ba. haha. i don't go shopping very frequently so yeap, all these spendings are justified. Anyway, just to announce that i have got back my old tuition students and haha... they are willing to pay surprisingly high rates for tuition! OMG!!! my total fees for both now amounts to $100 per hour, which means $800 of income per month! haha... all these will contribute to my targetted savings of $20k by end of this year, which will then contribute to my car fund during my year 4 in uni. haha.this few days has been fun. haha. went over to kent ridge hall to decorate one of my friend's room with ang pows... haha... u should have seen her room lah. its red all over the place... her bed, her door, her table, her bag.... haha... will upload the video to youtube soon and post it here!also, my race calendar is starting soon! next sunday will be NUS Biathlon 08 at East Coast Park F2 carpark. i am busy training for it now. unfortunately i have injured my right thigh muscle during my training run on monday. haha. so i went for a light swim today and was glad to see my timing improve to 36min 05 sec! haha! if i can perform this well during the race and do a 55 min run, then i can complete the whole thing in 1 hour 40 mins! that would be a personal best! haha=)
and my father nagged at me about my studies today again. haha. telling me to study hard and get my 1st class honours. yes, i will work hard for my first class... haha... and i wanna go overseas for my masters! yeah yeah... study hard for this semester and pull my cap up to above 4.5 first-_-
and some fortune teller that i have seen on Channel 8 said that love will come knocking on those tiger babies' door! and i am one of them!!! haha!!! good if it happens. if it does not, then so be it... haha... i will indulge in multisports then.=)
thats all for today. tomorrow, or rather later today, i'm gonna watch cj7 by stephen chow. wonder how farnie its gonna be. stay tuned!
