Planning for a holiday destination does require a fair bit of coordination here and there. A bit of luck too. The list can go from finding a date that you can go on leave, if the destination is too hot/cold for comfort at that time, any budget constraint, is your travelling partner available at the same time and the list goes on……

And if you’re first time travelling with another person, you may also start to worry if you can get along with him/her throughout that trip. Will there be any conflict of interest, what’s their eating/sleeping/shopping style like

So ya…here am I looking at many many options that suit my pocket, leave approval, destination, weather, safety………

Yesterday I had my first attempt swimming at ECP. Abandone the idea of biking because the bed is just too tempting, I ended up joining the gang for the swim although slightly late. Swam out shore at Bedok jetty to meet the two man having their rest after the first lap while waiting for the other couple. The moment I landed my feet, that feeling is kinda disgusting. Let's see.....I think it's like.....stepping on tau suan dessert??? Couldn't bother and dun want to know what's underneath, I just ignore the feeling.

We swam back to start point and I couldn't help but unknowingly keep swimming closer and closer to shore. LT keep asking me to get out, it's too shallow for comfort. Soon my feet is hitting this huge metal thingie underneath. A little bit panic but staying calm and quickly get myself out there. Good overall experience, didn't expect myself to be that calm out there compare to my last sentosa swim :)

Followed by the run....oh well..... it's just one of those unexplainable days of the bad running day....pace is slow, breathing is tough, legs is heavy, not perspiring throughout the 5-6km. Don't think it is anything related to the swim. Nevermind...get it done and all I want is Redstar Dim Sum.

I have been busy being a tour guide and driver in the last few days. I am even busier when I get back to work. Squeezing in swim/bike/run for as much as I can....I will continue to get busy for the rest of the week.......

I am a buzy woman......:)

It was an unexpected weekend. Everything that was being planned for did not take place at all. Firstly, it was the new found pain at the other side of knee that did NOT happen after Sundown but 5 days later. The results? I can't lift up my leg as much as I wanted to, I have to climb stairs in a certain angel to avoid the pain. So there it goes, wave good bye to my plan to bike on Sat evening and MR on Sunday morning. Thank God, this morning was a lot better.

Inpromptu plan, we went for a 9pm show at GV Marina and by the time I reached home, it was midnight. I'm really not 'cut' to sleep late, regardless of how many hours I slept in. Just not 'me' to sleep at such hour. I felt lethargic the entire day despite the 8-9 hours!!! I would be all fine and charged up if that 8-9 hours is between 11-7am. Wondering how on earth did I survive Sundown..........

I thought I have completed a whole lot of stuff but it's barely half a day. Another slow, draggy afternoon to go :(

On a side note, I'm recovering well from the sleepless night & soreness and thankfully, my knee and itb reacted pretty alright **fingers toes crossed**. I really hope I don't have short term memory. I was just being tempted to take up yet another challenge.....:P

As how things turn out unexpectedly, I ended up with no aim while standing at the starting line waiting for gun off. Totally different from the mentality I have when I first signed up. Mental strength was up and down throughout the journey. Physical strength...hmm.....that just translate to how much training mileage I've put in. However, with the various personal support along the second 21km, it was simply encouraging. Red bull and home made barley. Oh..and safra sng pao.... Heavenly!! Thanks to all the buddy... Let me try to recall..... XZ, terence, tiwazz, charlette, Ronnie, Bee, Fd, Ripley, Buay, Piglet, Regina, Stuck, Tekko, TeamFatBird....

Had my first cramp in history at 38km. I dropped from jogging to strolling speed. All the other ache have set in by this time. From shoulder to back to abs to knee to hamstring to calves and even toes. Ok..that is not to say that marathon will give you all this agony. This is really a show of lack of training...haha.....I thought if I could push a little, I can complete the remaining 4km in half an hour. I ended up taking an hour to complete the 4.x kms..So near yet so far... Finally crossed the finish line before sunrise..... This.....will not be my last marathon BUT the last for Sundown. I hope I won't have short term memory. Please remind me if I do....:)

The day before Sundown....

I wasn't thinking too much abt it the entire week probably the mind was all occupied for that 1 week course in Sydney and I'm more anxious about the exam on Friday more than anything else. Haven't been sitting in an exam for donkey years, I wonder how will I fair. All I want was a pass and get it certified. I don't need "A's" :)

Sundown....
I woke up at 2.30am Singapore time to catch the earliest flight back so that I can have as much rest as possible in the afternoon before the long night ahead. 7 hours in the flight, I was snoozing on and off with a conscious mind. No good at all.

I was home by 3.30pm and try to get myself into deep sleep. Tired but couldn't get the mind off from wondering around. So again, I slept with a conscious mind a few minutes here and there.
Meal at 6.30 and off I go at 10.30pm.......

Time: 2:10am

My all time favourite, trusted carrier SQ, was delayed for 2 hours!!!! For the FIRST time in all my years of travelling in SQ :( Upset, pissed, tired, SLEEEEPPPPYYYYY..... Argh!!!!

***fingers and toes crossed*** I'm hoping to board in 20mins time.....

I'm immediately in dreamworld as soon as my head hit my dearest pillow. 2:02AM!!!! The phone rang!!! Goodness.... jump up right from bed as if the building is going to collapse.

+01961211!!!!! ^%$@*&$%&*@#^%$ I didn't pick up and shut off my phone. Where did this odd number came from! ***angry angry**** It's amazing what the Internet can do nowadays.
From my anaylsis on Google results, this is very likely a sales scam from either India or China. Wait till they call me again in day time, I'm sure going to 'play' with them :P

Flying off tomorrow, haven't pack a single thing yet. Oh and I have this stack of reading material that I need to complete before the trip. Gotta take a quiz in day 1 of the course. 32 hours of Uni level course as per the introduction. The moment I start reading, either my mind start to wonder around or I'm falling asleep.... Very good indeed.................. Shall see how am I surviving next week....

During the last swim class, coach gave me a few tips and instructing me to think of how to achieve that kind of body alignment that he wants to see. It did take me quite a fair bit of conscious effort to achieve that straight body line, hairline at water surface. Needless to say, it is the most tiring session ever since I started with him. I could feel soreness on my arms. I could feel heat generated out of the body while swimming.

Now, 3 days later.... My arms are still not as fresh. Is that what you call as Delayed OnSet Muscle Soreness (DOMS)???????

Let's see... This week was not much but slightly better than last week. Things are quite within control now and slowly seeing things falling in place nicely.

Have also completed the 4+ hr night run until midnight over the weekend with the beloved Toofam. Tired for sure but the legs suprisingly are holding up quite well with yoko yoko and pattstrap working hand in hand despite someone commented never seen me running in such slow pace before...haha... My thoughts was like... wait till you see a brisk walker overtake me...:)

Still busy preparing to welcome the arrival of my new family member, getting all the necessaries done. Interesting though.... Next weekend bizness trip again.... Some tempting hills round the hotel vicinity that I've missed during the last trip and for sure I wanna to give it a try this time round. By the time I touch down to SG a week later...It's 8 hours to SunDown!!! Hahahaa....Niceeeeee...... wonder how that night will turn up. I should probably wear a compression tights for that 7 hours flight to make sure the two legs are still alive at mid night. Anyway...whatever will be..will be.......

Oopss…….seems to have gone a bit rusty in here.

No doubt, laziness is one of the many many excuses that I can think of. But really….. it has been real busy in the last few weeks. Weeks after weeks, I can’t recall the xx things that I’ve done apart from the daily business at work. Home is more of a shower & bed time place in the last 2 weeks. Anyway, the real big thing that happen is….I’m going to have a new member added to the family real soon! Things that was planned for years and finally with God’s blessing, this has finally materialized. Life will/may/possible never be the same in all aspect – good or bad whatever…haa…. No! I am NOT pregnant!!!

~~~~~

On the other hand, I’ve completed by 6th lesson with Seamonsta. A few more to go and I’ll be ready for the next challenge, **hopefully**. Coach commented that my ‘wu-kung’ is the strongest in the class which is of course nice to hear but I think there’s still a long way from being competent. He gave a thumbs up on one of my drills but immediately warned me about my ear plug and nose clip. Nose clip (which I only need to use when breathing on my weaker side) will slow me down a lot he said. Ear plug – rely too much, I’ll DNF if it drops out during open water event. I did thought of it way back but thought I shd just put them on and get the stroke right first and not let those ‘water getting in’ affect me. Ok… I guess it’s time to take them off and learn to adapt to water getting in to the nose & ear ^____^


~~~~

2 more weeks to SD…… What will be…will be……. Positive mentality is more important than anything else at this point…….

My legs is a bit sng after Tues run for whatever reason. The so call recovery, relaxing swim on Wednesday didn’t help much to release the sore. And happen that this week coach is not around, so no class on Thurs, I decided to join the gang to get a taste of NUS slopes once again……with the semi-sore legs….

Actually felt rather lethargic towards end of the day, decided to gulp down a can of…Red Bull…haha…Yawn….yawn……still feeling sleepy while making our way to Sing Poly. Thankfully, the momentum was up without much of a problem today… Countless slopes, not as tough as my first time conquering them but still….requires a little bit of effort…Good….just enough to feel yourself burning from inside…I like….

As usual, I was at the last pack saving some energy making my way up and down and make sure I still have fuel left for me to get back to start point. I was supposed to decide if I want to do a 14km or 11-12km. I’m comtemplating…should I, should I not. I better not waste brain cell, I thought. Wherever he goes, I go. So..the decision is him..not me..hahaha…. And so..we chosen the 11-12km, considering a) it’s already 1.20 hr since we started (excuses) b)it’s a hilly route(so what?) and c) we run slower and take longer to shower, so we better be back early before the rest (more excuses)…haha

Anyway, we were back to start point by 1.40hr which is really good enough for me for a weekday hilly run………. I like……

Yesterday CBD was a bit mental. It was pretty ok at the start and I managed to get into good momentum upon reaching Esplanade. The pack is getting faster and faster, left a few of us at the back of the pack J Good..when I don’t see them, I won’t chase till lung burst. All the way to Kallang Stadium u-turning at Tanjung Rhu bridge. 6.5k done. Now that’s a bit mental thinking of the long way back and the endless F1 track. Many….many wanted take the shortest route back as far as possible but doesn’t seem to have much options left. It all work out to be about the same distance..haha….bite the bullet and just move the legs lah….

Reaching F1, walked a while with Burnz and when the pack start to run, we tag along behind taking yet another short walking break along Esplanade….. So near yet so far, I can’t wait to finish the run. 13km is about the same as what we did for FC and MF depending on how many loops we’re doing but why is this route felt never ending?? Finally… reaching lau pa sat, morale is getting higher, slowly make our way back and I’m just glad to finish this run….. Got home, showered. I dozed off completely, 2 minutes upon hitting my head against the pillow……Zzzzzzzzzzzzz

The week came to an end unknowingly....and we're back to Monday blues........

It was the long awaited weekend and the last thing you want to happen is to fall sick on that day.... So disappointing having to rot at home on a public holiday :( Then again, it's probably that 1 day rest of doing nothing recovers you from mental and physical exhaustion... I'm all recharged by Saturday.

Alarm rang at 5.10am on Sunday but snooze till 6.30..haha.....Managed to clocked 2.45hr run and gotta stop when it starts to pour. I thought I could go on for a longer while more....but too bad. I haven't reach that 'hard core' level to run in the rain.. It was also Boon & Rachel's wedding, the most chiong hei couple I've seen. Even the church wedding ceremony and dinner program was rather.....looonngggggggg :) But I kinda like the church wedding... something different from the usual church ceremony we had in the past. Dinner time...not much appetite to eat....stop at the 5th dish, went home and zzzzzz....................

Next..................The Raft (Rough) Race……………

Still sandy and wet from top to toe…..we proceed to the beach for another challenging task.

My first reaction...the wave was rather high...definitely not the norm that we can see in SG. I keep asking our co-host, are you sure? is it safe to go out there? Regardless, this is such a dynamic group, all are ready for the challenge.

Each group is given with these equipment:

You are supposed to built a raft and paddle it out in the sea until we reach the stretch of buoy. Raise the paddle high up once we reach. The first to reach is the winner.
And so.....we started to assemble.....End results:

Final check and we're ready to go:

The waves was real high....I was just wondering if Bintan Tri is starting right at this spot!! It's going to be tough.

We both paddle hard with all our strength but co-host came right to my back and say..."you guys are not moving" I'm pushing you at the back. First step further we're toss back 3 step by the waves... One after another, the waves happily covered us like a blanket. And before I could open my eyes and make sure I can sight and not sting by the salt water, we're hit again by the next waves and it goes on and on......

Picture speaks a thousand words..... 1st round...mission failed. Wave is too rough and we were called back for safety reason. KY asked if we could go for the 2nd round. The safety guard was rather suprise that we all wanna go all out again.....

2nd attempt.....fail AGAIN!!!! Although we do have a winning team that make all effort to go all out!!

Such an eventful day ended with a BBQ dinner, another few hours of laughing session playing taboo and posting with these random crazy shots.....

All stress out by boss's expressions.........

that all turned up insane for this shot......

It was only a short weekend getaway but I felt as if I’ve been away for long….. Catching up on personal/work emails, forums and some blogs that I’ve been following, which they all are part of my routine over the weekend…It was also probably because the trip was all full of activities, I hardly have time to think of anything. When I got back, it was like having to switch my mind back to the reality......

Anyway, the 2D1N team building trip to Bintan turn out to be soooooo much fun!! Much more than what I anticipated. Although am part of the organizing committee, I have no idea what the ‘surprise game’ that my admin and my boss had in mind for the rest of the 8 of us (in 4 teams).





We were told to bring swim attire, sandals, extra cloth and running shoe cuz we’re going to get wet, dirty and murky. Boss gave a briefing to everyone and showing us the presentation, it turn out to be……………”The Quest Technical Support Amazing Race” around Bintan lagoon. Find your clue, complete the challenge, solve the puzzle, try your luck in order to get to the next stage.

Boss, our host for the day gathered us at the lobby. We were to go to the “Adventure Golf” as our 1st stop. Where is the adventure golf?? “You got to find. Good luck and see you there” is all she said. 5-4-3-2-1 we ran as hard as we could. It was barely 50m from the lobby and my team happen to be the first to arrive..haha….

The challenge began……………….

Stage #1
4 mini golf holes. I handed the golf stick to my trusted partner (KY) to do the job. Done~!

Next Clue: Where did Susie O’niell do her training?
“Who is Susie O’niell?”
We both look at boss our host “Who is Susie O’niell?”
Boss: “You don’t know?? Hmm…she took part in the Olympics”
Me: The pool?
Boos: I think you’re right
Me: Aiyah…..should have said Michael Phelps!!!!

We were the 2nd group that got out of the adventure golf. Another one coming very closely to us. Searching high and low, running all over the resort to find the pool. We reached, but nothing was in sight…It was quiet although we did get some stares from the stranger. KY check with some crews around if there’s another pool somewhere. There’s another up there… Oh man…gotta climb and jump over the drain to get there fast!!
Found it! We were the last to reach :( Nevermind….it’s just the 2nd stage.

Stage #2
Challenge: Lots of colorful balls with alphabet floating in the pool. You are supposed to find the alphabet to make out “Quest Technical Support”.
Me & KY jump straight into the pool together with the rest of the team to grab our alphabet.

Completed. Our next clue: Where did Leonardo DiCaprio shot his famous movie
Me & KY: Titanic!!!!! Oh!! The beach!!!

Getting tired man!! Ran another few hundreds meter to the beach. We were the 3rd to arrive

Stage #3 (a)
Challenge: Fill that bucket of water with the towel provided

Done! 3rd or 4th to complete I think…..

After everyone bucket is filled up, adjourn to another starting a few steps ahead. You see a squarish area with taping around it. The next clue is hidden underneath the sand. You are supposed to find it.
This is tough! The weather is hot.

Stage #3
I think we took like 5-10 mins digging in to the sand. We were all coated with sand by now….I noticed the first two groups who got their clue is all by the side. And so I move to the side to start digging the sand. Lo and behold!!
Clue: Where do you usually use a cue --à Billard room!!!

We reached the billard room with 2 other groups together.

Stage #4
Challenge: Solve the puzzle on a piece of paper and answer 5 questions related to Quest to test how well you know about YOUR company.

Poor pool table by the time we left (3rd team to leave), are all filled with water from our wet shirt and sands……. Host ask us to get back to start point and boss will be there to meet us.
Yay!! Mission completed.

Results will be announce during the night BBQ session......

Rested 15mins, rinse, change partner and we're all set to go for another race..............................

As far as I can recall, this 2-3 weeks is the most horrible week at work for 2009. Expected since it’s quarter end but still certain thing irritates you so much…Sigh…nevermind… Oh...apart from work, I'm also getting very.......very irritated indeed with some postings and comments in the forum lately. Not that these people had my respect in the first place, but they are really degrading themselves in my humble opinion.

Anyway, no cbd but still managed clock a decent mileage after work for 2 hours. And I think I did found ‘my pace’ finally….after several attempt. A pace that I can last long, a pace that I can switch off and go auto pilot and most importantly not hurting the poor knee. Great……

Some shuffling on this week workout schedule since there’s quite a fair bit of happening around. Boss in town, out of town over weekend, dinner appt (ya…they are alllllll related to food)…hmm……I’ll squeeze out some time here and there.

Since the change of management in Planet Fitness , now named as True Fitness, people over there have been getting rather aggressive persuading potential and even existing customer to extend their membership even though their expiry is like 1.5 years down the road. Me……is one of the victim. Interior designed changed…..now more like a disco with a DJ station and a special room for special pass holder to get a massage. Unfortunately, none of this impressed me. Not at all. IF there’s one thing that they should change, it has to be the toilet facilities!!!! The toilet flush is sooo pathetic as usual, the shower curtain looks rather disgusting. And yeah….the shower…. Big time CMI.

On the other hand, they do bring in a lot of new machines – which I hardly use. Anyway, rather disappointed, guilty, unhappy about the super hot Sunday run, instead of going spin class, I decided to hop on to their new treadmill with built-in TV&stereo after pump class. Km after km, watching channel 8/U it did managed to distract my attention quite a bit. One hour is up…I’m done for the day… The moment I step down, there this mild giddiness and suddenly felt like all energy is drained off. Strange…. Maybe the TV positioning too close to me? Maybe it’s just a typical treadmill effect… Nevermind…rested a while, all is good. Conclusion………….IF I have a choice, I would prefer to stick to nature :)

After weeks of waiting, it’s finally here. I was told not once, not twice but 3 times that the first few sessions is going to be…..boring. Ok! Got it! Mentally prepared.

Oh yes…..Finally…… after much hesitation and the fickle minded me…decided to have an official coach.

So there we go, the 7 of us started the first session. Once again we’re warned…the first few sessions will be cold and boring… Hmm…. I haven’t been coach on any discipline at all. Never ever..So, it was a pretty new experience to me. Listening to his theory, demo and it’s our turn to do it… Uhm….Not as boring as I would have thought ….It was ok… Just that like every student, they can’t wait to see the fruit of their labor. So, patience and doing it right is all I need…..:) The next moment I look at the clock, it was 45mins done. 15 more to go…that's fast.....