Yeah....September was gone... without a post from me...
Was i really that busy?
I signed up for standard chartered run 2009... doing the 42km distance. It is going to be my first ever marathon. Previously the longest distance i ever ran was 21km( army days.. 2002 ). That was quite a bad experience.
I remembered perpetually overtaking people during the first 15km of my run. Then at the 15th km mark, i realised i need to pee badly. I sneaked in sweat among the bushes and let go of my bladder. The sudden lost of body heat resulted in a 20-25min lower limb cramp. It was my worst feel for a run like this.
The table was hence turned from the 15th km mark all the way till the end of the run. I saw people running ahead of me. Jason Ho( my camp mate in 20sa )nudged me from behind when he discovered me walking. In his very low and mellow tone, " Hey speng, come on man, dun walk... even ladies are over taking you now..."
Now that my morale hit all time low, things got worst...i kena nipple abrasions from wearing loose cotton singlet and developed toe cramps as i inched my way towards the finishing line.
I only hope to finish this coming 42km run in good shape.
I have been dutifully running in Macritchie Reservior at least once every 2weeks, apart from my normal 6-7km run( once every 2 days ). Running trail is definitely an agenda i look forward to. The longest distance i've clocked so far was around 12km there. Another 64 days to the actual run, and i must beef up my mileage in 2 weeks time. Need to start running at least 10km to replace my 6-7km regime.
A few weeks back, i had a good mini chat with PH( this slalom enthusiast cum pro i got to know since late 2006 )... realized how badly i want to slalom again but i guess i could no longer join the younger ones for their frequent Friday night sessions that easily. Just practicing my skills alone can prove to be a challenge....
Seems like life still feels packed for a married 28 year old, except its packed with different agenda now. At hand i have 4 weddings to attend..one on the 4th Oct, another on the 18th Nov( was asked to be the MC cum wedding singer for that one gosh!!! ), 4th December( for my slalom mate benjamin ) and 27th December.
In a few weeks time i would be going for my Cathecument Retreat, a final rite before going into the Catholic Faith. Since the beginning of this year, i have been faithfully attending Thursday night RCIA lessons to know more about my wife's Faith. What i have to do now, is to think of a Christian name and choose my God Father... would THOMAS be a good name?
10/2/09
8/5/09
Random entry of a boring man
Guessed this one is really random...
I am playful by nature. When i was young, i remembered sneaking into my parents' room one afternoon( my mom was asleep that time ), searching for some paper to throw down from my 13th storey home in Geylang Bahru. I cant recall exactly the damage done, but i think i released a quarter of a rim of blank printing paper( piece by piece ), just to see it swing left and right as it suffers the effect of gravity.
I have this deep fascination about mobile cranes... It often reminded me of giraffes with overwhelming strength. Whenever one crane pulls up at the carpark beneath my house, i would easily spend about 20-30min just to see the crane operations 'action front'(an artillery lingo). I could imagine myself controlling one of these big things back then.
When i was in Primary 4, video games were a hit, followed by brick games. I wasnt exactly a fan of the latter though. My aunts couldnt brush me off from my persistent want to get a game console and finally gave in. We finally had a new addition into the family - 'Good BOY'( i cant remember how many bits the ram were but its lower than SEGA ). I got drawn into Good BOY and soon found myself playing more and more games.... until Street Fighter was released in summer of 92. My request came again and this time, it saw an upgrade from Good BOY( by then it was starting to get cranky from all the hours of playing contra and super mario )to SUPER FAMICOM . I got sucked into the game and even bought sticker albums featuring the characters explaining their profile in terms of background and skill sets...
In 1993, my friend introduced me to bowling. It was after PSLE and i could recall my very first visit to a bowling alley( SUPER BOWL in hougang central ). To be frank, up to today, bowling and me just couldnt click and i suck big time on this game. But being in the alley that faithful day exposed me to video game arcade. It was then i realised how skilful other players can be, doing combos on joysticks. There were so many variations of Street Fighter, so much so that i started visiting more of these places....
I guessed this is me. Never academically inclined, never created for the engineering world, but am glad to find myself doing what i do now - Air Traffic Control. Somehow i think my childhood attributes and my past times have some influence over this job that i chose.
I am playful by nature. When i was young, i remembered sneaking into my parents' room one afternoon( my mom was asleep that time ), searching for some paper to throw down from my 13th storey home in Geylang Bahru. I cant recall exactly the damage done, but i think i released a quarter of a rim of blank printing paper( piece by piece ), just to see it swing left and right as it suffers the effect of gravity.
I have this deep fascination about mobile cranes... It often reminded me of giraffes with overwhelming strength. Whenever one crane pulls up at the carpark beneath my house, i would easily spend about 20-30min just to see the crane operations 'action front'(an artillery lingo). I could imagine myself controlling one of these big things back then.
When i was in Primary 4, video games were a hit, followed by brick games. I wasnt exactly a fan of the latter though. My aunts couldnt brush me off from my persistent want to get a game console and finally gave in. We finally had a new addition into the family - 'Good BOY'( i cant remember how many bits the ram were but its lower than SEGA ). I got drawn into Good BOY and soon found myself playing more and more games.... until Street Fighter was released in summer of 92. My request came again and this time, it saw an upgrade from Good BOY( by then it was starting to get cranky from all the hours of playing contra and super mario )to SUPER FAMICOM . I got sucked into the game and even bought sticker albums featuring the characters explaining their profile in terms of background and skill sets...
In 1993, my friend introduced me to bowling. It was after PSLE and i could recall my very first visit to a bowling alley( SUPER BOWL in hougang central ). To be frank, up to today, bowling and me just couldnt click and i suck big time on this game. But being in the alley that faithful day exposed me to video game arcade. It was then i realised how skilful other players can be, doing combos on joysticks. There were so many variations of Street Fighter, so much so that i started visiting more of these places....
I guessed this is me. Never academically inclined, never created for the engineering world, but am glad to find myself doing what i do now - Air Traffic Control. Somehow i think my childhood attributes and my past times have some influence over this job that i chose.
7/26/09
The cow for the calculator
I have once heard of this very interesting story about this man( it IS A TRUE STORY and i know this guy )named SAMY( not his real name though )
Samy was born in a rural village in India. Like most village boys, he attends lessons in a village school. One day, Samy's teacher told his parents that Samy was a very smart student and that they should enrol him to a bigger city school where his potentials could be better realized.
Samy eventually studied in a city school.He was a very hardworking student and excelled academically, just as his ex teacher from village school predicted. During one of his math modules, calculators were a requirement. Samy had no calculator and wrote to his parents, hoping that his parents would provide him one. This request in Singapore context could be easily brushed off with a "OK, son i will give you the money for it, go buy it tomorrow" or something like that. But Samy's parents were poor and they couldnt afford a calculator at all. However,Samy's father was determined to see his son through his education at all cost....
The very next day, Samy's father sold one cow( his father had 2 cows under his name )for cash.
Decades later, Samy is now holding a senior position in his company, all thanks to this fatherly act of sacrifice and Samy's teacher who said the right thing at the moment in time.
Probably this is one real episode to remind all teachers out there that words spoken at the appropriate moment could change lives.
Samy was born in a rural village in India. Like most village boys, he attends lessons in a village school. One day, Samy's teacher told his parents that Samy was a very smart student and that they should enrol him to a bigger city school where his potentials could be better realized.
Samy eventually studied in a city school.He was a very hardworking student and excelled academically, just as his ex teacher from village school predicted. During one of his math modules, calculators were a requirement. Samy had no calculator and wrote to his parents, hoping that his parents would provide him one. This request in Singapore context could be easily brushed off with a "OK, son i will give you the money for it, go buy it tomorrow" or something like that. But Samy's parents were poor and they couldnt afford a calculator at all. However,Samy's father was determined to see his son through his education at all cost....
The very next day, Samy's father sold one cow( his father had 2 cows under his name )for cash.
Decades later, Samy is now holding a senior position in his company, all thanks to this fatherly act of sacrifice and Samy's teacher who said the right thing at the moment in time.
Probably this is one real episode to remind all teachers out there that words spoken at the appropriate moment could change lives.
7/7/09
Irritated by a cockroach
I was doing control work during my noon shift today when i was disturbed by a cockroach...
Not only was it a disgusting sight, it made deliberate attempts to distract me and made me feel sick and frustrated. I cant confront the insect and have decided to appear nonchalant to its perpetual sneak attacks.
I cant understand why some living beings have to behave like that. Simply no EQ and i hate such beings for trying to make others inferior and low.
Not only was it a disgusting sight, it made deliberate attempts to distract me and made me feel sick and frustrated. I cant confront the insect and have decided to appear nonchalant to its perpetual sneak attacks.
I cant understand why some living beings have to behave like that. Simply no EQ and i hate such beings for trying to make others inferior and low.
6/28/09
St Paul the Musical
My wife's cousin in law jio-ed us for an evening of musical in NUS UCC( University Cultural Centre ) last Friday. I had nothing on and conveniently agreed to the invite to watch Paul the musical with my wife.
I had heard about the Parish of St Mary promoting this play during Sunday Masses but i never thought of getting the tickets back then. On my way down to UCC that evening i thought that i would get more acquainted with the biblical aspect of the play. Simple as that.
I never realized that i was about to get more than what i expected out of this musical..
While waiting for my wife's cousins to turn up with our tickets, i bumped into Nadia, a girl whom i worked with as an assistant teacher in Julia Gabriel back in 2006. Alright, the world is small; its been close to 3 years since i met anyone from JG.
Nadia: Hey PING( my nick in JG ) how come you are here?
Me: Erm... nothing to do, and since i managed to get the tickets on a subsidized rate, might as well just...
Nadia: Hey you know? Pix is acting in the musical???
Me: Huh...?
Nadia: He's playing as Paul...
That's how our short 1minute catch up went. I ended up feeling so silly and embarassed. Pix was also my fellow colleague in JG. We worked together quite closely , me as the assistant teacher mainly involved in music playing while Pix was the teacher doing most of the educating. Having partnered Pix for more than a semester in the school, i found him to be a very articulating person, with a very keen interest in drama and arts.
I quickly flipped through the programme booklet( it was on sale for 5 bucks...i didnt buy it initially; one of the Friars Fr John Wong gave his to us ) and was so surprised to see that familiar boyish image appearing as the main cast of the musical.
After the first segment of the musical, my wife and i decided to shift to a higher spot from our current position to have a better view of the stage. Towards the end of the final segment of the show, i was stunned to see my JC principal; Stunned because she actually came up to me and wore a smile, trying her best to remember my name
SML: Erm Chiam Peng is it?
Me: Siang Ping Siang Ping...Long time no see Ma'am ... i'm surprised that you could still remember me!!!!
SML: I remembered giving you a 2nd chance
She meant to say that she offered me a 2nd chance to do my A levels again back in 2000. That's like 9 years ago...
I must have been a very talk-about character back in my school back then... aiyoh =X
I had heard about the Parish of St Mary promoting this play during Sunday Masses but i never thought of getting the tickets back then. On my way down to UCC that evening i thought that i would get more acquainted with the biblical aspect of the play. Simple as that.
I never realized that i was about to get more than what i expected out of this musical..
While waiting for my wife's cousins to turn up with our tickets, i bumped into Nadia, a girl whom i worked with as an assistant teacher in Julia Gabriel back in 2006. Alright, the world is small; its been close to 3 years since i met anyone from JG.
Nadia: Hey PING( my nick in JG ) how come you are here?
Me: Erm... nothing to do, and since i managed to get the tickets on a subsidized rate, might as well just...
Nadia: Hey you know? Pix is acting in the musical???
Me: Huh...?
Nadia: He's playing as Paul...
That's how our short 1minute catch up went. I ended up feeling so silly and embarassed. Pix was also my fellow colleague in JG. We worked together quite closely , me as the assistant teacher mainly involved in music playing while Pix was the teacher doing most of the educating. Having partnered Pix for more than a semester in the school, i found him to be a very articulating person, with a very keen interest in drama and arts.
I quickly flipped through the programme booklet( it was on sale for 5 bucks...i didnt buy it initially; one of the Friars Fr John Wong gave his to us ) and was so surprised to see that familiar boyish image appearing as the main cast of the musical.
After the first segment of the musical, my wife and i decided to shift to a higher spot from our current position to have a better view of the stage. Towards the end of the final segment of the show, i was stunned to see my JC principal; Stunned because she actually came up to me and wore a smile, trying her best to remember my name
SML: Erm Chiam Peng is it?
Me: Siang Ping Siang Ping...Long time no see Ma'am ... i'm surprised that you could still remember me!!!!
SML: I remembered giving you a 2nd chance
She meant to say that she offered me a 2nd chance to do my A levels again back in 2000. That's like 9 years ago...
I must have been a very talk-about character back in my school back then... aiyoh =X
6/17/09
Asteroid-ed
I was happily cruising on CTE towards SLE ( was on lane 1 ) in my new car.
It was a very sunny afternoon. Comfortably seated in air conditioned enviroment, my sight set out to the red hyundai getz that was easily more than 6 car lengths ahead of me. I was complemented by my aunts who were making their maiden ride in my car towards my uncle's. I was probably in a 'stoning' mode, trying hard not to participate in my aunts' small talks and gossips about their work life.
All of a sudden, a pebble like objected appeared out of nowhere, dashing towards my windscreen. Before i could make out what it really was, it left my windscreen with a snapping sound.
I guessed i was really 'lucky' that noon, to earn a 2mm kiss mark on the lower portion of the windscreen of my LESS THAN A MONTH OLD CAR( and i guessed it would burn a hole in my pocket as well ).
Have to make a trip down to the service center for this. Oh well....
It was a very sunny afternoon. Comfortably seated in air conditioned enviroment, my sight set out to the red hyundai getz that was easily more than 6 car lengths ahead of me. I was complemented by my aunts who were making their maiden ride in my car towards my uncle's. I was probably in a 'stoning' mode, trying hard not to participate in my aunts' small talks and gossips about their work life.
All of a sudden, a pebble like objected appeared out of nowhere, dashing towards my windscreen. Before i could make out what it really was, it left my windscreen with a snapping sound.
I guessed i was really 'lucky' that noon, to earn a 2mm kiss mark on the lower portion of the windscreen of my LESS THAN A MONTH OLD CAR( and i guessed it would burn a hole in my pocket as well ).
Have to make a trip down to the service center for this. Oh well....
6/14/09
A long 12 day stretch after
I cant wait to share my Europe Honeymoon photos. Really.
Sometimes there are happenings in your life that you wished didnt happen. Such was the case for my wife and i. As soon as we touched down Singapore, we set a goal to vet through the photos we took from the trip and have the nicer ones developed for everyone to envy.
Grandma-in-law( PO PO ) was diagnosed with lung cancer somewhere in mid May and her condition was rather bleak. I remembered on the day when we finally reached home and sunk into bed, she called my wife and mentioned something really out of this world. It was then i realised that she was mildy senile and wasnt the PO PO i used to know.... PO PO came into my life the moment my wife and i got together in 1999. While i am not a relative of PO PO by blood, i could easily tell that my wife shares a very unique relationship with her, one that is more than just a grandma-granddaughter bond. Every time when i send my wife( gf back then )home, PO PO would find all opportunity to ask about me, my health, my studies and how my dad is doing. Though i never knew how to speak Hakkah, it never stopped her from wanting to know more about me. This was still the case even when i finally married my wife in December 2008.
The Sunday that followed, my wife visited PO PO. I guessed my wife must be really worried and at the back of my mind, i sensed that she feared for the worst. I wasnt around because of my shift. Again, PO PO started asking things that didnt exist. That late evening when my wife finally had the chance to share encounter with me, i became petrified.
My wife made it a point to go down the following Tuesday to stay over at her Mum's( PO PO stays there too ). I dutifully had the clothings packed for my wife and i planned to fetch her there after work. I remembered it was around 535pm that i left my house, already starving since my early lunch, thinking what i wanted to eat. The moment i reached my wife's work place, i called her and ask about plans for dinner. She sounded rather jittery on the line but somehow i didnt think much.
A few minutes later, i saw my wife walking out of her office lobby, signing to me that PO PO passed on...Immediately my mind was in a blank and i only knew that we must rush home.
The next 4 days that followed was the longest in my life. We sat through Grandma's wake and bade farewell to her on the last day in Mandai Crematorium. Something i will never forget was that faithful night when my wife and i stayed up for the night to watch over the wake. The stories that my wife shared was something that made me realised how dearly she missed PO PO.
Today, we ( my wife and i, plus her parents, uncles, aunts and cousins ) said our last prayers to Grandma as her urn was carefully placed in the niche in St Francis of Assisi. I felt a sense of relief that this 4 long day of sadness and dreadfulness finally came to an end.
Rest in peace PO PO. May you be happy with all the Saints and Angels in Heaven. We love you.
Sometimes there are happenings in your life that you wished didnt happen. Such was the case for my wife and i. As soon as we touched down Singapore, we set a goal to vet through the photos we took from the trip and have the nicer ones developed for everyone to envy.
Grandma-in-law( PO PO ) was diagnosed with lung cancer somewhere in mid May and her condition was rather bleak. I remembered on the day when we finally reached home and sunk into bed, she called my wife and mentioned something really out of this world. It was then i realised that she was mildy senile and wasnt the PO PO i used to know.... PO PO came into my life the moment my wife and i got together in 1999. While i am not a relative of PO PO by blood, i could easily tell that my wife shares a very unique relationship with her, one that is more than just a grandma-granddaughter bond. Every time when i send my wife( gf back then )home, PO PO would find all opportunity to ask about me, my health, my studies and how my dad is doing. Though i never knew how to speak Hakkah, it never stopped her from wanting to know more about me. This was still the case even when i finally married my wife in December 2008.
The Sunday that followed, my wife visited PO PO. I guessed my wife must be really worried and at the back of my mind, i sensed that she feared for the worst. I wasnt around because of my shift. Again, PO PO started asking things that didnt exist. That late evening when my wife finally had the chance to share encounter with me, i became petrified.
My wife made it a point to go down the following Tuesday to stay over at her Mum's( PO PO stays there too ). I dutifully had the clothings packed for my wife and i planned to fetch her there after work. I remembered it was around 535pm that i left my house, already starving since my early lunch, thinking what i wanted to eat. The moment i reached my wife's work place, i called her and ask about plans for dinner. She sounded rather jittery on the line but somehow i didnt think much.
A few minutes later, i saw my wife walking out of her office lobby, signing to me that PO PO passed on...Immediately my mind was in a blank and i only knew that we must rush home.
The next 4 days that followed was the longest in my life. We sat through Grandma's wake and bade farewell to her on the last day in Mandai Crematorium. Something i will never forget was that faithful night when my wife and i stayed up for the night to watch over the wake. The stories that my wife shared was something that made me realised how dearly she missed PO PO.
Today, we ( my wife and i, plus her parents, uncles, aunts and cousins ) said our last prayers to Grandma as her urn was carefully placed in the niche in St Francis of Assisi. I felt a sense of relief that this 4 long day of sadness and dreadfulness finally came to an end.
Rest in peace PO PO. May you be happy with all the Saints and Angels in Heaven. We love you.
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