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
6/28/09
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.
5/11/09
4/24/09
Its yesterday once more....
I went to meet the best financial planner in the world today. I hurrayed the moment i got into the bus; for a good 12min or so i was spared from the sizzling ambient heat of the summer( hmmm i thought there's no seasons in singapore ). At that juncture i suddenly realised that the world's getting so much hotter these days. I never recount days of complaining about the searing temperature nor feel sick about sweating my guts out; Well i did grumbled back then, but certainly its not as bad as now... After settling some financial planning updates and reviewing more policies from the best financial planner, i headed home in the same fashion
Something is different this time round ; seeing the familiar stretch from Causeway point to my parents' place going by.. all these seem to hit a raw nerve in me. I havent been moving around the woodlands estate as much as i used to when i was on my skates in late 06
Those days were simply marvelous. I was so crazy into freestyle slalom that i initiated meet ups with fellow freestyle skaters( many of them are now doing it competitively ), filling every corner of our neighbourhood with laughter, exchanging pointers and stories that one would tell in a campfire. I played slalom so frequently i realised that i was getting better and better. To add on to that, people were eagerly learning tricks from me... Well it feels very good to be so involved into the sport...
... Until now. I hold a full time job, having an estate legally under my name ( erm, its actually a long term borrowing from HDB to be frank ) and happily married to a gal i so fondly love since the days in 1999. Life now is really a challenge, having to fight with the dusts at home, doing laundry,cleaning up the toilet, trying to cook dinner ( i think i'm getting into the hang of preparing meals for myself )and clearing up the dishes in the kitchen sink. Everytime i finished a particular household chore,I would kowtowed to my mum from the bottom of my heart, having to endure what i am going through now, six fold( my dad, my 3 brothers, my sister and me).
It is no longer easy to say that i am balancing it well. Maybe i havent been able to do it at all.. I had minor taskings awaiting for me to accomplish, many of them are house related....
In the midst of procrastination this evening, i rushed out for a quick slalom session after preparing fish and chips for my wife ( its Friday so no meat related food for meals!). I must say that i could no longer train( i would like to think of it as training, as you would know why soon )as hard as i did last time. Today's slalom session was barely an hour and a quarter maybe. As i tried to maneuver around the cones, those nostalgic moments at Blk 711 hardcourt from 6pm to 10pm overwhelmed me...There were times after my ATC trainee days when i headed there with my skates to look for some personal space of my own. Not only did i gain solitude, i managed to keep in mind the moves i want to learn so as to build up my trick ability profile. More tricks means more fun, and more tricks will last you longer into the sport...
Today was a very cold start... It made me realise that the past few months of slalom sessions were random and aimless; I was there for the sake of being there. No doubt that i was slaloming with pros from the team, i could no longer connect to the transitions and had difficulty performing stunts i once thought was bread and butter.
I left the court feeling this sense of austerity. As i wheezed through the veins of the neighborhood, penetrating void decks and doing tight corners around concrete bends, this particular song from The Carpenters filled my head.
Its Yesterday Once More
Something is different this time round ; seeing the familiar stretch from Causeway point to my parents' place going by.. all these seem to hit a raw nerve in me. I havent been moving around the woodlands estate as much as i used to when i was on my skates in late 06
Those days were simply marvelous. I was so crazy into freestyle slalom that i initiated meet ups with fellow freestyle skaters( many of them are now doing it competitively ), filling every corner of our neighbourhood with laughter, exchanging pointers and stories that one would tell in a campfire. I played slalom so frequently i realised that i was getting better and better. To add on to that, people were eagerly learning tricks from me... Well it feels very good to be so involved into the sport...
... Until now. I hold a full time job, having an estate legally under my name ( erm, its actually a long term borrowing from HDB to be frank ) and happily married to a gal i so fondly love since the days in 1999. Life now is really a challenge, having to fight with the dusts at home, doing laundry,cleaning up the toilet, trying to cook dinner ( i think i'm getting into the hang of preparing meals for myself )and clearing up the dishes in the kitchen sink. Everytime i finished a particular household chore,I would kowtowed to my mum from the bottom of my heart, having to endure what i am going through now, six fold( my dad, my 3 brothers, my sister and me).
It is no longer easy to say that i am balancing it well. Maybe i havent been able to do it at all.. I had minor taskings awaiting for me to accomplish, many of them are house related....
In the midst of procrastination this evening, i rushed out for a quick slalom session after preparing fish and chips for my wife ( its Friday so no meat related food for meals!). I must say that i could no longer train( i would like to think of it as training, as you would know why soon )as hard as i did last time. Today's slalom session was barely an hour and a quarter maybe. As i tried to maneuver around the cones, those nostalgic moments at Blk 711 hardcourt from 6pm to 10pm overwhelmed me...There were times after my ATC trainee days when i headed there with my skates to look for some personal space of my own. Not only did i gain solitude, i managed to keep in mind the moves i want to learn so as to build up my trick ability profile. More tricks means more fun, and more tricks will last you longer into the sport...
Today was a very cold start... It made me realise that the past few months of slalom sessions were random and aimless; I was there for the sake of being there. No doubt that i was slaloming with pros from the team, i could no longer connect to the transitions and had difficulty performing stunts i once thought was bread and butter.
I left the court feeling this sense of austerity. As i wheezed through the veins of the neighborhood, penetrating void decks and doing tight corners around concrete bends, this particular song from The Carpenters filled my head.
Its Yesterday Once More
4/14/09
A tiring stretch
Past few days of my work life was tiring. It was almost a 6-day stretch of waking up early( and clocking around 6 hours of sleep everyday ). I used to be able to take such kind of life but of late i guessed i hadnt been working out my body. I am a staunch believer of a balanced work-and-play person. If i realised i hadnt been skating/running/climbing for sometime, my mind would automatically switch into a lethargic mode.
In the midst of all these tiring days, i made some small achievements. Got 2 bedside tables from ikea and had some advancement in preparing dinner( KUDOS to my wife who was patient enough to tolerate my ignorance in preparing meals ). Simple achievements of an easily contented person.
This morning i put on my asics kayano 15 and went running. Wasnt glad to see a lapse of one min( didnt run for a week i think ) as compared to my best timings clocked from a 4 round jog in my neighbourhood. I wanted so much to crouch onto the floor upon reaching my finishing point but my ego kept me standing. My whole body was punishing me hard today- A result of not keeping up to my runnig schedule..
But who cares, wearing the new shoe certainly adds to the kicks!
Shall be running again on friday morning. This time i must at least maintain today's timing; most importantly i must be able to maintain this timing with ease as compared to today.
Will be heading down to wan's wedding ceremony this sat noon . That means i had to change my sat noon duties into a morning one; End result - Have to report for work on friday noon, coming back at 1150pm or so, sleep for 6hours and then head out to work on sat.
Another tiring stretch to come!!!!!
In the midst of all these tiring days, i made some small achievements. Got 2 bedside tables from ikea and had some advancement in preparing dinner( KUDOS to my wife who was patient enough to tolerate my ignorance in preparing meals ). Simple achievements of an easily contented person.
This morning i put on my asics kayano 15 and went running. Wasnt glad to see a lapse of one min( didnt run for a week i think ) as compared to my best timings clocked from a 4 round jog in my neighbourhood. I wanted so much to crouch onto the floor upon reaching my finishing point but my ego kept me standing. My whole body was punishing me hard today- A result of not keeping up to my runnig schedule..
But who cares, wearing the new shoe certainly adds to the kicks!
Shall be running again on friday morning. This time i must at least maintain today's timing; most importantly i must be able to maintain this timing with ease as compared to today.
Will be heading down to wan's wedding ceremony this sat noon . That means i had to change my sat noon duties into a morning one; End result - Have to report for work on friday noon, coming back at 1150pm or so, sleep for 6hours and then head out to work on sat.
Another tiring stretch to come!!!!!
4/1/09
sick at home
I was able to write the previous blog entry because i was sick stricken at home, down with throat infection. It left me shivering with cold under the effects of high fever 2 nights back. Thank goodness my temperature subsided and i head down to attend army seminar yesterday.
I planned for a run this morning, thinking that i could have recovered 90% from my ailment 3 days back. Last night i felt this coughy sensation down my throat; It was then i realized that my throat problems have evolved from a sore one to a coughy one. I started lying on the bed before 1130pm, and i last remembered the hand phone clock showing 1215am. I was tossing around the bed, clearing my throat from the irritations within for almost 1/2 an hour before i finally turned in.....
This morning 's feel was anything but fantastic. I wasn't tired but somewhat the cough made me want to sink deeper into slumber.... I no longer felt that i was on form to run( damn i had postpone my running plans for almost 5 days or maybe longer...)
One and a half weeks ago, grizzly bear asked if i wanted to get new running shoes( he must have seen my worn-and-torn asics GT shoe during the christmas makan last year )... He boasted about asics new kayano 15 shoe . Told me that he could get it at a hefty discount.
I've tried that shoe, and now awaiting it to arrive. Cant wait to put it on so that i can have proper training for my IPPT and stand chart marathon 2009!!!!
I planned for a run this morning, thinking that i could have recovered 90% from my ailment 3 days back. Last night i felt this coughy sensation down my throat; It was then i realized that my throat problems have evolved from a sore one to a coughy one. I started lying on the bed before 1130pm, and i last remembered the hand phone clock showing 1215am. I was tossing around the bed, clearing my throat from the irritations within for almost 1/2 an hour before i finally turned in.....
This morning 's feel was anything but fantastic. I wasn't tired but somewhat the cough made me want to sink deeper into slumber.... I no longer felt that i was on form to run( damn i had postpone my running plans for almost 5 days or maybe longer...)
One and a half weeks ago, grizzly bear asked if i wanted to get new running shoes( he must have seen my worn-and-torn asics GT shoe during the christmas makan last year )... He boasted about asics new kayano 15 shoe . Told me that he could get it at a hefty discount.
I've tried that shoe, and now awaiting it to arrive. Cant wait to put it on so that i can have proper training for my IPPT and stand chart marathon 2009!!!!
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