Yesterday I went back to school in the morning for a bo liao reason - to do data entry. I reached there near 9.30 am as requested, but turned out that everyone else was late. The excel files that contained the data we needed to key in was quite a mess, and it took a couple of hours to sort things out. And the whole reason why we needed to do this data entry in the first place was some negligence of a programmer. Essentially I spent 2.5 hours waiting to do something that took less than 20 minutes to complete. Diem perdidi once more.

After lunch, I came back to school again for a sharing session by some people from NIE, who came to give us some feedback on the IP in 2005. Unfortunately, I hadn't been involved directly till recently, so most of the feedback weren't particularly relevant. But there were some learning points that I grew more aware of. Sigh. It's a totally different ball game next year. I am filled with both apprehension and excitement. I wonder which one will take the bigger proportion when all the gears start grinding.

I had to wake up really early this morning to attend a staff meeting at New Park Hotel. I think I haven't woken up before 8 for a long time since holidays began. I was feeling adventurous, so I decided to walk to the hotel from home. The leisurely stroll took almost 25 min, but brought a torrent of perspiration. I started with some troubleshooting of the projector, and then we went into the 4-hour long session. I couldn't sleep well last night, so I was sitting through the whole meeting on about 4 hours of sleep essentially, and it was a challenge staying awake, although I was successful. Barely.

I survived the meeting, with some entertaining moments when there was a typo that omitted me from the IT-comm, which sent my IT heads questioning vice-principal in panic. Not bad lah, I was considered a key member...hehe. I had quite a lot of comments about the Lianhe Zaobao appearance apparently, and more colleagues read the chinese newspapers than I initially expected. A huge bunch of us, numbering twenty-two, headed off on a long walk to Delhi restaurant along Race Course road. One colleague says that the food is pretty good, so we went to hunt for it since it was relatively nearby. Of course, we found out after we started walking that it wasn't really nearby. The food was pretty good there, and I had a huge plate of bryani by myself, though it looked like it was meant for two to share. There was this tandoori chicken thingy that they set on fire after serving, which was really cool. I think they were not prepared for such a big crowd suddenly, else I would think that the service would have been pretty good too.

A big bunch of 11 of us headed down to Plaza Sing to hang around. We shopped a little, but eventually we ended up in Cafe Cartel for dessert and drinks. It does not make sense to go shopping when there are that many people in the group - too difficult to manoeuvre around. It was a fun time. We had a lot of laughs, so all in all, a rather successful outing. We all went our separate ways in the evening, leaving Sherry and me to catch Chronicles of Narnia, after three colleagues pulled out for various reasons.

Chronicles of Narnia was very enjoyable. I hadn't read the books before although I had wanted to, so I had viewed the movie from a Christian and no-prior-knowledge perspective. The cg animation was excellent, although there were a rare few unrealistic moments. I particularly like the acting of the little girl Lucy and the Witch. From a fantasy enthusiast perspective, I love the way they captured the mythological creatures, such as the satyr/fawn, griffin, minotaur, which were the common stuff of AD&D. From a Christian perspective, to me, the whole story seems like a neatly repackaged version of the gospel. Biblical spoilers ahead, so be forewarned. But I think most people should have caught Narnia already, so no real harm here huh?

The obvious thing of course is that the witch represents Satan, and Aslan represents Christ. It is interesting how she started off by tempting the younger brother Edmund with promises of power over a kingdom that isn't really hers (vaguely reminds of the temptation of Jesus by Satan), and offers him sweets that actually weren't real, which is essentially what Satan does anyway. Edmund betrays the good folk of Narnia even after knowing the truth, and even so, eventually Aslan chooses to sacrifice himself on his behalf to free him from the blood penalty inflicted on traitors, a parallel to Jesus, who died on the cross for the sins of man while we were yet sinners, and were enemies of God. The witch deliberately shamed him before killing him, and contemptuously remarked that he did it out of love, which adds to the resemblance in the parallel. Aslan rose again the next day, breaking the stone table which bound him, and commented that the witch did not realize what the inscription on the table meant, that when (not exact words) one who is innocent sheds blood in sacrifice, the stone table will break and even death will be reversed. Very similar to Jesus' sacrifice and resurrection indeed. After he resurrects, he went into the witch's castle and set the frozen victims free by breathing onto them. Just like Jesus, who came to set the captives (of Satan) free, and went into his area of dominion to save those who are dead in sin and give them life again. After Aslan invigorates the captives, he rallied them into battle with the witch, much like how Christians are rallied into spiritual battle with Satan. Strong Christian message in C. S. Lewis' writing, packaged into a unique and engaging storyline. All in about non-epic 2 hr and 20 min! I give it 5 stars, and I will definitely get the DVD when it's out. Heh.

The 3-day (again) KL post, complete with selected pictures!

Day 1

I left for KL with Andrew, Sherry and Sabrina early on Christmas morning. We decided to take a train to KL because the two girls hadn't tried it before, and wanted the experience. Looking at the rather old and run-down looking train station, I think most people would have the idea that the train is old and shabby, having wooden interiors and pull-down curtains, and so on, but it actually looks like this:
















It's actually quite modern, and relatively comfortable, but took about 7 hours to reach KL, longer than a coach ride possibly. We stayed in Corus Hotel there, which is a stone's throw from KLCC, so it gets a thumbs up for convenience. The hotel itself has pretty good service, and there's a coach service that links it to Grand Copthorne at the hotel itself, but more about the coach service later. This is a shot of the hotel we stayed in.





















We were hunting for an early dinner by the time we reached the hotel, which was getting close to 5 pm, and we went to the adjacent Avenue K to scrunge around. The place was newly opened and quite empty, but we found a rare gem there: Kim Gary Beyond Restaurant!





















It was originally based in Hong Kong, and has some branches in KL. The food is excellent, and the service is fantastic. At least in this outlet we went to. In some posts months ago, I was talking about the service industry in Singapore not being that bad, as described in the recent furore, after encountering good service in several places. Now that I actually went to KL and saw the service industry there for myself, I realized one thing. It isn't really about our service industry being bad, or deteriorated - the problem is that elsewhere, the service has improved dramatically, and we look bad in comparison now. We had capable, attentive waiters and waitresses serving us in the various places we ate at, and it was the same feeling with retail outlets. Polite, smiling, friendly and helpful, even when you are trying out a dozen pieces only to buy one, or when you chose not to purchase anything at all. The food at KGB is really good, although very corny. There is corn in almost everything except drinks. But they have the nicest-tasting red beans I have ever eaten. The mango dessert is massive, and it looks like this:





















In fact, we liked the food and service so much we went back to the same place on the last day for lunch again. And we tipped them. After the fulfilling dinner, we went to KLCC to do some shopping, and then we headed back to the hotel for a rest before we went down to...

















Zouk KL!!! When we decided we were going to KL, I almost forgot about this until I was looking for places to check out. I wasn't too sure about this because my three companions on this trip do not club, but at least they were curious enough to accompany me there. In the end, we did have a lot of fun. The drinks are definitely more dilute than the local one, and they have segregation of the three sections, which meant that you can't move from Zouk main to Velvet and the Loft, unless you open a bottle, according to the bouncer. Interestingly enough, Velvet was hosting Mambo Jambo, while Zouk main was R&B and hip hop. Different popularity I guess. The dance floor only warmed up right about midnight, and it was cool. I think I drank about one jug of Vodka orange by myself and one glass of vodka lime before that with almost no effect, so I guess that's a measure of the strength of the drink there. On the way back, I took a night shot of KLCC with my handphone...didn't turn out too good here, and that more or less wraps up day one.

















Day 2

We went for breakfast at the hotel rather late, partly because we didn't want to wake up early after a late night clubbing, and partly to save on a meal there. Not that eating at KL was expensive, of course. Day 2 is shopping day! We started the day by going to Sungei Wang, which boasts a huge range of shops, most of which are affordable, and not the major expensive brand names. What I do notice is the rampant piracy there. There were many shops that quite blatantly sell pirated vcds and dvds, so I think our local police has done an excellent job on crackdown. What is most amazing is that I managed to find a whole ton of anime there! On DVD! Original and licensed! My eyes opened very wide with twinkling in them when I saw the many shops there, as Sherry can testify. I bought 5 titles there, blowing most of my ringgit on anime. I also managed to buy 2 tops from Romp, which seems like Giordano here - with outlets all over the place. What is cool about Sungei Wang is that it seems a bit like Heeren to me, because on the sixth floor, there is this huge place for teenagers, with very trendy fashion, hobby shops and stuff. Check out the lift lobby:

















Ignore my silly expression. The place is funky, with lots of nifty stuff. Check out this gift that Sherry bought for her friend:

















So pretty right? It's one of those 3-D laser engravings in resin, but it comes with a rotating stand, with colour-changing lights. It looks absolutely stunning in the dark...not sure if any shop sells this in Singapore. If they don't, they should. They make wonderful gift ideas...haha.

After we scoured through BB plaza, Sungei Wang and the boring Lot 10 (boring because it's just like a typical shopping centre here), we walked down to Times Square, which was bursting at the seams with people, possibly because it's a public holiday. The place is huge, just as I remembered it, only that now, most of the shop spaces have been utilized. The last time I went there was last year, and it was quite newly opened then. Here's a shot of Times Square.





















It took us the whole evening to explore it, and we didn't finish the whole place even. We had wanted to catch Narnia there, but the tickets were sold out too fast for us. We had a pretty good Jap dinner at Nippon Tei, and a massive 12 scoop ice cream dessert. I bought 2 more tops here, and 3 more anime titles, which brings up the total 'loot' to this:

















I am one contented man now, who reasons that he will make a pilgrimage to KL once every year to stock up on original DVD anime titles. Oops, more pink tops, which brings the total of pink clothes I have (or have pink in them) to...oh...just about a dozen. Maybe more. Bwahaha.

Day 3

Day 3 was more uneventful. Sherry and I returned on day 3, while our friends extended a day for more shopping, because I had to be in school the next day. We had lunch at KGB again, and the food was still fabulous. I sure hope they open a branch in Singapore. Too bad I don't have the moolah to go open a franchise. After that, we went our separate ways. Interestingly enough, we actually bumped into the two of them later on at KLCC (imagine the odds), when they had planned to go to Sungei Wang, and I bumped into Huijun's elder sister and her sister's family there. Seriously, what are the odds of that? I have a natural flair for bumping into people - I am sure of it. After buying some odds-and-ends kinda stuff (like travel pillows), we headed back to the hotel to catch the coach back.
















The coach service is called Aeroline, and I am not trying to advertise them, but it is good. There is a small lounge and toilet on the bottom deck, and the top deck has reclining seats much like an airline would. In fact, it came with blankets you can request for, a bottle of mineral water, coffee/tea, food that is not bad tasting, and fruits dessert, served on the bus by an in-coach attendant who provides excellent service but sleepy-sounding announcements. Here's a shot of me with my newly acquired inflatable pillow, and the food served.

















Ignore once again the silly expression on fat face. Decent food there, served while they played Bewitched on the built-in LCD TVs. The coach ride took about 6 hours in total, dropping us off at Grand Copthorne. Considering that Corus Hotel was within 15 min walking distance at strolling pace to Zouk KL, and Grand Copthorne was right next to Zouk here, they should have a clubbing package for overseas visitors to either country! Ok silly wild idea of mine at odd hours of the night. Too bad it's not one of the coaches that stop at Golden Mile Complex, then I can just cross the road and be home. Heh. It was a satisfying trip. Now I have anime to last me possibly the next year, looking at the fact that I would have a hectic year in 2006, and about 14 unwatched anime titles sitting there in my cupboard right now. Bwahahaha.

I am back from KL! Since yesterday actually. But I haven't sorted out the photos yet, so I didn't blog till now. In fact, even right now, I am still sieving through the photos, so I shall blog about today first.

I went back to school to set up the auditorium. There was a meet-the-parents session with the parents of next year's IP year 1 kids. I had a quick briefing, then went off for an early dinner at 4 pm, went back for a sharing session about this new software that we use for IP teaching, and then I went back to finish setting up the auditorium. I had to help a teeny weeny bit in the presentation by responding over a forum only, so it was otherwise fairly painless for my part. By the time we finished packing up and left, it was 9+ pm. Argh. And I have to go back to school tomorrow from 9+ to 4+.

Oh yeah, for those who were or are wondering, the photo in Lianhe Zaobao on Tue is me. I did a phone interview with a reporter about teachers who use MSN and handphones to communicate with students, and they took my photo to go with the article. I had to take gazillion photos for the reporter to select from I think, and I'm glad it's not one of the frontal shots. I really don't look good smiling. Heh. To answer yet another query, the reporter found me by means of her friend, a colleague of mine, who recommended me right away when she heard about the thrust of the article. To answer the last popular query, nope, I'm not that excited to appear on newspaper because it had happened before long time ago. The most excited person is probably my mum, who has probably told the whole world she can reach by phone about it.

Hmm, one of the silly personality tests out there. Interesting to have such a result, considering I just rewatched an old movie Cats and Dogs. Not bad lah, next year is year of the dog after all. Heh.

I will be off to Kuala Lumpur from tomorrow to Tue, so it will be another 3-day post coming up then. Heh. Merry Christmas!

Oops, another 3-day post.

Actually, there wasn't much to mention for Wed and Thu, except that on Wed, the cell group celebrated Collin's birthday, and on Thu, blood brudders JZ, SF, Yuren and I gathered for a nostalgic session of AD&D for old times' sake. However, it was a short affair, as JZ and SF had evening plans (gone were the days when we used to spend the whole day playing...guess having a girlfriend makes all the difference in time management). I hung around with Yuren, and we chatted away till my remnant flu bug caught up with me, and made me return home prematurely.

Now Fri is the more interesting day, and it's a day of 3 reviews! I finished watching this anime Texhnolyze, and man, bleak is one major understatement to describe it. True to the nature of the director who directed Serial Experiment Lain, this anime progressed into true bizarre fare. The main character Ichise is a boxer in an underground fight club, and when he offended the woman of a big-shot in the Yakuza-like organization Oregano he was in, he had his right arm and left leg chopped off. Then he became texhnolyzed (hence the title) and was fitted with robotic limbs. Set in a dystopian underground city overrun by gangster organizations, it almost resembled some dark sci-fi stuff (like the classic Bladerunner). Then, as the story progresses, it moves into a realm of story telling regarding evolution, ghosts, and political manipulation that wraps up in an apocalyptic note.

At this point, the stark difference between Japanese fare and Hollywood fare hits me very hard. I realized that most Hollywood movies that range in the apocalyptic is essentially still an ego trip. The american hero always saves the day in the end, no matter it be a meteor, aliens, machines, and etc. The closest to being an exception so far I would think would be The Day After Tomorrow. Now once you look at Japanese stuff (anime in particular), once you ignore the kiddy stuff and zoom in on the serious anime, you will find that most of their apocalyptic series usually deals with the following theme (which the Wachowski brothers managed to capture somewhat in the Matrix, due to their heavy anime influence apparently): man being the pest/virus that threatens to put the earth into extinction, and then the apocalypse (in whatever form it takes) that wipes out every single person, usually leaving only one person, a couple, or no one behind at the end of the world. And there is always rebirth of some form. If I were to grossly simplify the message in the themes, it would be "Mankind screwed up. Wipe out man, and let's start all over." Hollywood is simpler in "Mankind screwed up. Disaster is coming/comes. American man saves the day! And romances sexy babe in process." Need I explain further why I'm fascinated and indulgent in Jap anime?

Speaking of Hollywood movies, I watched King Kong today. I'd include the warning first: it is a 3 hour long movie. It takes the people 1 hr to take a ship to the island they are going to, 1/2 hr to go onto land and explore before natives capture and attempt to sacrifice the female lead to King Kong, and the remaining 1 and 1/2 hours is where the action really starts. Hence, the advised timing would be to make for the toilet (if needed) somewhere near the end of the first hour. Peter Jackson really overdid the epic thing after shooting a trilogy of 3 hr long movies (a.k.a. The Lord of the Rings). Overall, I rate the movie 4 because the 1st hr rates 3, the 2nd hr rates 4, and the 3rd hr can possibly get a 5.

It starts off in the USA, set in Audrey Hepburn sorta era, and moves in melodrama about poverty and how hard it is to make a living in acting and theatre, and you momentarily wonder if you are in the right cinema watching the right movie. Carl, a failing director, decided to set off to an uncharted island to film a masterpiece, and gathered his crew with him, along with Anne, the lead actress who will capture King Kong's heart. They go on a really long boat ride (in terms of screen time), which meets threatening disaster, and then you momentarily wonder if you are watching the Titanic, only that the iceberg became gigantic black rocks. The crew boarded the uncharted Skull Island to get to an exotic location for a shoot. It is also interesting how Hollywood likes to throw in "Singapore" whenever they want to reference a country in Asia that is exotic and ulu in several movies already. Suddenly, they encounter the natives, that could easily remind of other movies; I thought of The Thirteenth Warrior, due to the appearance of the natives. Natives capture Anne, and offer her to King Kong. King Kong somehow befriended the woman, and in the meantime, the crew and love interest Jack (a playwright) sets off to find Anne. Then you start to wonder if you are watching Jurassic Park, because dinosaurs and giantic primitive insects start appearing. Many people die along the way of course in many grotesque and unique ways. Watch out for the excellent fighting scene between t-rexes and King Kong. Honestly, I think the t-rex has appeared in more movies than some celebrities! There were Jurassic Parks 1 to 3, Godzilla which t-rex disguised as, and now in King Kong! 5 movies ain't bad for an extinct creature.

Carl gets a brilliant idea to strike it rich, and captures King Kong, showcasing him in a theatre. King Kong breaks free, and searches for Anne, swinging around the city like Spiderman, albeit a really huge one, pauses for a romantic ice-skating moment with the woman, before the army catches up, and he is forced to retreat to the tallest building in the city, the classic scene of King Kong vs the flies a.k.a. aeroplanes. I have to say that the cg animation is solid. King Kong is the most realistically animated creature I've seen so far on the big screen. Just the few good scenes are actually enough to merit a watch, but the bad scenes are enough to merit a scathing review post from me. In fact, I think that the show would have been perfect, if the first hour was axed.

Third review of the day: the Magic of Love at the Max Pavilion. I watched this magic musical first around 3 years ago, when it was in its first run, and more or less inception stage. I didn't manage to catch it the following year, and after a successful tour of many countries, I managed to catch it again today, from the second row no less! It is worthwhile to get front-row seats for a magic show, else you really can't see a thing. The storyline and illusions have all evolved since the first time I watched it. My impression from the show 3 years ago was that it was good, but still needed polish; my impression from today is that it is one professional performance, and spectacular to catch. The storyline has tightened to involve more colourful characters, but more importantly, the illusions are woven more seamlessly into the progression of the story. The flow of both tricks and tale is smooth, and well-paced. I was impressed. It would indeed be fascinating if a Singaporean, and my senior pastor no less, could achieve international renown amongst the great illusionists. Even sitting at the second row from the stage, I still can't see any machinations, wires, trapdoors and all that the illusions required, and of course, not able to figure out the tricks.

The testimony shared was touching, especially since it came from the daughter. The preaching was short but succinct, which kept the audience seated. The best thing is, praise the Lord, Sherry's sister and the sister's friend, who we invited, received Christ! Whatever it is, I think those who aren't going for this are missing out on a spectacular show and a brilliant message.

Oops, an unintentionally long post.

Today marks the last day of my birthday celebrations. Not bad at all, a celebration that last five days. I met Huijun for lunch, and she treated me to a good meal at Sichuan Dou Hua Restaurant, at UOB Plaza. Actually, almost everything on the menu is quite beastly expensive, except for the dim sum part. The snacks are about 3 to 4 bucks per serving/basket, so are still rather affordable. But the key feature about this particular outlet is that it sits at the 60th floor of UOB Plaza! I tried to capture the view out the window with my phone, but here are the (blur) results:















You can see the bug-eyed esplanade so clearly in the distance. And on the left, you have:

















Unfortunately, I think I can see some reflection in the glass window. Anyway, the food's good, as long as there is a voucher to use. Incidentally, I think UOB has some Christmas promotion that gives SMART$ to use for free with 25 vendors, and this Sichuan restaurant is one of them. 20 bucks off if you spend $40. Hmm...in case anyone is wondering, I do not charge UOB commission for publicity, but hey, I think it's seriously one of the best credit cards around. I think the smartest thing they ever did was launching the Ladies' Card. Why the men don't get it? They should have a Gents' Card or something.

We went around shopping for many things, and I finally bought a pair of shoes from Caterpillar that I think fits what I've been hunting for. I also bought a bible cover earlier in the day to rescue my worn-out bible from oblivion. Spotted a nice DVD player, but I would put it on hold for a while. I intend to get a real good deal, and I think Harvey Norman is not the best place to get a cheap bargain.

In the evening, we met our cousin Kaixin for dinner. Her birthday is just two days earlier than mine, so this is like a double birthday celebration. I treated her to Tony Roma's since I had no idea what to get her for a present. It is actually the first time I ate at that restaurant, and I'm not sure why it is so. So many people have recommended it to me, but somehow, I just hadn't tried the food there before.

But now I have. I think Huijun and I over-ordered when we took the family feast combo. It took us a very long time to finish all that food. The ribs were very good indeed, and suddenly, I'm sure I won't be eating the ribs at Cafe Cartel anymore. The chicken was good too, but compared to the ribs, hmm...let's just say I'll be eating only the ribs next time I return. Next rib place to check out...Lowry? Lawry? Argh. I can't remember the exact name of that restaurant at the so-expensive-I-hardly-go-in Paragon. I wonder which one has better ribs.

Today was my birthday celebration with my blood brudders! Suddenly, my birthday feels very Jewish, in the sense that it seems to stretch over many days since last Fri. The gang came over from 3 pm onwards, and was pretty much entertained by my XBox playing Soul Calibur 2. SF had to abandon us due to a family dinner, and the rest of us made our way to Pivdofr slowly, due to the injured ankle of Yuren. Pivdofr is a restaurant that is along Liang Seah street, off Bugis Junction. If you are wondering how that name is pronounced, let me tell you that I have absolutely no idea either. I've asked the waiters and waitresses working there before, and no one knew for sure. The food is quite affordable, with set dinners at $15.50, and rather tasty too. Our blood brudder gang has been there on many occasions - many birthdays too - all thanks to ZM's recommendation when we were in Sec 4 or something. ZX did not make an appearance though due to tiredness, but in his absence, the good news of his getting married next year had travelled over.

Yuren and I were just talking the other day, wondering why the guys in our gang are all running marathon courtships, with ZX's being 9+ years long now (the next two longest ones are 6+ and 5+ years). So the good news is indeed timely. We have seen one another through various phases of our lives...sec sch, JC, army, uni, NIE (for some), career...and now comes the third last in my estimate. What is left should be marriage, parenting, and old age. Man, we are getting old.

Here's a shot of the blood brudders present, and respective affiliates, i.e. girlfriends in Pivdofr:
















After dinner, we all went our own ways. Since Sherry happened to bring her trusty camera and tripod, we went to Esplanade to take night photos. I made sure that she brought her camera because everytime Yuren had been the official photographer, the photos become the birthday present 2 years down the road. Yeah, he takes that long to process them. Ironically, he was faster when he was using film. I tried my hand at taking more artistic shots, but I'm not sure if I managed to pull it off.
















That was a shot of the durian, a.k.a. the Esplanade. Originally, I didn't like the place much, but after going there a lot more recently, I have to say, it ain't that bad a place to hang out actually. Here's a shot of the waterfront. I think I was too ambitious to try to capture the open-air amphitheatre area along with the background scenery. I think the photos appear darker on blogger than on my computer. Odd.
















I tried to take a shot of part of the esplanade and the walkway. I think the trees look good at night with the proper lighting.
















Second last photo I'd include is of the merlion. I took this shot because there was this strong light in the left background, and I'm still wondering what it is.
















The last photo is to demonstrate how poser I can be! Bwahaha. It's a good picture, courtesy of Sherry, and only a good photographer can make me look good in a photo. Heh.

















The most unfortunate discovery of the day is that I think I look better when I don't smile.

I had meant to give my boys a lunch treat after cell group at Changi Airport for my birthday, but I had woken up at 4 am in the morning with a fever. I knew it was coming. I rarely get headaches, and when I get them it means 1 of 3 possibilities: 1) I am running a high fever 2) flu is impending and the lethargy has kicked in 3) I had slept less than 5 hrs for more than 2 nights consecutively. Since option 3) was out, either one left was bad. In any case, I woke up at 9 plus to see the doctor, who confirmed that it was just the flu bug. Consequently, I was bedridden for a good half of the day - my birthday, no less! - and missed cell group and service altogether. Bleah. I think this is the third time it has happened exactly on my birthday. All the other years, the flu hit a few days before or after my birthday. Even last year's exception wasn't exactly an exception: the flu bug hit, but somehow my body didn't succumb. Talk about consistency.

In a way, it wasn't that bad. Spent the day with my mum, seeing once again how much she loves and cares for me. Sherry came over in the late afternoon, after service, and brought a small cake along. I got a sleek dark-gray bag as a present! The ironic thing, however, was that she fell sick while she was here, and she was running a fever by the time she left. I guess the same person who had passed the flu to me probably passed it to her too a couple of weeks ago. Meanwhile, I had recovered enough to accomplish this:

















This is twice my previous high score for bejeweled 2! I think it's a very high score, considering I hardly know anyone who hits the upper end of 5 digit scores in the first place. Bwahaha...the inane things I do when I am sick.

Oh yeah, in case anyone wonders why I hardly reply to tags on my tagboard, I actually cannot tag using my home computer. I have tried every remedy I can find to solve the problem, but it still always give the same 'cookies deactivated' error message, even though my settings are perfectly fine. Bleah. So I can only do it from the school laptop, which, of course, is in school right now, and I am (gladly) not.

Yesterday, I went down with my cell group to help out with the sm3 batch that just came in. They were supposed to go for their necessities trip, so we brought them to the nearest area, which was Anchorpoint. We would have brought them to Bukit Merah, if not for the fact that we couldn't recall that there is any moneychanger in the estate. They were a nice bunch, but somehow they looked less streetwise than last year's batch. Actually, we did not manage to achieve much last night, and they didn't manage to buy half the things they wanted to because of the late timing and location. Interestingly enough, while I brought some guys to the Cold Storage, this girl walked past, and asked me if those guys were sm3 students, because she saw them earlier in the day in the hall. It turned out that she is a sm2 student who has been here for a year already. She was very friendly, and introduced herself to the guys, and subsequently accompanied us all over Anchorpoint and Ikea. I also realized one thing: most of the PRCs I've met so far have single-word (dan zi) names, usually sounding quite cool too.

After we escorted them back to the hall, my cell group went down to SanLiuBar (meant to be 368) to hang out. Actually they bought a birthday cake for me, and wanted a place that was still open at the time. Sweet gesture there...Adrian treated us to drinks, but he stuck to coke while we all took alcoholic drinks. My vodka ribena tasted very ordinary to the extent of being quite tasteless, and I wondered if the ribena comes from those concentrates where they had to mix water in. Anyway it was a short but fun time of chilling out.

Today, I met shups! to hang out. She was sweet enough to offer me her whole Saturday (whatever's left after she wakes up, that is...heh). We went to Orchard to shop around, but I didn't manage to find anything I like enough to buy. To think I had actually budgeted for some expenditure - new things for a new year! We were hungry fairly early in the evening, so we gave up shopping, and went to Pasta Cafe at Taka, where she gave me a birthday treat. The food is still nice, but then I always forget one thing whenever I go there: soup + cream sauce pasta = gelat. Too much creamy stuff, and I couldn't finish my carbonara in the end. Worse that I'm having a bad cough now, and the cream adds to the phlegm feeling in the throat. After that we went to play pool, joined by QF later on. I didn't play very well, nor badly either, so it was just very...blah. My mum was (sarcastically) shocked that I actually came home earlier than midnight, but it's in fact due to a headache that I know accompanies the lethargy of flu. Except for last year, I have consistently fallen ill around the time period of my birthday. Argh.

Yesterday's cell group was long, and interesting. It was long only because Adrian discussed something that unearthed a can of worms of emotions in a few of us. That opened into a thrashing session where we discussed a lot of things. Nothing was directed at one another specifically, so it wasn't a brother-bashing thing. But through the whole thing, I think every one of us understood one another a little bit more. Precious little session there, with all the previously repressed sentiments and opinions unearthed.

Today I went for my IPPT. Bad thing is I had diarrhoea last night till this afternoon, and my legs were so weak that I almost couldn't make it for standing broad jump, and needed a few retries. I had thought that my injured knees would give me problems, but actually they didn't. It was just the overall physical weakness after the diarrhoea that sealed my doom. On a positive note, I had no problem with chin-ups anymore! Getting the chin-up bar really made all the difference. So looks like I need to go for another round of Remedial Training, although this time round, I doubt I'd need to stay through the full thing. Gimme a month, and I'll be out of there first chance there is. Heh.

I went down to Bras Basah Popular today to get some stationery. My computer table has gotten so messy that I decided to do a major cleanup, even before Lunar New Year. I was very surprised when I went there, since I haven't been to that outlet for quite a while, to see a totally revamped place. The decor has completely changed. The third floor children's corner has been taken over by Art Friend, and the 4th floor expanded into the 5th floor. The 2nd floor still holds all the books; 4th floor is no longer stationery, and now has a big comics section, animation and movies section, CD rama, toys, and textbooks section. The 5th floor is almost entirely stationery and IT stuff. I bought myself a filing cabinet, lots of A4-size plastic sleeves to dump all my documentation of credit card, starhub, m1 bills and all, and some stands to put my CDs and books. Now my table is so neat! Bwahaha. Once in a while, I will get an urge to clean up some specific area of my house (that I made messy), and make my mum happier for a while.

I rotted the whole day away more or less, with the most constructive activity being the reading of newspapers. Heh. I killed time by playing a MMORPG Mythwar, and once again reaching the level/stage where I realized how meaningless these games are. Pointless running around and meaningless levelling. I think I would go complete some of the new Xbox games I bought last holidays but had no time to finish instead.

I managed to finish an anime I was watching for a while. The fact that it took a while showed that it wasn't spectacular, but it wasn't all that bad either. Ragnarok the Animation is an anime based on Ragnarok the MMORPG, and from the music played each time the characters battle any enemy, to the magic they use, and etc, it is evident that most elements are true to the original game which spawned the anime. The story is epic as usual for fantasy settings, with a small group of adventurers setting themselves against an extremely powerful demon. The whole weak noob turned into strong hero scenario is extremely reminiscent of my first and one of my favourite anime - Record of Lodoss War, except that Lodoss War had a more serious undertone, and less cutesy characters. Overall storyline wasn't bad, but had way too many characters with too little development.

Meanwhile I started on another anime Texhnolyze, with the first episode looking really dark and grim. I also just remembered there's another anime Noir I began on and still sits nicely in my VCD player, because it is again not very spectacular or engaging. Too much like Madlax, but not as cool.

It was a little queer yesterday at 3 pm indeed, to be not headed to Bukit Merah for cell group, and subsequently service. Eventually, I decided to sleep past what would be the usual timings for cell and church. In the evening, a few of us colleagues went to Mrs Chua's place; she had invited us over for supposedly dinner. Only when we got there did we realize it is a (premature) Christmas celebration of sorts. Her cell group was running this evangelistic event for the first time, and she was telling me about the carols and programme and all before I pointed out that the material is actually from FCBC's I'll Be Home for Christmas a few years back. Heh...that was amusing when it happened. In any case, we had quite a fun time there. We all finally got to meet Lena's mysterious beau. He looked awfully familiar, and I had the vague impression I'd seen him before in Chung Cheng. Dawn had gotten a fancy haircut, and now looks nicely retro. She surprised me with an advance birthday gift - a surprise considering that I didn't expect my colleagues to know about my birthday.

This morning, I went to join my pastor for the network run that marks the day of the big move for Youthnet. The route was just about 2.6 km, but it was done as a network family, in the rain no less, although the pace was very slow to accomodate the less physically fit. I think the most entertaining part of the run was when we burst into songs of praise along the way. It was reminiscent of army days when we had to sing or cheer as we ran, only that now the content is worshipful. After the non-exhausting run (although it still stings my knees a bit...not recovered), my cell group, including a couple of my boys, went to Yakun for breakfast. Hehehe...my clever recommendation, while the rest are eating at coffee shops or junk food at Mac. I managed to educate some of them the proper way of eating half-boiled eggs - drink it down straight from the saucer in 1 or 2 gulps for maximum taste. Spoons are for cleaning up the plate at the end of it. Heh.

Afternoon was the big move! FCBC has moved to Max Pavilion at Expo! How cool is that? Neighbours to City Harvest no less. I think Expo has never seen a crowd as big as this Sun and the weekends thereafter. The hall is huge. The worship is awesome. The whole experience makes the trouble of getting there seem more worth it. Shiok ah!!! Although I had some agonizing frustrations with some of my boys today, interestingly enough, I had full attendance for cell group eventually. We went to Changi Airport's Burger King for cell group, and I set the new direction for next year for the cell, along with some minor admonishments. I must claim in faith that my boys will grow to surprise me next year in terms of spiritual maturity! I think I have faith at least the size of a mustard seed...

I went to check out Pool Fusion 2, just next to This Fashion opposite Bugis Junction. It's newly opened as of 1 Dec, and is quite a cool and snazzy place.

















That's J stretched out on the table by the way. The atmosphere and music are good, and the tables are actually on the low side, which is good for stretching for long distance shots. I think I'm playing too infrequently. My playing standard is still kinda maintained, but there doesn't seem to be much improvement, except maybe a little in placing. I think if I could ever own a big enough home, I would put a pool table in it. Hehehe.

The Marathon Devotional

The bible uses analogies of races to represent our Christian walk at several points, and only after completing the half-marathon did I gain a keener insight on the matter. I learnt some important lessons, after processing the experience of it in retrospect.

How should we run the race of Christian faith?

1. Purpose to Finish Strong

My training as a teacher has taught me one thing at least: always set clear objectives at the beginning. Unfortunately for this marathon, my objective was merely to finish it. That in itself was good, because it had kept me going, pushing myself beyond the limits I perceived myself to have. However, after my leg cramped at the 15 km mark, I was forced to walk the rest of the way. Only when I reached the finish line did it hit me that it really didn’t matter how I began the marathon. Some could have sprinted initially; others could have walked. Essentially, all that is important is how I finished it. I would have loved to run my way past the finish line, but my legs would not cooperate any more. As for why my legs cramped up on me, I suppose it is simply due to a lack of regular training.

I think in our Christian walks, most of the time we start off well, with gusto, and then we start to lose steam along the way. I would of course determine to finish the race of faith, but not just that, I want to be sprinting across that finish line a victor, and not dragging one limp leg or something, or worse, having given up halfway. In order to finish strong, we also need regular training – grounding in prayer, meditation of the scriptures, and etc – so that our spirit man will not cramp up on us at the critical moments.

2. Prepare to Follow Selectively

When you are running continuously for hours, at some point it starts to feel aimless. Sure, there is a finish line somewhere, but it is so far away that you would need something to occupy your mind in the meantime. I would look for someone in front of me, running at a pace I can follow for the next stretch of road. I need to choose someone who I think can lead me to the next milestone, or finish the race. Sometimes the person I follow may just drop away or slow down along the way, but that doesn’t mean I follow in his footsteps; I simply overtake him, and search for someone else to follow for the next bit.

In our Christian walk, we do follow certain people, be it leaders or peers. There are people we emulate, or learn from, thinking that it would be good to reach their level of faith, and move further from thereon. The problem is, sometimes people fall away, and it’s important for us to move on despite that, and not be discouraged in the process, especially when those we hold in high esteem fall from grace. The bottomline though, is that, even if everyone falls away, I must still continue, and finish the race myself. For all I know, there may even be those who are following me.

3. Persevere with the Fellowship of the Saints

A marathon is a long race, and it would certainly be very different if I were running it by myself, compared to running with ten thousand other people. Better still, when I was running with my fellow G12 brother and keeping pace, there was a certain assurance and unspoken encouragement in the process. It is more comforting to have someone you know running alongside you than not.

The Christian walk is no different. There are of course people who do not wish to attend church, but it is about community, and fellowship. Indeed, how can we love our neighbours as ourselves, if we remain solitary? Having the encouragement of fellow Christians can be a steadying force in building our faith, especially since it takes a whole lifetime to complete. That is why the cell group is so precious to me; it is about growing in faith together, and accountability. It is one thing to persevere alone; it is another to have someone battling side by side with you.

I met Sherry for a movie in the afternoon - A History of Violence. The show scores full stars in almost every review I've come across so far, and I went to find out why. The show features a really solid cast, and there is excellent acting in the movie from the leads to the supporting cast. It starts off with a family man Tom Stall (Viggo), who works in a diner. By some stroke of misfortune, a couple of felons, who began the show with murder, decided to get some quick cash from Tom's diner. When a lady employee's life was then at stake, Tom reacted, fought and shot the two men dead with their guns. The movie made it appear as though it was justifiable to kill the cold-blooded duo, but Tom seemed to be withdrawing from all the publicity that comes with his newfound heroic status. Days later, three mobsters drop in the diner, insisting Tom is Joey, some syndicate leader's brother who took out the lead mobster (Ed Harris)'s eye. Tom denies everything, and appears genuinely innocent. But is he? Considering how efficiently he took out the two men in the diner (three gunshots to a man's chest, and one through the top of the head), there seems some doubt to his claims. And the meeting with the mobsters stirs up trouble and anxiety in the family, and opens a can of worms on Tom's life.

The plot is not extremely sophisticated, but the way the movie unfolded was particularly engaging. As the movie title suggests, there is ample violence in the show. There is lots of blood in the show, broken noses that have never looked more gross than in this show, and a blown apart jaw - a realistic exit shot for a short range bullet to the top of the head. The rating of R21 though is likely due to a couple of explicit sex scenes, although both parties were fully clothed in both instances, and one brief scene of nudity. I like the central theme of the movie, which is essentially about Tom's family ties. It is definitely worth a watch on account of the solid acting alone, and a simple but neat plot, but I wouldn't give a 5 star rating...maybe 4.

After the movie we went to Heeren to shop around a while. We bumped into quite a few students who know either of us, including one student whom I bumped into twice (though I don't teach her). As Sherry puts it, teachers are underpaid celebrities, known by too many people (students). I bought 2 tops from 77th Street. Interestingly enough, the shop assistant made a mistake, and told us that there is a 5% discount if we pay using UOB Mini card, but after settling the bill, another shop assistant pointed out that the promotion was over after Nov, so I saved about $4.50 for nothing. No need to exhaust your brains calculating the cost of the shirts: each costs $45. They are pretty cool though, and reminds me of what Rain would wear in Full House. After watching that series, I'm a fashion fan of Korea now. Or at least, of the clothes showcased in the series. Heh.

On our way back, we saw this:

















That's my index finger there, which is 7.5 cm long (I just measured it), and that only covers the shell! This has got to be the biggest snail I've seen so far outside. It would make one heck of an escargot though. Heh.

Another 3-days-worth post. I hope this is not going to be a trend...

Mon 5 Dec

I spent most of the time recuperating in bed. My muscles weren't aching badly actually, but both my knees were getting the brunt of it. Every step I took, I experienced acute pains at the kneecaps. This has made me resolve not to participate in such long distance runs anymore. Sure, the sense of accomplishment is wonderful and all, but the risk of sustaining injury is substantial enough for me to put aside any illusions of grandeur. I'll just stick to my 2.4 km runs, and try to get more money from SAF during IPPT, and probably be able to walk well even when I reach a ripe old age. Of course, we'll never really know, but then at least I would want the probability of it to be significantly higher. Looking at most of my athletic friends, even at 20+ to 30+, their bodies are already taking their tolls from the exertion.

Tue 6 Dec

I caught Chicken Little with Lena in the early afternoon. This is yet again a show I walk into the cinema with abyssmally low expectations, because every single one of my friends who have already watched it trashed it more or less. As yet again, possibly because of the abyssmally low expectations, I walked away finding it not bad. The story isn't anything new, of course. The typical underdog making it big scenario, and as cartoons tend to go, there are spoofs of popular movies embedded. In fact, there was even direct mention of the movie they were spoofing within the dialogue. One character went, "It's like War of the Worlds out there!" There was a built-in theme of father and son tension/reconciliation, which I thought was well developed enough throughout the show. I read certain reviews that blasted it, saying the plot is confused and all, but strangely, I found it rather coherent, albeit simple. However, the characters speak too fast, and it's hard to catch some of the humour in the dialogue. The show has its funny moments of course, and therefore, I wouldn't go so far as to deem the show bad. It isn't anywhere in the league of The Incredibles, Nemo, or Shrek, but it is not unwatchably bad.

I met my students later, and made our way down to Aloha Changi. I helped them book a chalet, and had to draw the keys for them. Since it was in such a ulu place, I decided I would stay the night over rather than made my long way home out of the place at night, which would imply I have to leave fairly early. One student, the class rep, cooked dinner for us, and I'm impressed. By the fact that there are still girls who know how to cook. Oddly enough, it really does seem like a rarity these days. But to be fair, this is one opinion I would beg to stand corrected; I shudder to imagine that the cooking for the households of my generation would all be done by maids. The day was primarily occupied by card games, playstation 2, and mahjong. We merely played using chips (I wouldn't gamble money with my students certainly), and I was the big winner...hehe. Warmup for Chinese New Year. Bwahaha.

One guy brought a bottle of Chivas Regal, and almost everyone was getting a drink or two. Since they have reached the age of 18, I suppose there was no actual ground for me to stop them from drinking. I could stop them from drinking too much though. What I didn't count on was the low threshold of tolerance that the girls had. They drank rather little, but each of the three of them displayed different symptoms, and quite severely. One felt sick, threw up once, and then slumbered the night away; another turned lobster red for a long, long time, threw up several times, and had a rapid pulse; the last got so high she was wobbling her way around the chalet, spouting nonsense half the time. And they wanted to go clubbing on Wed at DXO, which is ladies' night. Argh. I gave them a lecture about the perils of it all, especially regarding the 'wolves' that I always blog about, with the support of the guys, and I can only hope it got through to them.

There was a cute cat at the chalet. For some reason, he just parked himself outside the main door all the way from afternoon till the early morning when I left. I was playing with him for a while, until he kept on trying to sneak into the chalet persistently. After a while of repeatedly carrying him out of the chalet, I shut the door on the poor lonely cat. The next morning when I left, I was making a cat call to him, and he just followed me all the way out the long road until I thought it might be dangerous for him to reach the traffic, and left him behind. He was so lovably responsive. I think I have affinity with some particular cats. Heh.

Wed 7 Dec

I had little of the day left by the time I woke up from sleep. I stayed up the whole of last night playing mahjong and ps2, and only hit the bed at 7 am when I got home. By the time I woke up for lunch, it was already mid afternoon. I finished up some design stuff, and then went to cell group. Today was my turn to lead worship, and gee, it has been a really long time since I last led it. Hope the Lord enjoyed it. We were sharing about the marathon experience, and I am trying to crystallize some lessons learnt in 3-point sermon form, which my church pastors consistently uses. I'll blog it later when I'm done with it.

Here's another post that is 3 days' worth.

Fri 2 Dec

The conference is finally over today, and what a spectacular waste of time it was! There were maybe 3 or 4 visitors who came in to see our booth. I was there way too early, and saw the conference administrators who came in, saw that our booth's immediate 2 neighbours had packed up and gone off, and complained that they were going to send a letter to the respective schools' principal; originally, when I had arrived, I was wondering why we had not packed up and fled. Ah well. I was just reading a book ("Telling Others" by Nicky Gumbel), and managed to cover a quarter of it, before my colleagues came. For the better part of the day, I was only doing one thing, and I managed to get my 2 colleagues manning the booth to do the same - playing Bejeweled 2 on popcap.com! I was so dead bored that I went to play it on the tablet PCs, and after a while, my colleagues couldn't resist the temptation to escape boredom, and went to play it too. Essentially I only played 3 games, but each was close to an hour long. My worst score was 56000+, and the best was 68000+. Bwahaha.

We packed up by about 2 pm, and headed back to school to return all the equipment. In the evening, I watched March of the Penguins on VCD, courtesy of Sherry. This has got to be the most entertaining and engaging documentary I've watched. It's amazing how they go through the process of mating, laying the eggs, and raising the young. Can animals feel emotion, I wonder? In their mating once a year, each couple lays only one egg, and at one point, the mother passes the egg across to the father to keep it warm, while she returns to the ocean to get warmth and food. The couples who pass the egg badly end up cracking the egg, and you can hear the cries of the parents over the egg, a different sound from the normal ones, and it sounds genuinely moanful. Some mothers actually couldn't get over the loss of their chicks, and maddened, they try to rob another penguin of the chick. It's incredible footage that the filmmakers managed to obtain, and I'm suitably impressed. It's interesting how a penguin could have the instincts to give birth to and raise the young, despite the unfavourably harsh conditons, while we civilized humans have begun to shirk the responsibility. For all we know, one fine day, we may be the endangered species.

Sat 3 Dec

Only one of my boys showed up for cell group today, for a variety of reasons. We actually had quite a good time talking, and I was sharing with him about how I see the cell group and all, and my struggles leading it. I don't know if I'm not giving them as much credit as I should, but as it stands, I still think that they are not even disciplined enough to read the bible regularly, much less do more for God. Spiritual things aside, I see quite a few of them with even inadequacies in lifeskills perhaps, and I am at a genuine loss on how to teach one maybe communication skills, and another, EQ, for instance. Right now, out of the 8 I have, 3 of them already feel like lost sheep. One lost for some obscure reasons that he doesn't share with me, the second lost in cyberspace totally addicted to gaming, and the third is lost because his appearance seems contingent on whether the second kid comes along with him. I've bought a new bible to give to him 4 weeks ago, and till now I have yet to be able to pass it to him. I can't quite place the exact feeling that is in my heart for weeks now...Frustration? Exasperation? Grief? Disappointment? I was telling that one boy who came yesterday, I am really out of patience dealing with the cell group. If God doesn't do something for the cell and for me, I am seriously going to run dry.

Today is the last service at TCT. The pastor showed a video of FCBC's past, and I was surprised to be reminded that TCT was opened in 1998. Goodness, I have moved there for that many years already? Adrian asked me if I have any feelings about the move, and in all honesty, I don't feel any sentimentality yet. Maybe next Sat at 5 pm, I would wonder why I'm not in Bukit Merah. When I migrated over to TCT from TC, the main thing I missed wasn't the church building per se; it was the pool parlour there I missed. I suspect after we move to Expo, I would miss the food in the Bukit Merah hawker centre more than anything.

After service, my cell guys and I grabbed a quick dinner, and made our way to our cell brother Eric's house. The five of us who would be running the Standard Chartered (Half) marathon were all staying overnight there, so that we can all drive down in 1 or 2 cars, else it would be really difficult to meet up and all, in that 15000 strong crowd of participants. We also gave Eric a surprise celebration of his upcoming birthday, and that wrapped up the evening. Adrian and I slept outside in the living room, and we were talking till almost midnight. Bad move, considering we were to wake up by 5 am. Worse still, the cold air-con woke me up once in the night (I had no blanket), and I woke up once more to go to the toilet after drinking too much water in preparation.

Tomorrow is the big day! I was quite filled with dread actually. Collin and I both were thinking that we ought to have signed up for 10 km run, since we hardly trained at all. Ah well.

Sun 4 Dec

The big day has finally arrived. I was waiting for today for a long time since, first in anticipation, then later on in dread after I realized how little I have trained. In fact, I think in the last few months, I ran a total of perhaps only 7 times, of which the maximum distance covered had been about 3.6 km only. This is a sordid case of being underprepared.

After being flagged off, I found myself a comfortable pace, and was running with Collin beside me. After only about 2 km, I realized I needed to take a piss, but I was determined not to stop, so I held back all the way till the feeling disappeared, probably due to major loss of water in perspiration. I was fairly surprised when I made it to 5 km, since it was longer than I have run recently, and by then, I was just mindlessly moving into gaps and spaces left behind by trailing runners, and keeping an eye on following Collin. Somewhere around 8 km perhaps, we met up with J and Adrian. By then, Eric has vanished far in front. We ran together for a while, before we separated at around 10 km due to difference in pace. I was the slowest among them apparently, but I was surprised I made it that far in the first place. Along the way, I saw many familiar faces from my network, most of whom signed up for 10 km run; only a few of us madmen (I was signed up for 21 km by Adrian; only later did we realize that most of the cell groups are gunning for 10 km only) were doing the half-marathon.

By 12 km, I had only stopped once for maybe half a minute to stretch my left calf muscles, which were cramping up, and I managed to push myself to 15 km. All this while, I was talking to God and praying for God to sustain me primarily, amidst other things. It was a good time of communing with God actually, especially since the run itself was essentially mechanical - after about 6 or 7 km, the legs were just moving on their own, albeit in smaller and smaller steps. I managed to hit 15 km in slightly under 2 hours' time, which I thought was a reasonable pace, considering my lack of training, and I had never imagined I could run continuously for this long a duration. And then it hit me.

My left leg started cramping up very badly. First, it was the shin. I stretched, and tried to resume running, and then the calf muscle gave way. I walked for about 2 km, and then after the last U-turn for the final 4 km, I tried to run, and then my left thigh muscle cramped as well. The whole journey beyond 6 km had been entirely mental rather than physical fitness, and at this point, my mind was still strong enough to push on, but my body was no longer able to comply. I realized what a difference proper training would make. If I had trained for some long distance running before this, I doubt I would have been cramping up. So there I was, disappointedly walking the whole last stretch back. The last 6 km seemed like forever, but I was singing praise and worship songs under my breath to keep me going and to distract myself from noting the distance. By the time I crossed the finishing line, it was about 3 hours and 6 minutes. I think my timing should be about 3 hours, because from the moment we were flagged off till I actually crossed the plate that started the timing, there was a lag of a few minutes.

My timing wasn't fantastic, but I was glad I finished it. My sense of accomplishment lies in the fact that I managed to push myself on and on for 15 km without stopping. The longest distance I'd run before this was 10 km in JC and army, which was a good 7 to 9 years ago. And now I'm suffering the aftermath of extremely tight and aching muscles and general fatigue that a 3-hr nap didn't manage to cure.

I really did waste one full day away. I was in school from 9 am to 6 pm, running up and down, just to ensure nothing went wrong. Unfortunately, many things did go wrong, specifically with respect to drawing of keys to open certain venues for the contractors to work, and drawing keys always involve dealing with the One Man. At first he was very cooperative, and in a good mood in the morning, but as the day went on, and we looked for him a few times to get the keys for certain venues, he started making things difficult for me, and the IT guy helping me. Especially in claiming that we did not inform him of certain things beforehand (which we did), and ticking us off for it. At that point, he's the guy I want to punch a hole through. Bleah. Maybe God put him there to teach me patience in dealing with obnoxious people. Heh. To be fair, I know he's just doing his job, in a sense, but the thing most of us can't stand is the irritating way he goes about doing his duty.

I was to meet a whole bunch of colleagues for dinner at Parkway Parade. After I got off the bus, I was on the phone when I heard someone shout my name. I turned, and finally noticed that it was my student, calling me by my name 'Kian Seh' no less! I waited for him and two other of my students to catch up with me, and the first thing he said was "Sir, you said after A's then can call you by name hor". Haha...I couldn't dispute that since I did say so, when he irreverently called me by name in school one time.

Anyway, I insisted on having good food to salvage my disgusting day, and my colleagues and I ended up in Crystal Jade. We had an excellent meal, especially after they tried my recommendations. Heh. After dinner, the three of us guys - SK, Ivan and me - sent Lisa and Sherry shopping, and sneaked off for a short game of pool. After playing at Pool Fusion for so long, I think Classic Pool isn't that good a place. The tables are still good, but the balls were dull, and the cues had quite a few warped ones. And the thing I can't stand the most is that there is no powder there for my hand. I had some decent shots and placing, but generally, I was rather off-form today, though still winning the whole time. I need to train with a player better than me; lately there seems to be a lack of opportunity to spar with J. Sigh.

I was boarding a bus from the interchange when there was a dispute right behind me. A whole group of malay skater-boys were boarding the bus, and when the first guy dropped in some coins, the bus driver stopped him, and demanded to see his ezlink card. The driver tapped it, and found that it wasn't working, and confiscated it. I wasn't sure exactly what went on, whether the skater-boy put in too few coins or what, but the boy went on to shout a string of vulgarities. Another driver came to intervene, and in the end, the whole group did board the bus, but almost all of them had ezlink cards that didn't work (or had no value), and they all used coins. Even with my headphones, I can hear them stomping up the stairs, kicking seats, and whacking the seats with their skateboards. Half of me wanted to intervene originally, but I think my mother had brainwashed me well, and her advice of lying low and staying clear rang in my head. I was actually surprised the boy didn't resort to violence...guess barking dogs never bite after all. More importantly, I am still wondering what I would have done had the skater-boys actually lashed out in violence. I know I would call the police immediately, but would I have the guts to intervene personally first?

I am pissed off today. It looks set to be yet another diem perdidi.

I just received another request for AV services in Dec, just today, in my letter slot no less! First things first, had it not been for the fact that I am unfortunate enough to be returning to school so often, I would not even have received the request form. The more irritating thing is, what do they take my AV students for? It's the holidays, for goodness' sake. They are not at my disposal 24-hrs a day. I was so irritated that I sent out an email to the whole school to remind them to liaise with me before the school closes, in a sarcastic tone. I think I'll just get my whole crew to go on strike. Myself included. Bwahaha. I wish.

Right now I am in school, waiting for contractors to come and install network cables. Out of those involved, one is attending to wife and newborn baby, one is away in Turkey holidaying, and the last one escaped this boredom because he was originally supposed to be in Sri Lanka (then changed to Cambodia), which got cancelled, and he was somehow under the radar and evaded this crummy arrow. The contractors said they would come down early at 9.30 am so that they can finish a lot of work by today (Bleah! That means I have to stay all the way with them. Urgh!), and guess what? Considering the responsible nature of that claim, it's now 11.30 am, and they are nowhere in sight. Wah biang eh, I really want to punch a hole through some wall right now.

In fact, I might just punch a hole through the next person who comes along and says something along the line of 'it's the holidays and teachers are very eng now'.