the oral examinations are finally over and am glad the kids felt the charms work. did some late minute 1-2-1 on sat before making my way to the Ritz to view the fireworks display.
am on the verge of getting "hook" to dota and must admit i am still a noob at it. scored a first by raking up 3 kills tho I can't remember how i did 2 of them. and the other 1 is a cheap shot.
completed the army half-marathon on sun in 2 hours and 31 minutes. 1 minute above my target, but i blame it on the people who blocked the passage while strolling and talking cock to their friends.
did the first 10km within 55 minutes, which is on track. by the time i hit about 18km, left thigh began to cramp and had to stop and stretch. At the 20.5km mark, both thighs cramped *sianz* but cannot lose form and walk past the finishing line. So grit my teeth and ran past the finishing line in self-delusion that i came in first.
looks like the full marathon is not my cup of tea cos I was limping yesterday. but today, the pain has subsided. so I'll not run the standchart on the 7 Dec but focus on training for the Safra biathlon next march.
still anticipating the arrival of vios ... ...
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
too long a break...
1) keeping 2 hamsters as pets.
2) gonna be busy with Mitch's wedding preparation in Sept
3) never swiped my plastic while on holiday (this is A FIRST!)
4) waiting for the arrival of my vios
5) oral exams have started, yay! i just have to endure one-to-one till 25 Aug. Then it's back to the preparation of the written papers. As much as I lament and gripe and procrastinate, i think this batch is more promising. hope the good luck charm works, it better!
2) gonna be busy with Mitch's wedding preparation in Sept
3) never swiped my plastic while on holiday (this is A FIRST!)
4) waiting for the arrival of my vios
5) oral exams have started, yay! i just have to endure one-to-one till 25 Aug. Then it's back to the preparation of the written papers. As much as I lament and gripe and procrastinate, i think this batch is more promising. hope the good luck charm works, it better!
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
the chaos starts
the first 2 weeks just zoomed past with oral exams, meetings, heart-to-heart with the kids and most importantly wimbledon.
our mj game were paused momentarily when crucial points were played between stylish Fed and wedgie Nadal... after entertaining (or rather torturing) ourselves with budget mj in between the rain delays, the gang was aghast with Federer's lost to wedgie boy. utterly disappointed with the results. managed to win some cab fare amidst the torture :P tho it was mentioned that the sleep was much more important. well, the gang expected me to put aeroplane but a promise is a promise, so i appeared ard 11 plus.
thanks folks for making me feel so much at ease these days....
our mj game were paused momentarily when crucial points were played between stylish Fed and wedgie Nadal... after entertaining (or rather torturing) ourselves with budget mj in between the rain delays, the gang was aghast with Federer's lost to wedgie boy. utterly disappointed with the results. managed to win some cab fare amidst the torture :P tho it was mentioned that the sleep was much more important. well, the gang expected me to put aeroplane but a promise is a promise, so i appeared ard 11 plus.
thanks folks for making me feel so much at ease these days....
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Day 11 - Shopping in Suzhou
contents abt our conversation include things like:
Feeling confident about oneself. Comes from the experiences and hardwork that we put in our work. It is something that no-one can take away from you. You reap what you sow. There is no short-cut to success.
Lunch at a Xin Jiang restaurant - delicious! roast whole lamb leg, french beans, mushrooms and i didnt have to eat the whole plate of vegetables myself. so there is a little right in the big wrong that i have done.
After my 3 periods (from late morning to late afternoon), was totally exhausted (yay, 3 more lessons to go before i go back to SGP). thereafter, it was to visit 观前街 again but with different company. bot the usual tooth-pick dispensers for mummy's shop before visiting Matro (no typo here) shopping centre. Bleed moolah there.
1) shorts for my v-ball, tennis, running and gym sessions with O.o
2) the black Y-3 belt
3) my first clothing from Dunhill (which according to someone cost a whole of tuition, :P)
4) a silver ring from Gucci:
the joy accrued: intangible (well, I see it as a form of reward for the good work that I have done in the past few years)
dinner at a teppanyaki restaurant turned up to be a surprise. Told by the waitress that they have 150yuan buffet with free flow drinks (alcohol included). Ate in moderation though and judging by the amount and quality of the food that was served, it was comparable to dining at Inagiku except that it cost only a fraction :P things that went into our digestive systems - beef, mushrooms, sweet potato, oysters, sashimi, prawns, fish, scallops. Was jus shaking my head when i realised that i did not have to eat some of the dishes all by myself. jus reinforces the notion that we have changed for the better as individuals :P
finally was able to chat on the phone and be myself while chatting tonight. The relationship has truly normalized as the conversation we had after dinner sort of really tied up all the loose ends of the emotional entanglement that has embroiled us.
Sunday is coming le... yay
Feeling confident about oneself. Comes from the experiences and hardwork that we put in our work. It is something that no-one can take away from you. You reap what you sow. There is no short-cut to success.
Lunch at a Xin Jiang restaurant - delicious! roast whole lamb leg, french beans, mushrooms and i didnt have to eat the whole plate of vegetables myself. so there is a little right in the big wrong that i have done.
After my 3 periods (from late morning to late afternoon), was totally exhausted (yay, 3 more lessons to go before i go back to SGP). thereafter, it was to visit 观前街 again but with different company. bot the usual tooth-pick dispensers for mummy's shop before visiting Matro (no typo here) shopping centre. Bleed moolah there.
1) shorts for my v-ball, tennis, running and gym sessions with O.o
2) the black Y-3 belt
3) my first clothing from Dunhill (which according to someone cost a whole of tuition, :P)
4) a silver ring from Gucci:
the joy accrued: intangible (well, I see it as a form of reward for the good work that I have done in the past few years)
dinner at a teppanyaki restaurant turned up to be a surprise. Told by the waitress that they have 150yuan buffet with free flow drinks (alcohol included). Ate in moderation though and judging by the amount and quality of the food that was served, it was comparable to dining at Inagiku except that it cost only a fraction :P things that went into our digestive systems - beef, mushrooms, sweet potato, oysters, sashimi, prawns, fish, scallops. Was jus shaking my head when i realised that i did not have to eat some of the dishes all by myself. jus reinforces the notion that we have changed for the better as individuals :P
finally was able to chat on the phone and be myself while chatting tonight. The relationship has truly normalized as the conversation we had after dinner sort of really tied up all the loose ends of the emotional entanglement that has embroiled us.
Sunday is coming le... yay
Day 10 - 南京
left for nanjing after my lessons in the morning and sat on the comfortable 弹头 train which was newer, cleaner and faster. It was well worth the price cos of the 1hr 40min train ride (travelling at top speed of 160km/h) Though it was only half the speed of the Mag-Lev train in Shanghai, what was impressive is the punctuality, the efficiency and orderlinness of the train network. Even contemplated of using the train network to see as many cities in China as possible in the future.
it was a gloomy day both in Suzhou and Nanjing cos it drizzled for almost the whole day. Upon arrival, visited the 南京大屠杀纪念馆 which was the main purpose of my visit to nanjing. it was all black, grey and white at the memorial and it was jus... ... sombre. Having read books about the massacre and watching the recent docu-movie last December, I am now going to see it for myself.
Seeing the skeletons of the victims ranging from as young as a few months old to over 80 years old reinforced the fragility of life. but these were not the work of mother nature against humanity but of humanity against humanity. so treasure the people around you and do unto others what you want others to do unto you.
tried the crab baked in salted egg for dinner but still find that the version that i am familiar with is more palatable. We'll go eat it when we get back. but must find out which place serves the "best" which i believe you have an idea, lol
brought face-to-face to the severity of my decision before the end of today and felt that things needed to be further discussed so that we can become truely what we want to be. On hindsight, the next day was really a good day for us cos we have truely become. I was able to chat on the phone ala no holds barred. He even said HI!
it was a gloomy day both in Suzhou and Nanjing cos it drizzled for almost the whole day. Upon arrival, visited the 南京大屠杀纪念馆 which was the main purpose of my visit to nanjing. it was all black, grey and white at the memorial and it was jus... ... sombre. Having read books about the massacre and watching the recent docu-movie last December, I am now going to see it for myself.
Seeing the skeletons of the victims ranging from as young as a few months old to over 80 years old reinforced the fragility of life. but these were not the work of mother nature against humanity but of humanity against humanity. so treasure the people around you and do unto others what you want others to do unto you.
tried the crab baked in salted egg for dinner but still find that the version that i am familiar with is more palatable. We'll go eat it when we get back. but must find out which place serves the "best" which i believe you have an idea, lol
brought face-to-face to the severity of my decision before the end of today and felt that things needed to be further discussed so that we can become truely what we want to be. On hindsight, the next day was really a good day for us cos we have truely become. I was able to chat on the phone ala no holds barred. He even said HI!
Day 9: Shanghai, loose ends are tighter, down memory lane
After spending an entire week in Suzhou and visiting the famed 园林, I was desperate to get to shanghai. Tickets to shanghai were very limited since most people were rushing home at the end of the long weekend holidays. In the end bought the 66 yuan sleeper ticket instead of the 22 yuan hard seat ticket, I am THAT desperate to get out.
The ride to PVG was pleasant and picturesque though the I did not lie down on the sleeper bed which I suspect is infested with bed bugs (hopefully I am wrong!). Conversation was long and very much needed given the situation. managed to verabalise most thoughts and it was good to talk and listen.
As soon as we alighted from the train, it was business as usual for us. went to 南京路步行街, ventured into the shopping centres that we visited last year and ate the delicious 生煎包. Popped over to 新天地 to check out the Y-3 boutique only to find that it has relocated. So we settle for dinner at a nice Italian restaurant before taking another train back to Suzhou. The return trip was WORSE cos the air-conditioning was almost inexistent and people were seated shoulder-to-shoulder. At one of the stations, a mother and child sat opposite us, took out half a watermelon and happily helped themselves to it, LOL.
What irked me a little was "huh, we came here before meh?"
The ride to PVG was pleasant and picturesque though the I did not lie down on the sleeper bed which I suspect is infested with bed bugs (hopefully I am wrong!). Conversation was long and very much needed given the situation. managed to verabalise most thoughts and it was good to talk and listen.
As soon as we alighted from the train, it was business as usual for us. went to 南京路步行街, ventured into the shopping centres that we visited last year and ate the delicious 生煎包. Popped over to 新天地 to check out the Y-3 boutique only to find that it has relocated. So we settle for dinner at a nice Italian restaurant before taking another train back to Suzhou. The return trip was WORSE cos the air-conditioning was almost inexistent and people were seated shoulder-to-shoulder. At one of the stations, a mother and child sat opposite us, took out half a watermelon and happily helped themselves to it, LOL.
What irked me a little was "huh, we came here before meh?"
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Day 8: visiting another ancient town but with new company!!!
Caiyun and Jiali joined us from Shanghai for a day. Arrivin last night, we managed to get the teachers from ZhengHua to get a discounted rate for the hotel that they are putting up in. Took them to eat @ 洋洋 restaurant which is featured in Lonely Planet. Ordered some of the delicious food that we ate a few days ago so that they can share our joy, lol.
Some of the food that we ate for the second time.
The 串虾 that were easy to peel, sweet and fresh.
Looks like puke right. actually it's crab meat and crab roe on top of steamed egg in orange skin. think chawanmushi. a combination sweet (crab), salty (roe) and sweet & sour (orange)
After dinner, we played guides to the ladies and brought them to 李公堤。so told them what 陶老师 told us when he brought us there the previous day. Walked about 1km along the path that was lined with restaurants and pubs before we 打的 (i.e. took a cab) back to our hotel. instead of turning in which was our original plan, SY and I stayed up to work on our slides for our sharing when we return. then called u (sorry, woke u up) before turning in.
Brought the gurls to buy breakfast from our usual spot. That's me in the mandarin collar shirt. need to stop hunching :(
The ride to ANOTHER ancient town was long and bumpy but it was worth it because were was a house that was different from ALL the houses that we have seen in the many towns. the archi change from eastern to western from one section to another. So finally, there was a breath of fresh air from the usual lily ponds, willow trees, black-white-grey houses.
the very reason why i am slogging my life away :P
another photo next to yet another lotus pond. That's SY (you can finally put a face to that name now)
called QM in the afternoon to send her a lifebouy (due to the physical distance, only can manage a bouy la) since she was searching for lifeboat. Good to hear that the camp is doing great and the kids are learning something and enjoying themselves. well, we will have to wait and see if they can deliver @ APSIRE and the other activities.
slept all the way enroute to suzhou but din drool (heh heh)
the night was spent bringing the gurls to 观前街 for dinner and sight-seeing before they return to our room to look at ALL the photos that we have taken since last Sunday. Oh ya, i ate my first dumpling in China, and it is not as delicous as I imagined it to be :(
more friends are coming to visit tmr morning and think that next week will really fly past since we are going to visit nanjing and shanghai in between my lessons. want to visit the nanking massacre museum after reading about it and watching the 50th anniversary film about it. since i had used this incident to talk about total defence in my CE lessons, i think it would be good if i have visuals to improve on the lesson for the subsequent batches.
With the TAGs, 6-1 and many many more in the past, present and future, things are def looking up and off to a good start :P
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