Give it everything

Japan

2011-03-14T07:46:00.000-07:00

We all know about the terrible earthquake which, along with the tsunami, caused a tragedy in Japan. Thousands of lives are lost, many more will be. Acres of land are destroyed, property and assets vanished in an instant. Many reports have explained the catastrophic damages and the economic cost of this tragedy, while still unknown, is likely to rise above $30b and many firms, especially insurance firms, will suffer impossibly high financial costs and face possible bankruptcy.

What I have been musing does not lie on the financial or life side. Many articles have been written on it. I was intrigued by what I noticed DID NOT occur. Over the past years, several disasters have occurred in Asia. It started with the boxing day tsunami which struct Aceh, followed by the Sichuan earthquake. Both raking in thousands of lives.
How the Japanese disaster differed from the former 2 was the way the citizens reacted to it. In both China and Indonesia, looting, selfish deeds, crimes were rampant with high level of chaos. Not only did these not help with the rescue operations, these 'self-preserving' citizens hindered the work of those with the will to help.

In Japan, the scene seems to be very much different. We DO NOT hear about crimes and amidst the unimaginable chaos and vulnerability of people, we do not see much crimes occurring. While some may argue that this is selective media coverage, I choose to believe this is the result of generations of quality education and upbringing. In a disaster, victims help those who are worse off than themselves. Instead of rounding up as much aid and supplies as possible (which was what we saw in Indonesia and China), we are not witnessing Japanese selflessly giving up their own aid to help those who need it more. The level of culture is too deep.

China has prided herself to have overtaken Japan as Asis's largest economy and the world's 2nd largest superpower. India is growing at a pace unfathomable by the Japanese economic board but let's look at what Japan has that China, India and possibly almost every other country out there do not have: a quality citizen base. Say what you like about the Japanese, hate all you want the former generation of soldiers, the facts in front of us are clear as sky. These people are cultured. Maybe one day, we would stop quantitatively assessing countries and ranking them as such, take a look at the quality of the people and nation. Maybe when that day comes, we can then truly answer the following question.

Is my country a republic, or an economic centre: in other words, am I living in a home or a house.

Car Prices

2011-02-23T23:01:00.000-08:00

Do you know where your money goes to when you buy a car? I went about dabbling with some numbers and started to figure out where all that money goes to when someone purchases a car in Singapore and I tried to reconcile the huge disparity between the money you pay and the OMV (Open market value) of the car you buy.

For instance, a BMW Z4 230i would cost you around $230,000 in Singapore if you were to purchase it now but its OMV (value of the car) is $55,000. Notice the 400% increase from OMV to OTR (on the road) price?

Now, let me set some assumptions. We are now working with a (not-so-common-car) the BMW Z4, 2.5L engine.

the OMV is 55,000, to grant some allowances, lets put it as 60,000.

the ARF (fees you pay to register the vehicle) is believe it or not, 110% of OMV: 66,000 (yes and you thought COE was expensive...)

Then of course, we need a Cat E COE which is around 50,000

We also have our import duty, 20% of OMV: 12,000

And GST which will include all the costs of imports: 5040

Shipping and other misc costs: 2,500

Road Tax (which after i have went to derive, works out to be: [746+1.16(EngineCap-1600)]=1790

Insurance: 3,000

Total: S$200,330

This is not much difference from the price PI offers you...
__________________

If we were to look at a more common vehicle with a lower engine cap (1600)

Say, the Honda Civic 1.6

OMV: 24,000
ARF: 26,400
Duty: 4,800
GST: 2016
Shipping: 2,500
Road Tax (Diff formula this time round): 742
COE Cat A: 40,000
Insurance: 2,000
Total: 102,300

Again, not much difference from the PI cost.

Responsibilities of a single party

2011-02-18T22:57:00.001-08:00

In various contexts, we, as individuals will be faced eight vastly different responsibilities. For instance a family run business has a different objective from a listed one, a single parent has different responsibilities from parents of regular family and a single state governance has different responsibilities from a multiple-party governance system.

In a multiple-party system, the battle for votes is integral for the survival of the governing party. If a group of passionate patriots want to serve, they have to first garner support before they can enact policies. However, some governments do not have to battle as hard for their votes and position. A good example is how China's communist party faces less opposition than say the democrats do. For such parties, it is essential that they begin to divert attention away from votes and enact real changes to people who require such changes. Parties like these should spend more effort focusing on increasing the economic strength of the powerless and less economic well-off. Thee parties have to aim to benefit not only the cream but the lower levels. It should be in their blood to give support to those who have lesser power to themselves. Sometimes, we cannot work in a perfectly efficient and economical way. It is easy to help the rich and powerful. Small benefits are often amplified when handed over to these elites. In contrast, a lot of effort may have to be put in to help those of he lower rungs of society and these efforts may not even promise results. Rationalism tells us to not waste such efforts. This is when a government has to be less "rational" and more empathetic. The function of a government is after all not solely for the economic liabilities of a state.

2011-01-27T17:20:00.000-08:00

Was reading Hard Truths to keep singapore growing and i began to ponder. No, I'm not just interested in the content (which is obviously very interesting and refreshing), im not interested in the medium of content.

The book is not about MM Lee coming out to tell us some truths which we ought to know. It is a symbol of us, as Singaporeans, being ready to accept some of these truths.

Singapore is a young country, Singaporeans are usually politically apathetic and the general argument is that the bulk of Singaporeans will not understand the broader issues. People complain about the 1 party leadership and the strict manner of leading. People question certain human rights issues and debate over our legitimacy as a democracy. And most pertinent to me right now, people reject the concept of a conscript armed forces.

I am no PAP supporter nor a fanatic patriot, but I am a supporter of wisdom. The choices we have to make sometimes is "hard". And sometimes, people really do not understand what they are asking for. Youths who complain that MM Lee was a strict leader has actually never really experienced this so called strict leadership. Those who complain about the 1 party leadership often complain for the sake of doing so. Of course there are those who vote wisely and vote for the opposition for wise reasons and I respect these people for doing their homework before voting. But I know just too many people who complain about the government (or as Singaporeans like to call garrmen) merely because we have been ruled by PAP for so long.

I do not like the idea of serving 2 years of NS but at the policy level, somethings have to be done. Everyone knows the problems of war--destructions, economic standstill etc. But we hardly realise the pain of peace--complacency and lack of appreciation of the state of affairs. And complacency broods sentiments and complains.

Back to my original point; are we really ready to accept these truths? Apparently MM Lee thinks so (or at least he probably hopes) Truths can come painful, so painful people like to reject it. Truths can displace myths, and some of these myths may be what the common Singapore citizen do not want displaced. I'm not sure if I can judge if we are ready for truth but 1 thing is for sure. We have no choice but to be ready for it.

Koi

2010-10-21T02:21:00.001-07:00

I'm queueing for the koi milk tea I just bought and can't help but to muse over 2 ideas. What is the secret behind koi? Why am I queueing here (which leads to another question: why is there a queue)

Conceptually, bubble tea has been around since time immemorial (ok at least since I was a kid) but why the sudden koi story?

I think quality is the first step. Economists love to think at the margin and this is how koi is. Their bubble tea isn't extremely awesome but it is NICER than others. And in a monopolistic comp market, sometimes that added edge is all that is needed. Simple sweetness, smoothness and chewy pearls can mean all the difference.

Expectations. Koi and Starbucks achieved something more than what they set out to do. They became stories, news and even part of our community. The koi queue breeds longer queues for several reasons: curiosity. Enough said. 2: gift, koi has become a social gift because of the queue. People are willing to queue for giving koi is a practical yet "sweet" gift (pun intended).

Will koi last? Well this is an MC market :)

2010-10-13T23:23:00.000-07:00

Moving on, I cant help but look back and realise there are parts of my life which I really miss.

The life where I could wake at insane hours to pump miles into my legs. Run and run before my friends even woke up. Push down long stretches of tarmac on my bike before cars even get onto the road. Feel as if my day is already over by the time the sun comes up.

I miss my buddies in cross. The people who are beside me when we have a 16km run to complete. The people who are around when I know training is hell. The people who pull me when I am tired and want to stop, the people who scream in my face to go faster when I'm going as fast as I can. I miss the faces of everyone who was so determined and so focused. We were so hungry for speed for power. We lived for being a better runner.

I missed the days when I didnt really like rest days because im not allowed to train. I miss the days when I was so happy to know that I am allowed to run extra miles than what was given. The days when I am allowed to cross train so I could cycle after exhausting my milage quota. Days where we finished training and went to swim to build more cardio.

And even the days where I had to study like a madman, dig deep into books day and night and night and day.

Well, months down the road, I might be missing today.

Heck.

2010-10-05T20:45:00.000-07:00

ok i'm reviewing my foundation in finance so im gonna just ramble and ramble. correct me if im wrong, good for you if you learn something.

Credit Default Swap?
Look at it as an insurance policy. It insures the buyer against a certain default, meaning bankruptcy, defaulting payment, downgrade of credit rating etc. Of course, the buyer pays a premium (usually 1/4ly)
Why is it even around?
Collateralized Debt Obligation. Wall st essentially bought tonnes of mortgages (loans for houses) and packed all of them into a huge folder and called it a CDO. Then CDO has different parts, the least risky part was rated AAA and slapped on with a CDS.

Stocks
You buy a piece of the company when you buy its stock. 2 main ways of earning money from stocks (assuming you dont short) are to receive dividends and the standard buy-low sell high policy. I'm a value investor so i usually dont recommend shorting. (I will discuss about it slightly later)
Lets discuss stocks with my portfolio now:
My portfolio is about 30% REIT (real estate investment trust/ stocks of land developers) REITs usually pay off good dividends and regardless of the current price of the stock, dividends are paid in cash. So look at it as pocket money from the company for rewarding you. Instead of reinvesting all profits (usually from rental), they pay you some in cash. For many value investors, this is pretty important.

I also happen to be holding on to DBS. For the sake of discussion, lets look at it as an ordinary stock and not a bank. If you had bought DBS when it is $13, and sold it now (1lot). Assuming the current price to be 14.52, you earn (14.52-13.00)x 1000 dollars. 1 lot = 1000 shares btw.

Ok so whats shorting. This is usually used by traders. You need a decent risk appetite for this so you DONT want to be overexposed in this area, could really burn your fingers. Instead of buying low and selling high. you sell high and buy low. Confused? This is how it works: Say I am selling you a shirt, i sell it to you for $120. however, i dont deliver the good just yet (cause i dont even own it). I go and buy the shirt for $100 AFTER you have bought it from me and deliver the goods to you. Thus earning 20bucks in the process. So shorting makes you money when the price is going down down down. Now think of this problem... think you got forever to deliver that shirt?

What is risk?
To simply matters, risk is when price changes are volatile. Meaning in a SHORT period of time, there can be huge changes in price. Big companies (blue chips) do not have much risk. The lowest risk products out there are usually government bonds and bills. They are guaranteed by the government so unless a military junta takes over your nation, you should be pretty safe.
High risk products are usually like forex (discussed later) and small companies-- they can enter both hypergrowth and bankruptcy court in the short term :)

Amplify risk?
Ever came across the term LEVERAGE? or has someone talked to you about gearing ratio and you think he is talking about his modified subaru?

Leverage is the magic that makes bankers multi-million/billionaires. BUT it also gave birth to rock bottom markets in 2008.
In layman terms, leverage is BORROWING to invest. so a man with $10 goes and borrows $1000 (ratio of debt to capital of 100). He invests $1000 and earns 1%, then returns the $1000. Check out the final return on capital. earn $10 with $10 investment... 100%. Now increase the earnings (cause 1% is really really low) to 5% and the leverage to $10,000 and you have him reaping a 5000% profit.
Problem? what is there are NEGATIVE earnings :(

If there isnt leverage, FOREX traders will be earning a few dollars a day. Sometimes, the opening and closing price of a forex coupon don't even differ by $0.01.... so spending a good $10,000 (on a $1 to $1 forex coupon) without leverage will earn our friend would have earned him a $100... Doesnt sound like a traders pay eh.

So to the chase, how do you earn money?
Be wise, always invest according to what type of risk you can afford. If you are a multimillionaire and want to take huge risks, go ahead, for the rest of us commoners, I say stick to low risk stocks and bonds. If you want, you can even hedge with gold or bills.

I dont wanna recommend anything to buy. I do recommend anyone who wants to buy to go and properlly do some research. Go read up, and learn the right philosophies. Think long term, do not be tempted by the good money of short term trading.

The best investment I have had so far?
Education. Never regretted a cent I spent. (Save for those damn uniball pens which spoil every time they drop)

2010-10-03T01:36:00.001-07:00

Crazy week. Everything comes together. Really does quite a bit of damage. I need to focus like never before

2010-09-27T10:58:00.001-07:00

I saw a buddy's post today and thought this makes so much sense. As a guy, sometimes it's our duty to give in. Don't let ego run us down. It's hard sometimes, but not impossible. Now time for me to drill this into my little brain hahaha. (mood for the day: extremely bittersweet mixed with funky uncertainly)

2010-09-24T03:22:00.001-07:00

I hate this uncertainly... Well at least my stocks aren't too disappointing.

Capmall has really been performing well for a while. Wonder if consumption is really waking up and kicking around. Cant say the same for many other firms.

Dbs: buy/hold/sell?!

good and bad

2010-09-23T02:27:00.001-07:00

If you work hard enough, there's always a way. If there isn't, then you should starting finding the silver lining. If you want to hedge your emotions, always expect the worst. You buy a stock knowing it goes both ways. When it's down, don't cry or panic, think of ways to go back up. Random though that has no link to anything: if the lift he spoilt, use the damn stairs

2010-09-21T10:15:00.000-07:00

sometimes, reality can really kick you in the face. at least i can be thankful for my closest friends and deb.

i read that life is like a zebra crossing. when you are on the white, enjoy yourself, take in everything and be satisfied. when you are on the black, run as fast as you can, do not look around you and never slow down, always remember that past that, there will be another white stripe, no matter how long the black is, it is always white after that...

2010-09-20T11:41:00.000-07:00

back after so long...

lifes crazy.
SAT-Commonapps-(the thought of)interview...
Its so hectic im starting to feel normal again. I miss a mentally stretching life.

Thing I learnt today. I've finally nailed how to use I, Me, Us, We properlly...
and if you think it is simple, then i beg you to tell me with great certainly which is right:

Johnson claims that the band, Garden Roses, is better than we.
Johnson claims that the band, Garden Roses, is better than us.

and if you chose the latter option, you might want to consider checking your grammar text again.

Though one can technically argue that:
Johnson, a musician for years, claims that the band, Garden Roses, is better than us.
Well, that would still be wrong. However, what is correct is:
Johnson, a band for several years, claims that the band, Garden Roses, is better than us.

In the above correct statement, one might think that it means, Garden Roses is better than the author's band. However, it actually means that Johnson is better than the author's band which makes the information about Garden Roses seem largely irrelevant so unless the preceding or subsequent sentence can do something about it, that last statement is likely to be wrong.

2010-08-13T16:31:00.003-07:00

2010-08-13T16:31:00.001-07:00

Best month of my life. enough said :D

2010-07-18T20:37:00.000-07:00

An old lady dazed into the door in front of her. it doesn't seem to want to open for her. She sits on the wheelchair, restless, but unable to manifest her lethargy into physical action because simply, she cannot. Her face wasted of all emotions, her eyes lost a glow which not too long, or perhaps was it too long (it doesn't matter) ago, must have lit up the dark hearts of many people. Behind her stands a man, equally wrinkled, but with shiny white hair and a firm stance in his stand, both in physique and manner. He addresses this young lady in white in broken chinese, I have difficulty making out his words, but from what was unspoken, he is unhappy about the wait. Correction, he is unhappy that his wife has to wait. The nurse tells him it can't be helped. The old man bends down, the stature of firmness disappears, his wrinkles curve into a smile as he whispers into his wife's ear in fluent hokkien. No emotion shows on her face, she just gives a plain nod. Gradually, he pushes her out of this white place, so filled of life, yet so devoid of it. This feels almost like a Speilberg movie, all is black and white, yet the old man and woman are in red.

2010-07-15T06:44:00.000-07:00

for some reason, i feel so refreshed about sports. i shall go run now. i will not disappoint everyone who is betting on me to do well for AHM. time to go hit the roads. its lonely to run, its sad when no one knows your pain, but its so darn satisfying.

ok now where are those socks

2010-07-15T06:41:00.001-07:00

after so long, i finally found somewhere i belong. it feels kinda new really, i know its funny coming from me, but this is really kinda new. like i've grown up kinda new. this is difficult to put into words so erm, i shall not :D

afterall, actions speak so much louder than words. (and this coming from me, is again another first)

2010-07-03T19:23:00.001-07:00

went back to running today. did a moderately fast 15km with some really great people and im so glad im back to running. I really maddly in love with it now, cant wait to recover and hit the roads again tmr :D next week is gonna be an 18click, im going be faster and faster as the days go by.

i think its time for me to clock some decent milage, perhaps a good disciplines 15km a day or more will do me good :D

and recently life has been great. i actually feel myself beginning to change.

2010-06-19T10:07:00.000-07:00

i realised that its good to live everyday at a time. there are so much complications happening to everyone that people tend to forget about whatever is happening to them at the moment. being in the army helps all of us guys discover a world filled with 'suck-thumb' and 'tahan' and taking random rubbish thrown right into your face. im not saying that bad or anything but that is certainly a world we would never have expected to end up in since many of us were sheltered children back in school.

somedays are good somedays are not, if we keep thinking about the days that arent so awesome, we will not live the awesome days. when theres a day where you suck your damn thumb, then go ahead and squeeze the juices out of both thumbs and just do it. if its a good day, dont think about what comes tmr, a good day is a good day.

soon i will be 1/4 of army done...

2010-06-07T11:04:00.001-07:00

haven visited this space for really long...

so much has happened in this time and i dont really wanna expand into it so im gonna list. i cant really be bothered if you reader does not know what is going on cos im here to remind myself things i dont wanna forget:

1. BMT- best buddies of my life in Dragon Plt3 (special mention sect4)
2. Coy best in bmt. no idea how i got it but yeah, i just tried not to be a selfish idiot
3. OCS
4. OOC - really mixed feelings about this one. its like such a 'blessing' but such a greater 'curse'.
5. SAT- ok i tried my best, may the results work out fine
6. ok im not writing anymore, got stuff to attend to. next time perhaps...

long time no see

2009-12-11T01:27:00.000-08:00

the last time i typed here was like eons ago. holidays are overrated i swear and i'm too lazy to start complaining so...

anyway remember this thing we used to learn called economies of scale. i had this random thought: if you are so big (like AIG) such that the govt dont allow you to collapse, is that like a new type of EOS we never learnt of? I mean, if Lehman was lets say, twice as big as AIG is, would they have filed for bankruptcy?...random thoughts ftw.

2009-11-18T18:34:00.001-08:00

While in the midst all of the A level's havoc and panic, let us take a moment to observe the life occurring around us.

Probably many of us Alevel-goers are numb to the world out there that is in real turmoil. And so i got about to ponder about the recent APEC and subsequent diplomatic exchanges between Obama and many leaders of our time.

Recently, i read this article about how people are treating China like a massive ATM. if your company needs money, simply invest in China, advertise well enough and your finances are secured. And it is no surprise that many US firms are doing so. Well why won't they when their accounts are going up in flames, shareholders are breathing down the necks of managers and there is a place in the world which somehow doesn't seem to be much affected by the financial crisis and with a huge spending power to boot. (oh and did i mention a severely undervalued currency) sounds like a miracle.

so, the scramble for financial security has blinded us to the many other sides of China. Obama's visit to China seems so economic-centered (ok some of you will say they talked about environment and Copenhagen but honestly...) Obama, besides being the leader of a superpower in economic distress, is also a nobel peace price laureate. China, besides being a country with huge potential for investment and economic strength to save US, happens to be a country with human rights issues as well. And if we were to really read into what is missing in Obama's visit to China, it seems to be about peace and human rights. So now we have a nation willing to go to war in middle east because of WMD but yet can avoid the pressing issue of human rights problems in China. Talk about selective diplomacy.

Oh and on a sidenote. Econs paper was totally awesomely screwed. Half the time i had no idea what i was writing. the other half the time, i wasnt writing. why am i thinking about peace in the world when I'm in the middle of war...

2009-10-29T09:26:00.001-07:00

the final countdown

2009-10-18T18:36:00.000-07:00

it just occurred to me...i have not trained in eons.

ok i shall reward myself after A levels with some nice training :D Maybe do a week if 150km run, then a 500km/week cycle :D ahh sounds beautiful. (and maybe a 30km swim!, but something tells me that this is going to be MEGAAAA boring. 6km a day for 5 days will bore my socks)

I can still remember the days when my alarm rings at 4am so i can go out and cycle. OR reach school at 530 to complete a 16km run. Or the sundays when I run till my legs drop...

Or they sundays where I cycle and climb till my legs refused to move (and sometimes they really just dont want to go)
Or push till you really just want to stop and puke your guts out
And those time trials where you race it as if it was the last moment of your life.

SWIMBIKERUNSWIMBIKERUN

STUDYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

2009-10-12T08:41:00.000-07:00

i shall not remember horrid stuff.

therefore today is a happy day :D

it takes so little for us to have a change of attitude sometimes. And we can feel so happy again.
For instance, i have decided yesterday to kick my bad habits (insert habit here if you know what i mean)

Throw away all the redundant burden and you will realise that everything is so much easier to bear. Sometimes we unknowning pile stuff upon ourselves (just like how we all unknowingly flood our study table) only to one day realise the burden gets so heavy we are barely moving forward. So what do you do? just sweep all the rubbish on the table off and what-do-you-know, a nice, clean table! (the mass on the floor can wait)

ok so happy stuff ONLY

I GOT MY HIFI SYSTEM! AND I'M IN LOVE WITH IT

Heco Vitas 700 floorstander speakers (2 Base drivers, 1 mid and 1 tweeter)
Some German Cables (haha there is probably 100X more silver in those wires than on my mothers jewelry) oops mom..
Marantz 5003 CD player
BMB amp! (this one makes my house sound like a disco -.-)

oh my amp loves lady gaga... i decided to buy her album to listen to it proper.

hahaaaaaa i love my music now. All i need is a proper interconnect and the picture is more or less complete)

`eagles`ladygaga`emi fujita`queen`u2 is on my CD cycle now... laalaaalaaaaaa

HEY GUYS! LOOK IF YOU SCREWED UP PRELIMS, I TOTALLY KNOW HOW YOU FEEL. BUT ITS LIKE TO PUT THAT %$#!%$! BEHIND US AND MOVE ON. YOU HAVE BEEN WORKING HARD (OR I ASSUME YOU HAVE) FOR THE PAST 12 YEARS. THERE IS 28 MORE DAYS TO ENDURE. JUST KEEP IT THERE!

letsgoletsgoletsgo

2009-10-06T08:04:00.000-07:00

screw up. everywhere.
this happens everything. when you think something just cannot get worse. it did.
like when i thought math was a disaster, i thought wrong.

and now im spinning. where is the north again?
is it in the direction of half a year ago? or in the corner of half a year later?
where is the chance to hold on to the one i just want to hold?

and so you trip and fall on your face. someone offers you a hand to pick you up. you stand up and knock into the wall on the side. bam, im back on the floor, back under the floor. six feet under to be exact.

it's like 2 years ago just less. its like 4 years ago or a little bit more. its like a jump into the future but a little bit hopeful. its like a stun now just a little painful.

owww

thank god for music.

2009-10-05T09:39:00.002-07:00

today was an awesome day. everything seemed to have gone well :D

woke up and decided to cycle to school. cycling really makes everything bad seem so much better. the wind blowing, the rush of adrenaline, the feeling of conquering the roads, its just splendid.

and then there was school...

and its cycling part 2 where i had to go home. (and they say good things comes in pairs)

and with that, i took a short nap before going off to study at PS starbucks with jo. the revamped ps starbucks is really nice, it gives off a very refreshing aura. and the studying was really productive! then we went on to grab some food (at the really good sandwich place) and headed off to get canned coffee (where i discovered that i can hold up to a max of 6cans of nescafe coffee in 1 hand!) jo never fails to make me really joyful ^.^

ok random rambles...

then i went on to check out hifi at av one. tested out a decent system for a reasonable price. i will be going down away tmr to check it out with my own CDs. If it is good, i think i will be getting it soon. cant wait for proper music in my house~~

then i went on to find an eng book about the eng lang haha. i didnt succeed in buying the book but i found something soooo good. i got emi fujita's album! the made in japan one! haha if you know audio, you probably have heard of her and her music and the awesome quality of the greendisk :D just simply aweeeesome.

and with loads of joy, i went down to the lib to get my books (of which the lib didnt fail me) then i grabbed a beer and headed down to onefullerton starbucks to do my reading :D [which was real awesome too]

what a fantastic day. its just a whole day of smiles and more smiles. i should have more days like this!

2009-10-05T09:39:00.001-07:00

2009-09-28T05:11:00.001-07:00

2009-09-25T08:32:00.001-07:00

life sometimes shoots you in the head. you screw up, things go wrong and everything seems off track.
but really, how hard is it to go forward, how hard is it to kick yourself and slap your face. forget when you tripped, look at the race ahead. (no im not emo, i just screwed up chem. but the 4 hrs of squash therapy was good. i swear x-country, canoe, waterpolo should all be converted recreational squash)

and btw, im really happy for you :D

2009-09-23T06:34:00.001-07:00

i got my new oakleys! oakley zero s. go check it out :D

2009-09-16T23:33:00.001-07:00

2009-09-15T04:36:00.000-07:00

prelims is a major half-blood. you love it cos it's where you showcase the fruits of your hardwork. but you dread it cos, well, its prelims.

on play:no surprise by daughtry.
somehow, life is really not much of a surprise. you determine what you want to do, you determine how you do it and no one out there gives you much of a surprise.

you expect prelims to be hard, the school does not disappoint you.
you expect your friends to bury themselves in books and they dont disappiont
you dont expect fantastic grades and i wonder if straight As were even a possibility.

but moving on, my life is really getting spiced up. sometimes, its the routine that makes simple things in life enjoyable.
its the 8am-11pm starbucks mugging that makes the dinner at marina feel so good and the chatting sessions so wonderful.
(and on a sidenote, chingto peishi and i are addicted to iceshaken lemon tea in starbucks. its is absolutely the awesome-st drink out there. and it kind taste like a mojito minus rum and less mint)

and of course, there are more interesting stuff in life which i am not about to rant on.

hmm and my ipod is playing 'magic'

maybe thats what we all need sometimes. to feel a little magic and to give someone else a little magic.

study hard!

2009-09-08T09:42:00.001-07:00

2009-09-08T09:20:00.001-07:00

Q: you know what's the major problem with ferrari enzo, maclaren f1 and lamborghini reventon (or murcielago LP670) ?

ans: I'm not in it.

my gosh these 3 (or 4) cars are the love of my life. totally entirely gorgeous. The 1st and 3rd captures the essense of italian passion, the maclaren encapsulates the willpower of the brits. honestly, nothing comes close to them (except for a few others which for many reasons, i dont really like. i mean, the masarati mc12 is like a monster who forgot his identity. it has no passion or character) the enzo has a life in it, the maclaren has a soul in it, the reventon has a glory around it.

and if you understand my love for cars, go get some soundclips of supercars revving off at high rpm. the sound beats any artists.

and the reason why the maclaren is so beautiful is because of the sound. if you have heard the maclaren, nothing else is music...

2009-09-06T09:14:00.001-07:00

mugmugmugmugmug. my life is just nothing but mugging...

and someone thought i was gay! that is really quite hilarious :D but its a good sign. at least it shows that i'm so focused now that i have 0 interest in girls. which is indeed true. i just want to study hard larh come on. no need to play now. I can will must better reserve my 'play' to 4th Dec and onwards ^.^

come on lets go people. Study hard!

They all say A levels is the most major stepping stone of ur life. Let's use this little rock to propel us to greatness :D (i hope)

note to reader: If you are a J2 student, I know you are stressed. Go relax and chill out for a while. Rest well so that you can push yourself harder. If all else fails, give yourself a smile. Smiles work wonders :D

all the best!

2009-08-26T09:15:00.001-07:00

Hi there!

I will be starting up my own little business real soon and I'm looking for people who are willing to work with me.

This is the business concept: I will be selling NEW CAMERA-LESS HANDPHONES TO J2 STUDENTS. I do have a supplier who can sell me at competitive prices. I will need people who are able to help me:
1. Promote the Handphones
2. Take orders
3. Deliver the goods
4. Do accounts

And I will need freelancers who can write reviews on these handphones for me.

I will pay for your services. The amount of pay will be determined by the job-scope, difficulty of task and time spent on task.
Exact sums are negotiable.

Do contact me if you are interested.

In addition, I am also looking for investors who are willing to share my risk. If you are willing to invest in this start-up, please do contact me so I can properly present my business idea to you. Please do contact me for details of how profits will be shared, the cost structure and the amount if investment I am looking at.

Prospects: Of course, selling of the camera-less phones are only a means to raise capital for expansion. I intend to deal in MP3 players, digital cameras as well as several other electronic devices.

AND IF YOU HAVE BEEN PATIENT AND HAVE READ TILL HERE. GUESS WHAT. STOCKS FOR IPHONE 3GS IS IN! IF YOU ARE INTERESTED TO OWN A 3GS WHILE YOUR FRIENDS ARE STILL IN AWE WITH THE OUTDATED 3G. DROP ME AN EMAIL!

lijianrui@gmail.com

2009-08-26T08:55:00.001-07:00

I'm watching the moment of truth right now. it is a gameshow where they tie a lie detector to you and ask u personal questions. You get money if you do not lie.

This guy sits on the 'hotseat' and his family seats behind him. the host asks this question: "would you cheat on your wife if you knew you will never get caught"

he replied: yes. and he was not lying.

how many of us can say with a straight face that 30 years into your marriage, you can say that with such conviction?

2009-08-22T09:34:00.000-07:00

Life is interesting with its twists and turns.

I'm not saying life is awesome or life sucks, but it is just interesting. So it seemed like just another friday. Mrs Long didnt come school so our day effectively ended at 12pm. Did some studying and i was supposed to get my SuperFi.5 Pros but the seller had some stuff on so he couldn't make it. That was interesting no.1 So i was really pissed off but nvm, at least i could look forward to running with pt and shiny (and later az decided to join us too :D) so that was awesome. Did a little bit of bike climbs and a nice and quick 1kmX3 and a moderate 2km and we were off. Then i went to weights room to test out this hypothesis i was thinking of. is it possible to carry shiny and do pull ups. of course i didnt carry shiny, but i used weights equal to her weigh and indeed it is possible :D and thats interesting no.2. so the interesting day got really interesting when i went to starbucks to study after that. the barista asked if i mind shifting to another table to study so that this group of customers can join tables. so i gladly agreed and he surprised me with a starbucks voucher... awesome... interesting no.3
and then when starbucks closed, i decided to move to macdonals to continue with my mugging. here is where things really started heating up. this prof from NUS engineering came by and we kinda chatted up. so he was drilling us fundamental math stuff and helping me out with vectors and complex. HE IS SUPER IMBA. so we stayed there and he tutored me till like 3am before my dad knocked off from work and came to pick me up :D haha yes 3am, welcome to my whattheheck lifestyle... i swear after that session, my calculus and complex just got super strong...
that was ultrainteretingno.4

and so that ended an interesting friday.

and today is saturaday. I MANAGED TO FINISH THE ENTIRE MACROECONOMICS IN 1 DAY!!!. so the interesting journey continues. i ran out of tissue paper so i went to the toilet and got myself an entire roll... (KIV this pt hahaa) then i went to get dinner. dont know why but i really felt like having wine. so i walked into the wine shop beside school and got myself a nice bottle of red wine. it was really cheap, so i kinda doubted the quality but i didnt feel rich enough to enjoy some good wine. maybe another day when im in the right condition and i bring along my wine glass... but i drink in strict moderation so i wasnt worried i would finish the bottle. i limit to 100cc per day so that i can get the benefits of the red wine but not overdo it :D
and so just by instincts, i got red wine. went back to reading room to continue studying and i received a msg from rach telling me to head down to oneful cos P was having some troubles. apparently it was quite bad so i rushed down and talk to P. rmb the wine? it certainly came it handy. LUCKILY F was there also so she helped P to share the wine, P was no where close to being drunk but at least she was feeling much better with a bit of an alcohol boost after like an hours talk. so the wine came in real useful (oh and did i mention that cos of the wine, P decided not to go drinking to drown her sorrows so it was blessing in disguise). and then for some reason P just puked everything out onto the floor and on my legs >.< haha it was quite funny. rmb the toilet roll. it sure came in handy. So i quickly cleared up the mess on the floor and luckily i wasnt in long pants and shoes so i could just wash my legs and all, phewwww... P's dad came and picked her up and soon after i left. So now im here typing out my interesting weekend...

and today is only sat. i wonder what surprises await me tmr :D

2009-08-16T09:12:00.001-07:00

you know how something which is real sucky can actually be really awesome? haha let me share something with you.

now i really dont like to sit down and study my entire day away. who does seriously? (ok yes some ppl do, but the majority really dont enjoy it that much).
but hey, look what studying does to the world. for one, it makes ChingTo play less computer games and be more student-like haha. It brings friends together at Starbucks to help each other out and cheer each other along. It gives people the chance to have dinner and take breaks together, laughing at the stupidest things that can come out of the mouths of people who have fried brains. It makes cross-country and waterpolo study. now beat that seriously...

studying makes me look at the NatDay Rally differently. You look at it seriously concerned about where we are heading and what PM is really saying. You know the significance of demand and unemployment. It no longer just mean that someone is out of jobs. (and speaking of which, there is something I think is really meaningful. To you and me, unemployment rate in singapore basically means this single-digit percentage. but to the man who got retreched, the unemployment rate is 100%)

studying keeps me from becoming some insane animal. it glues me to the premise of discipline. jiayou people. work hard!

2009-08-09T09:40:00.000-07:00

2009-08-08T05:37:00.001-07:00

my new hobby is doing math. and im not kidding. if you got 10min to kill, just take out something and do a little math :D and math wakes u up to boot. so if you are feeling sleepy, try some math!

2009-08-01T10:25:00.000-07:00

sometimes in life, there are things you ponder and things which make you feel human again. something now is making me feel that way...

have you ever wondered what would happen if your very first love was by your side right now? when everyone is against you, you don't care. the times when you stuttered cos you didnt know what to say. that was the time you treated girls are deities, not like teasing objects. you would think about her until you fall asleep, and you wake up with the same though in your head. the kind of fun, the kind of innocence, does it still exist?

are you so numb to the world you can't be a child? that your heart can't be pure and have nothing interfere with it? i have lost touch of myself for so long, over the past week, i have gradually felt my own presense. after you have lost your life, you truely know to cherish it.

there are such simple things in life that makes you ponder and feel. sometimes, it is wise to ignore your logic and just feel. feel the thrill, the peace, the wonder the youth.

feel human again.

it feels so good to be alive. to be feeling. when you lost a part of your heart, you feel immense pain and suffering. but when you lose the whole thing, you dont feel anything. you dont even know you lost it.
it has been about 2 years my friend, thanks for coming back.

now i'm beginning to understand why. why in the past i was so irrational, why i wanted to do so many things that were so crazy. why i changed so much. i realised that the hole has never been filled. when i lost a part of my heart, it eventually lead to losing the entire thing. when i finally opened up my eyes, i have lost something way more dear.

i still have not found someone like you. but i'm still searching. everytime i come so close, i get so disappointed. nothing fits that image, its like a jigsaw puzzle, and im hoping that you are not the only solution.

i have found my answers.

remember: secret.

if you have managed to read until this part and not understood anything, dont bother. im just penning down thoughts so some things will not get forgotten. for some sanity, you can continue reading this:

over the last 3 weeks or so, i noticed myself change. i have gained contact with myself. i know many people know me as cold and emotionless. very logical and very unfeeling. very goal but rarely process. i assure you, i didnt use to be like this. for the few who know me or heard my full story, you know the changes. you probably dont know the details, i never revealed to anyone. but it doesnt matter now, the answer i took 2 years to find is finally here. in that process i have changed so much. i seemed to have matured but actually became more childish. i seem to be more firm but actually more confused. i was looking at the wrong places for the answer. i never found it, not until now. when you are looking for something you can't find. maybe you can try your heart. and when you don't have one, you better go find it first.

2009-07-30T07:21:00.000-07:00

I GOT A LETTER TELLING ME TO GO VA FOR DIVERS:
meaning that if i pass the thing, i end up becoming part of the NavalDivingUnit (NDU). ouch i heard so much about this group of ppl who do stuff like special ops and all, never really thought i would be part of it...

so i have seniors who went through this thing before and i asked one of them what is NDU like. He responds and i quote:
"every mother's son can be a commando, not every mother's son can be a diver" whattheheck?!

ok so i went on to check out what NDU is about. something tells me NDU is either so rarely heard of, or most stuff is classified (or both). only a few sites have info on our divers and most of them give only a bit of info here and there so i decided to compile stuff here:

Popularly known as ‘hell week’, the old adage - the survival of the fittest - certainly applies here. Hell week means a gruelling 120 hours of non-stop physical exertion both on land and in water, with trainees allowed three hours of sleep only on the third day. Only the best will make it.

SSG Tay said: “The aim of hell week is to let each individual know that he can be pushed beyond his limits. There is a saying that the human brain is about 10 times stronger than the body. There’s no way you can test a person’s psychological strength until you break his physical strength first. (taken from http://www.specialoperations.com/Foreign/Singapore/NDU/Default.htm)

The site goes on to say:
If you thought that hell week would be the culmination of training, guess again. Naval divers have to brace themselves for another three months of basic combat training before they can graduate from the course.

In this last phase, trainees are taught the rudiments of combat tactics. In an exercise called drown-proofing, trainee divers are dumped unceremoniously into the pool with their hands and legs tied. They are then required to bob up and down in the pool, swim for about 100 metres and perform manoeuvres like somersaults underwater.

(something tells me that i am going to be sooooo thankful for all those butterfly kick trainings :D

NDU: Nothing Stands In Our Way.

hmm interesting.

2009-07-29T09:06:00.000-07:00

2009-07-29T08:52:00.000-07:00

i just finished the class montage. 2 full nights of hard work... hooof...
i shall not talk about it, don't like to dwell in processes, i'll upload the video soon and you can look at the product for yourself! :D

these few days have been interesting. I have certainly found out so much about those around me more. with the slowing down of pace in life and the focus on studies, those things that were so blur to me last time starts catching up. the world is such an amazing (or terrible) place. i can't describe it with words ^.^

and so today i performed an altruistic act by bringing cloth and cleaning the class bench cos it is really terribly dirty. and someone told me i must have done it cos i use it and not for the class bench. darns, are my selfish genes really that badly expresses. oh nos.

it feels so good to have no commitment except to studies. im so clear of everything but my notes and my grades. it's really good to pour over studies and get into the zen. and it helps that you have a bunch of classmates who probably are way ahead of you. (and yes, today liangsai, pohting and shinyi totally laughed at me cos i messed up my chem energetics).

ok my video is done exporting :D back to the montageeee

2009-07-26T08:57:00.000-07:00

ok so i had a fantastic birthday. yst celebrated with the inspire ppl, then today got a nice surprise from ps and got a dinner treat :D

and my mom gave me a nice bday present: $50 bucks, super practical.

and darn, if only my parents know about risk management...

i told them i am going to focus on SATs before A levels. They almost went mad. Seriously, A levels is not the most important thing in my life. I want to go US to study, and A levels is just a bonus, not a mandatory document. They just simply can't believe that A levels isnt the most impt thing to apply to ivy... I really have no idea how to explain this. Everyone around them has not much of an idea what SATs are for and stuff... this is bad. I am so intent on going to ivy. I really can't picture myself anywhere else. Plus, they are assuming that studying for SATs means i will fail for Alevels. come on please, I am not some maniac who will skip classes just to study for A levels!

and best of all, they told me, i can take A levels now and take SATs next year in BMT or OCS. I kind of found that pretty funny. They either have no idea that BMT and OCS is not the best place to study, or they think I have the ability to memorise vocab while marching and all...

I'm so going to score well for SATs. Just watch...
And of course, I will put up a really good show for A levels. Don't take me lightly, I don't say stuff I won't do.
I will work harder than everyone, work smarter than everyone. I know I can :D

2009-07-23T03:39:00.001-07:00

stand up, ignore the field, and race yourself.

drive in, catch the pack, then break off. when everyone is at their limits, can you can throw in one more push, theres where the men and the boys are seperated.

be hungry...

2009-07-11T08:23:00.001-07:00

and guess what i picked up today...

wine tasting. holy smokes... i never knew wine was that awesome. good reds are really fantastic beyond words. so many people drink alcohol for the fun of it, but how many really knows what it tastes like...

haha and single malt whiskey is awesome. i dont have the expertise to comment on it so i shall not but it is really lovely.
something like standing in a plain with beautiful blossoming flowers with a warm morning sun. similar feeling :D

for the very few people who even follow the tour de france, good job. this is one of the more exciting tours. how often do you see so many people vying so closely for the Maillot Jaune! i really hope armstrong gets his 8th win. but really, all the cyclists are so admirable.

people like david miller who attacks with all the guts in the world, people like cancellara who really has a HUGE chance to win. and of course Contador, and do not forget our dear Levi (im not sure if im wrong but somehow no one is talking abt him...)
these are people who swallowed a motorbike. perhaps they had some mutation which changed their hearts into 2000cc petroleum engines...

2009-07-09T09:32:00.001-07:00

if you had 1 chance to listen before you can't, would it be her soft whisper?

if you had 1 chance to smell before you can't,
would it be the fragence of her hair?

if you had 1 chance to see before you can't,
would it be beauty of her smile?

if you had 1 chance to taste before you can't,
would it be the sweetness of her lips?

if you had 1 chance to touch before you can't,
would it be her held against yours?

if you had 1 chacne to feel before you can't,
would it be her heart, linked to yours?

2009-06-20T09:34:00.001-07:00

8 more days. lets go!

i finished lancearmstrong's biography in 1 day :D and no it was not a distracted thing. i managed to complete all my work too haaaaaaa

2009-06-19T07:12:00.000-07:00

ok hiatus over!

haha so much so much has happened since the last time i blogged lets see....

H3:
I'm FREAKING hardworking okay. I totally mugged like mad for H3. I seriously tried my best. the paper was murder. so whatever, i went it and got slaughtered. i squeezed everything out of what i had and i hope i can get something decent. whattheheck. i have no regrets. i spent a lot of time mugging it.

COMPUTER:
I'm good seriously. I gave my facebook account away so i could focus on studying. then something really awesome (no sacarsm here) happened. My com spoiled. And i made use of the chance to not repair it until yesterday. so for 3 weeks, i mugged in the peace without facebook, blogs, msn, youtube, you name it. just pure notes and books :D best 3 weeks of my mugging life so far. moremoremore to come

Training:
Haha i am super unfit. training 3 times a week now, once swim, once cycle and once run. my run is substandard but whattheheck at least my legs are moving. my cycling is improving my leaps and bounds and im real pleased :D at least i can keep up with the fast packs and at worse, draft and draft and draft and struggle during the breaks. if not, im quite alright. today did 6+km of swim. the entire 2nd km was only kicks. OUCHHHH

Studies:
i love starbucks. first to reach, last to go. nuf said. (damn my starbucks is closing, so sad) oh well, at least the party today was awesome :D

Others:
Heh awesome stuff have been happening. did i mention someone yst tried some super corny shit to get Faith's number. it was sooooo hilarious. faith was supposed to leave her numbero n the table when she leave. she left when starbucks closed. the guy could not stay that late HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA and so much stuff happened. i got to know a lot of baristas and NUS medsch ppl :D

2009-05-29T05:31:00.000-07:00

simple and awesome video... all those crazy early morning training before school is not for nothing! you will beg for me when your house goes black next time :D

ok i feel damn rubbish today. maybe thats cos i'm having my 10th cup of FLAT WHITE GRANDE consecutively everyday. so its 10 days of 1 flatwhite everyday :D

and in that process, i have successfully influenced nicholas and faith to try out the flat white. nick thinks its good, faith finds it bitter. hahahaa

2009-05-27T04:57:00.001-07:00

Hi everybody! Valencia's project DEAFening is giving out earphones for their competition! The prize is a crossroads bijou 3! If you are a proud owner of an MP3 player with the stock earphones, YOU WILL WANT THE BIJOU. It will shame the ipod earphone :D

2009-05-21T06:59:00.001-07:00

10pm sharp in starbucks. i'm happily studying away. the queue at the counter is officially 12 people long... 0.0 there is more than 70 people in this starbucks right now...

2009-05-21T04:28:00.001-07:00

H3 exam in 15 DAYS. GOGOGOGOGOGOOO

Organic chem is actually quite fun. A lot of stuff can happen ^.^

2009-05-17T07:34:00.001-07:00

great, i'm really happy today. first off, not only was I with the front pack of joyriders today, i wasnt feeling tired. Not something which happens often. I have really improved a lot. I saw the pack getting smaller and smaller as the pace was pretty fast till it trickled down to about 10 people by the time we were at SBG. I'm so glad I am there haha. Next time, I will be out front ^.^ And just 4 weeks ago, I got dropped like some stupid dog...

AND I AM REALLY PLEASED WITH MYSELF. While everyone is whining and complaining about studies and all, I'm actually quite glad to be studying (maybe cos I didnt do much studying do mugging is like a new concept to me) but whatever, I'm so grateful to have the luxury to sit down with a nice coffee and and learn whatever I can absorb. It's really great. My lifestyle now is nicely balanced. Monday is a study day, Tues night I reward myself by going down for a really hard training. Wed and thur are study days. Fri is get-together with team over squash and other games. Sat is study or chill around. Sunday I go for a morning ride with joyriders and tuition and study :D If only if I can be more efficient. I have been easily distracted. What the hell happened to strict discipline. Am I so weak that I can't even reject simple distractions like using com or daydreaming? I better prove myself.

2009-05-13T07:38:00.000-07:00

HAHAHAAAAA i got Crossroads Woody today :D Look at pic attachment :D Gosh i love them :D
I had a though time deciding between the Quattro and the Woody. Then I had to decide between the Woody 1 and the Woody 2!

Quattro is so sexy with the anodized red and so freaking cool with the changing plates for varying sound!

But then, the woody is just so natural and full. A nice sound stage with its roundedness in tone. Warm as the wood :D

Gorgeous wood...

2009-05-12T07:29:00.001-07:00

To understand the following post, you got to know a bit about running and cycling.

Yesterday, I did 6 reps of Mt Faber on my bike. I seriously think I was going to stop halfway cos the climb was so freaking omg. sighh my climbing got a lot to improve. Faber is NOT HARD. there are people out there doing the classic mountains, what the heck is a small hill!

And today was the holyshit tuesday workout. I wouldnt say what it is but it drives you pretty nuts :D 1hr plus after the intervals start, you are at the brink of end. You are drenched in sweat, you heart is pumping beyond measure, your legs are screaming, your body can't stand straight...then you head out for another, and another set...

I DONT FEEL LIKE WALKING NOW

2009-05-06T09:36:00.001-07:00

ok so i rode with a guy with a pinarello prince, sram red, this fantastic wheels which i dont know the name of... wow what the heck of a bike

if i am good enough and have enough money, i want a prince or FP3. they make magic when you are above 35kmph and at over 40kmph, it just soars. but if you not good enough, the italian will probably be mocking you. you dont drive a lambo into a CTE traffic jam; you dont bring a price or FP3 out if you are going to go at only 30kmph.

italians create works of art.

p.s.: prince and sram red is seriously a no go. who on earth goes to america to frame up an italian paint?! prince is the spouse of the campy. shimano is alright but prnice should be accompanied with campy. ahhh record 11, prince...

2009-04-30T08:20:00.001-07:00

hit the books man...

lol post-nats are great. i got tonnes to time to hit the books and i get to do my own trainings as and when i can make it. Ride on sunday, a little workout on tuesday and I'm happy. Fri is like games day. SQUASH IS SUPER FUN. And then there is like basketball and stuff...

My focus is now on A levels. Nothing can stop me now.

2009-04-25T19:50:00.001-07:00

Its over :) All the ridiculous milage, the stress before the workout, the interval timings to hit, the training sessions so early you finish before your friends wake up, the thousands of rounds around that small school field, the sound of shoe on treadmill for hours at a go, stationary bike rides that never seem to end, the races we give our all for. We're through all that now :D And boy it was a fantastic process...

The moment nationals were over, it was a wild food party. After a strict diet for 2 years, you just lose control at a buffet. My meals consisted of a buffet with nothing healthy, a lunch of 6 pratas, a dinner of frieds and icecream ONLY.

And now, I'm here blogging cos i just finished my first training after nats :D
Went for an 80km cycle, gosh i totally lost my cycling fitness. WTH man, I was slogging like some dog along the way and still, I swear I was only crawling along. Damn, I need to be able to start speeding again...

Trainings now have seriously no stress. No objective but for leisure. You do the intervals without having to worry about your average time or whatever ^.^ AWESOME...

2009-04-19T08:14:00.001-07:00

i fell damn badly.

but what good is it to fall if you don't stand up stronger?

you fight for what you want. and when it becomes harder to get it, you just fight harder.

it's mine.

2009-04-15T07:09:00.001-07:00

haha all of us qualified for 1500m finals :D great job guys. My heat was really erm fun. I was calculating the pace I (and hence HQ) ran and realised there was this particular 100m which we took like 21s to run. I totally lol-ed at that. People do that in like 5k or 10k races -.-

The race today was just cruising so it was really easy. I just had to follow all the way and race ended. No brains required :D

BUT THE WEATHER WAS TOTALLY WOW. we waited for almost 2hrs for our delay cos of the rain. so we had to re-warmup and everything and just when we were walking towards the starting line, we got called back. I WAS LIKE OHNO PLEASE NOT NOW. but with a nice stroke of luck we were off for 1500. I love the drizzle we were running in, makes it feel so, calm and sorts. Like really enjoy your run and feel the fresh air when you run kinda thing. (Ok save for the part when HQ kicked water into my face which was gross, the weather was lovely)

STEEPLECHASE AND 1500FINALS COMING UP. HURHURHURRR IM GETTING PUMPED UP :D

-8 more days...

2009-04-14T07:10:00.000-07:00

Nationals starts tmr. I AM SO DAMN EXICTED NOW. BEEN WAITING FOR THIS WEEK FOR PRETTY QUITE LONG. I watched to polo match and some primal instinct in me is telling me to go all out and more during track. I saw how they gave everything they got and it somehow made me want to give as much, if not more. Somehow I guess it's easier with running, you just have to go fast and push hard. Ignore the pain and go :D

1500 is so freaking fun seriously. 800 is thrilling, 1500 is fun, steeple is a run of confidence and 5k is whattheshit.
I'm so glad i'm doing what's fun, and what I'm best at ^.^

What do you do when the pace is slow and everyone is relaxing along?
ANS: you push it hard and make everyone run into hell :D

And here is the lyrics of the song which i have been looping over and over and over and over and over again...

Eminem- Till I Collapse
'Cause sometimes you feel tired,
feel weak, and when you feel weak, you feel like you wanna just give up.
But you gotta search within you, you gotta find that inner strength
and just pull that shit out of you and get that motivation to not give up
and not be a quitter, no matter how bad you wanna just fall flat on your face and collapse.

Yo left, yo left, yo left right left
Yo left, yo left, yo left right left
Yo left, yo left, yo left right left
Yo left, yo left, yo left right left

Till I collapse I’m spilling these raps long as you feel em
Till the day that I drop you'll never say that I'm not killing them
Cause when I am not then I am stop pinning them
And I am not hip-hop and I’m just not Eminem.
Subliminal thoughts when I'm stop sending them women are caught in webs spin and hauk venom
Adrenaline shots of penicillin could not get the illing to stop.
Amoxacilin is just not real enough.
The criminal cop killing hip-hop filling minimal swap to cop millions of Pac listeners.
Your coming with me, feel it or not you’re gonna fear it like I showed you the spirit of god lives in us.
You hear it a lot, lyrics the shock is it a miracle or am I just a product of pop fizzing up.
For shizzle my whizzle this is the plot listen up you bizzles forgot slizzle does not give a f***.

Till the roof comes off, till the lights go out
Till my legs give out, can’t shut my mouth.
Till the smoke clears out - am I high? Perhaps
I'ma rip this shit till my bone collapse.
Till the roof comes off, till the lights go out
Till my legs give out, can’t shut my mouth.
Till the smoke clears out and my high burn out
I'ma rip this shit till my bone collapse.

Music is like magic there’s a certain feeling you get when your real
and you spit and people are feeling your shit.
This is your moment and every single minute you spend trying to hold onto it
cause you may never get it again.
So while you’re in it try to get as much shit as you can
and when your run is over just admit when its at its end.
Cause I'm at the end of my wits with half this shit that gets in.
I got a list here's the order of my list that it's in.
It goes, Reggie, Jay-Z, Tupac and Biggie, Andre from Outcast, Jada, Kurupt, Nas and then me.
But in this industry I'm the cause of a lot of envy, so when I’m not put on this list the shit does not offend me.
That's why you see me walk around like nothing's bothering me.
Even though half you people got a fucking problem with me.
You hate it but you know respect you’ve got to give me
The press's wet dream like Bobby and Whitney. Nate hit me.

Soon as a verse starts I eat it at MC’s heart
what is he thinking? How not to go against me? Smart.
And its absurd how people hang on every word.
I’ll probably never get the props I feel I ever deserve
But I’ll never be served my spot is forever reserved
If I ever leave earth that would be the death of me first.
Cause in my heart of hearts I know nothing could ever be worse.
That’s why I’m clever when I put together every verse
My thoughts are sporadic, I act like I’m an addict
I rap like I’m addicted to smack like I’m Kim Mathers.
But I don’t want to go forth and back in constant battles
The fact is I would rather sit back and bomb some rappers.
So this is like a full blown attack I’m launching at them
The track is on some battling raps who want some static
Cause I don’t really think that the fact that I’m Slim matters
A plaque of platinum status is whack if I'm not the baddest.

Until the roof
The roof comes off
Until my legs
give out from underneath me

I will not fall,
I will stand tall,
Feels like no one could beat me.

2009-04-10T07:04:00.001-07:00

THIS IS NOT A POST. THIS IS A RANDOM COMMENT ON MY BLOG TO HELP ME CLEAR MY MIND AND RELAX :D

I'm supposed to type my first response to everything below...

WHY ARE YOU ALWAYS LIKE THAT?
dont know done care

I JUST REALIZED NOW THAT I LOVE YOU.
what the shit.

COME ON. SMILE. YOU'RE CUTE WHEN YOU DO!
no thanks

PLEASE DO MY MATH HOMEWORK TOO!
haha no thanks too

I AM SO BLESSED TO HAVE SOMEONE LIKE YOU.
thanks

WHY DOES MONDAY COME BEFORE TUESDAY?
cos tuesday comes after monday

I HAVE TWO TICKETS TO THE LINKIN PARK CONCERT. WANNA COME WITH ME?
i dont mind

YOU ARE ONE OF THE MOST SPECIAL PEOPLE IN MY LIFE. DID YOU KNOW THAT?
thanks.

I THINK I'M FALLING FOR YOU.
you might wanna stand up?

I CAN'T SMILE WITHOUT YOU.
then dont larh lol

THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING, BUT YOU JUST AREN'T HIM/HER
ok i understand

WHATS YOUR MOBILE NUMBER?
what for?

CAN I HAVE THIS DANCE?
sure

MAY I ESCORT YOU?
im no woman

DO YOU STILL LOVE HIM/HER TILL NOW?
huh? who?

YOU WERE EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING THAT I WANTED
WE WERE MEANT TO BE, SUPPOSED TO BE, BUT WE LOST IT
no comments on this. how on earth do u think of a reply?

WHEN WILL I GET UR SWEET EYES?
freaks

Who is in the house with you?
family

Who are you thinking about now?
no one

Who did you last talk to on the phone?
my dad

Whose house did you last go to?
CAROLINE!

Whose birthday is next?
I don't rmb birthdays. Facebook is there for a reason.

What was the last thing you ate?
a bowl of oranges and apples

What was the last thing you drank?
plain water

What is the closest item near you that is blue?
my razor mouse

What instant messaging service do you use?
Msn

What is your favorite color?
Red

What is your favorite website?
Bloomberg :D

What is your favorite shoe brand?
Addidas

What song are you currently hearing?
How Do I Live

my gosh im either damn bored now or feeling damn nonchalant. my ans to the top qns all totally whatever one.

2009-04-08T07:01:00.001-07:00

7 rounds, 28 steeples, 7 waterjumps. and a lot of ppl to overtake :D i love the steeplechase man!

2009-04-04T06:35:00.001-07:00

haha i realised something today. I'm alright in speed endurace but i'm bad at raw speed. like the 100m/200m kinda speed. I'm BAD at sprinting. I prefer a 10km race to a 400m sprint. SERIOUSLY.

what a day today. training-attempttostudy-training-dinner-now
wows what a day

Went to WAH and realised that 08s75 had like noone there, except for anzai/ming/val. and so i decided to go also. i know that if the movie started i will wanna stay so better get out of there first.

question of the day. i had do you go for a race to gain exp when you know you probably can't do very well at it cos 1. you never train hard for it. 2 it is AFTER your track season...
simply, should i register for intersch aquathlon?

hmms...

2009-03-30T07:34:00.001-07:00

2009-03-29T08:03:00.001-07:00

2009-03-27T07:06:00.000-07:00

running break

2009-03-27T06:55:00.001-07:00

ok today i shall not post about running. maybe cos i finished Beneath the Surface (Phelp's biography) in 1 day or whatever reason but i shall talk a bit about swimming and other stuff.

Phelps is talented but he is a lot more than (yes we know he smokes bong but grow up ppl, everyone screws one once in a while)
I mean who considers a 1000m swim as a cooldown in between OLYMPIC finals?

Some facts and figures.

500 situps a day
sets of 75m all out kick, 50m easy. X12
Sets of 400IM, 4X100, 400, 4X100. X3
Trains everyday, twice. No rest day.
And many many many more things.

He SWIMS more than I RUN. (and i thought HC cross was known for running a lot)
Effort wise, swimming is abt 4 times harder soooo, if he does a 20km swim a day... that translates (very inaccurately) into a 80km run?!?!?!?!

And seriously, it takes a hell lot of love for your sport to enter in a race you know you have a LOWER chance of winning but doing so anyway cos you wanna race against the best.

BEST

2009-03-25T08:01:00.000-07:00

We trained hard, damn hard. We raced our best. No regrets team. I'm so proud to have ran alongside all of you together.

A special thanks goes down to my junior class who made their way down to bedok reservoir to support me without whom I may not have won those few ppl in front and we would have lost our position.

Thanks Mr Ram and Mr Ling and Mr Shawn. You all did everything for us. We did our best today so do feel proud of us.

Councillors. Thanks for being there to cheer us on. Thanks guys.

And of course, teamhwachong xcountry. The handshakes, the whoosh, the silent look of confidence in your eyes. We ran for each other today. Being beside a hwachong runner is motivation at the purest.

Well done guys. Rest well and enjoy track season :D

2009-03-22T07:37:00.001-07:00

i love my team.

they say that at one point, you are willing to fight to the death for your team cause you know that when it comes to them, they will do the same for you.

2009-03-19T01:01:00.001-07:00

mr ram was so right. he told me that coming up with a blog is useful and now indeed it is. i have been reading my past few posts and realise that it really helps me consolidate experiences and everything.

somethings are really helpful: it's not how good you are but how bad you want it.

In a 4.5km race, the 1st km is the make or break. If you go too fast, you have committed suicide, if you go too slow, you spend a hard time catching the guys up ahead. The 3rd km is the pain. you start to feel tired and pain and your body is being exhausted and tested. the 4th km is the true pain. it is a matter of how strong you are mentally, how prepared you are, how much foundation there is inside you, how much faith you have. More importantly, it is about how badly you do not want to disappoint, who you are running for, how badly you want to kill the person in front, how badly you want to fight for your team.

in the last km, you dedicate your effort to a lot of people. to your coach who groomed you, to your teammates who suffered the worst hell with you, to your friends who are supporting you, to the school you run for. it is not about putting in your best anymore, it is about how much more than your best can you produce.

pain is temporary people, but the glory of being a hwachong xcountry runner is ethernal. the bragging rights of telling people you run in the thousands of kms, the pride when you tell people that you are not just a runner, but a hwachong runner. a runner tested to his extreme, a runner who went through the most insane and absurd trainings.

let's go guys. 6 days.

2009-03-12T05:23:00.001-07:00

I hate being sick. You feel like crap and you can't do anything but sleep...

2009-03-09T07:49:00.001-07:00

"if you can find meaning in an absurd pastime called running, then hopefully you can find meaning in another absurd pastime called life" -bill bowerman, founder of nike and coach of prefontaine

2009-03-08T06:53:00.001-07:00

is it possible to do the last k under 3 AFTER you have alr given all you got for the first 3.6k?

i wonder why hardly anyone thinks of that...

oh well at least i do...

and i dont just think about it...

2009-03-05T05:30:00.000-08:00

haha i was on hiatus for a while. and so im back.

Something tells me that I screwed up chem test today... and my H3 test also. sighh... sacrifices for nationals must be made.
(once nats are over, I will spend all my effort on running and put it into studying.)

Imagine, clocking milage on books. Doing long study sessions, tempo sessions and mock papers (like workouts)
Imagine instead of rushing to do an 8k, now i rush off to read up another chapter...ahhhh

ok up to WAY MORE INTERESTING STUFF

I LOVE NEW BALANCE. seriously, i think they rock to the max. My trainers kinda wore off (well my ascis cumulus has officially no SOLE, just cushion, and my NB has a "removable" sole) and i went into the a NB shop to get myself a pair of trainers. The saleman recognised me and offered to let me try it out and gave me a special discount. I told him i will come down today to buy. (which i did) only to realise that he was giving it to me free. Eh no joke man, it's the NewBalance 1063. Like their top-of-the-line trainer which costs 200+. Wah i was so so so so thankful and happy :D It's like FREE trainer.

If this was their publicity stunt to inject some brand loyalty into me, they sure have succeeded (considering that i alr liked their jersey)

YEAHHH now i have a proper pair of GOOD SOLID trainers to hit the roads with! No more supergluing or running on severely overclocked trainer :D

train hard. rest well. race fast.

"everybody go do the 3-3-3!"

2009-03-01T07:11:00.000-08:00

2009-02-27T04:59:00.001-08:00

It's not how good you are, It's how bad you want it.

2009-02-25T04:55:00.001-08:00

im quite glad. I'm really mentally on track. I've been training super hard and studying equally hard. I have been giving myself like no leisure time. just train, study and rest.

I need to get faster!

haha well I probably should let some stuff out. No its not like emotional or whatever, it is simply, I'm tired.

But I will endure. All the waking up real early everyday, doing lumos in school, studying hard in school, keeping ahead of lectures, training after school, doing HW at home, then you have all the mental prep and all. It gets tiring.

But I quote nick from 75. If you finish a training and you don't feel tired, then something is bloody wrong with what you have been doing.

The stronger the pressure, the better the diamond.

Prefontaine

2009-02-21T07:04:00.001-08:00

I should be sleeping now to get ready for OCBC but I need to pen this thought down and come back and look at it time and again.

"...I run a race to see who has the most guts"

Prefontaine's coach, Bowerman (if you know him good for you) famously said: If you can find meaning in an absurd pastime: running, you can find meaning in another absurd pasttime: life.

(fyi, Bowerman started out a small company making shoes for his runners and distributing Onitsukas, today, this small company is called Nike. Saddly, Pre never got to wear his pair of Nikes made for him to Montreal)

I previously posted about some things i wanna do in my life. I will add another here:

1. Run 3 miles at the Oregon track. Stay silent for 12'36'' and run though the pre trail.

Wonders

2009-02-19T06:31:00.000-08:00

What a day. In 24 hours, i did a 60 :D I was so eager to do 1 more (just for the sake of breaking a certain record) but really had no time cos my massage was at 230 and i completed my 60 at 2:28. Rushed for a 2min shower and made it just nice when masseuse came. Now that i know i did 60, all i can feel is raw confidence alr. This sat is time to take out the 60 and put it to some good use. My legs feel damn fresh now. I kinda expected it to be like super jelly but hmm, maybe it was the massage...

Who says Singapore can't see stars! You are just not looking up at the right time. To prove my point, I went out adventuring at 4am this morning. I could see stars when I was in ORCHARD ROAD, SMU, Fort Canning, Padang (the view here was the best). I tried botanical last time before and IM SUPER SURE BOTANICAL GOT BEAUTIFUL STARS. Just look up at the right time. I mean, 8pm isnt exactly the time to look for stars. Ok so if you are wondering why I am out 4am on a school day, well, I am certainly NOT emoing. Those who know me probably know what I was doing heehee...

SPA tmr... I feel prepared :D Been training like a dog but studies is still freaking impt. There is no way I'm gonna lag for lessons man...

p.s.: I'm starting to like vectors. Its fun when you get to it :D
p.p.s.: and the rest of the subjects are getting interesting too :D chem is niceee. studying is actually kinda fun. (and my classmates will tell me that I am totally insane since i consider running and studying fun haha)

lol im high...

2009-02-15T05:41:00.001-08:00

The last 2 days have been super eventful and it would be a waste not to record it down.

Sat was well, a sat before nationals so we had workout. I'm really glad i managed to hit my target. To be very honest, I had so little faith that I could do it. I never never thought that in the last km, i could go under 3. Really, I knew that it was my prescribed target but to be honest, I didn't really believe in myself. During the run, all I told myself was that everything boils down to how strong you are DURING the run. NOT before, NOT after, NOT during prep but WHEN YOU RUN. So i just went, ignored the pain and gave it everything. Now, I have loads of faith in myself to accomplish the next timing required.

After that, went to catch slumdog millionaire cos i thought it was a really inspirational show. Indeed it was. I mean it is one of those shows that after you watch, you feel more motivated. so sat was nice.

And came sunday. Went with Joyriders for their breakfast cycle. Haha I stayed with the first pack all the way (or most of the way until the last 5km where i slowed down cos of the crazy kranji hill when i cant understand how you chiong up...) Had a good drink and went to see Mr Ram for his talk :D
and i learnt a lot from him today. it was seriously a very good talk.

And so came class gathering at my house where they played mahjong and cards while i ATTEMPTED to do my SPA before i realised i should give up. Then met with the lumos ppl for a really fruitful discussion (which is really really good). Things are really rolling..

NOW I HAVE TO GO DO MY HOMEWORK AND STUDY DAMN HARD FOR TEST NEXT WEEK!

jiayou all xD

2009-02-14T00:04:00.001-08:00

2009-02-13T04:41:00.001-08:00

BREEKS CAFE FTW!

gosh i love brownies :D
(not the eating... its the business concept haha)

and i feel like i will fly away tmr!

of hills

2009-02-09T05:54:00.000-08:00

I SHALL BE DAMN FAST TMR. no more waiting games, no more fear. pure confidence, raw strength.

RANDOM THOUGHT: I love the stars at CCAB in the mornings. and i love the people who watch these stars with me in these "mornings". I love even more the starts at CCAB in the mornings.

COME ON CYCLE FASTER. my hills need improving... forever die out at hills...

kaiming taught me 1 world to kill. CONFIDENCE.

and i can feel it coursing though my veins this very moment.

2009-02-07T22:00:00.001-08:00

sundays have become a nice routine. it has already been 3 weeks of the same thing and im starting to enjoy it.

the alarm goes off at 530
you tell yourself you are crazy,
it is a damn sunday...

unconsciously you walk to brush your teeth
in the process, boil water
then comes the oat biscuits and the warm milo...

change into your jersey and clip on those shoes, take a last one (water here) for the road.

then goes thomson and upperthomson and mandai too. followed by kranji and yck and boonlay as well. turn into west coast and BV and towards the city, and before you know it you see the botanics.

(no attempt to rhyme made)

reach home, bathe and fall asleep.
wake up, lunch and hit the books.
soon enough you wear your shoes
hit the road (again). This time slower but surer you keep going on. It was 80 in the morning and much less now.

reach home, hit the books and then to bed.
what a way to have a sunday again...

(ok i realised this is kinda like a poem but i never intended it to be)

--sidenote: someone make me climb hills faster! --

2009-02-07T02:11:00.001-08:00

saw the route for OCBC 40km challenge. SIANzzzz looks like the race is really tactical, see who can pull away at the bends and sprint off, no more hard but even pace riding alr... i gave up counting the number of turns.

anyway...10 things to do before i die...
(hmm i was checking out facebook when i saw a friend doing this. quite interesting so i shall try too)

1. Visit all 7 wonders of the world
2. Spend a few weeks of quality time backpacking with a loved one
3. Earn a billion dollars
4. Watch the Olympics and get to meet the athletes
5. Set up a charity
6. Race a sub 7:30 ironman
7. Own a husky/ golden retriever
8. Own a lambo and ferrari
9. Study in harvard
10. Train with the Kenyans/ Ethiopians for a month or more

2009-02-06T05:53:00.001-08:00

The mile is a symphony, a play, a story, a journey.

The 4 part story is just like any play you will watch.

You anticipate the start and just prior to the first seconds of the mile, you are anxious, yet happy. The first movement is a fast one. The music is heated and warm with struggles and a war-like feeling. The 2nd Act is like a show where you start getting comfortable. The pace drops a little and you get into the mood. The 3rd installment is climax. You cannot get dropped. Keep the pace and do not slow. But do not worry if you do not keep up, just be confident. The final showdown needs everything you have. What more needs to be said.

Aint the mile just gorgeous?

2009-02-05T06:20:00.001-08:00

ok i shall blog a little about joyriders :D

haha so i went to cycle with them yesterday before sch. Wow it was fantabulously fun. Kena dropped by the sprinters like 5km into the ride. They totally ZOOMED off... i can almost swear their bikes got motor on it. (err and i guess those motors are called legs)
Well im getting myself a pair of those soon :D
Then went a steady pace with the rest of the pack. The ride was nice, cooling, not too slow and fun! I TOTALLY LOVE THE FLYOVER OUTSIDE VIVO. Like going at 40-42kph for i like 10km? darn i wish it was longer... then managed to make my way to school. trained like a dog and went home to KNOCK OUT. i swicthed on my com to check mail but i didnt survive the wait for my com to start up...

and today! haha great day. spent most of my time running and selling brownies. My legs felt super fresh today. Im saving them up for sat hurrhurrr. (watch out Galen. I will bite and chew and eat you alive!)
Then during my evening run, I discovered that samsung phones got a really loud speaker. kept my brain from rotting... and then i met Melvis during my last 6km i think. haha she is like really passionate, 1 person go run after orientation. (respects...)

THIS SAT IS THE TIME TO WHACK. I AM BLOODY NOT WAITING AND WILL GIVE EVERY OUNCE OF STR I HAVE AND KILL WHOEVER I CAN! ITS TIME TO BANKAI!

LAMBO!

2009-02-01T06:37:00.001-08:00

went to chijmes with dad just now and when we came out guess what.

5 murchielegos parked in chijmes! all different colour but identical model no. OH MY GOSH

DEAD

2009-02-01T00:28:00.000-08:00

i conclude that yst training was seriously damn good cos today i totally died cycling with joyriders. Even before 10km i could feel my thigh and hamstring cramping up from all the stress... decided today shall not be a day where i keep up with everyone so i dropped myself and did a nice 80km ride myself.

I managed to revise NIA and photosynthesis just now. I'll go do the NIA and photosyn ESSAYS! HAHAHAHA.

lazy to blog...shall go for a run now. cya!

1 of 8

2009-01-31T06:10:00.001-08:00

No. 1 of 8 is down. So we got 7 weeks left to nationals. Jiayou everyone!

Went bedok for a run this morning then i went school for a meeting with the lumos ppl. today was a very productive day SAVE the fact that i haven touched my books at all and im about to go and slp soon...

Had a buffet dinner at swissotel merchant court. it was erm not too bad. the sashimi was good but the rest of the stuff were really like average. the dessert imo is severely substandard! (which is good news meaning that i only ate sashimi, salad and other healthy stuff). Then my mom's best friend gave me a damn nice watch :D i was like wow...

today passed by super quickly. Finish morning run was noon. Finish meeting was late afternoon. Talked to aunt for a while, slack a bit dinner and now its 10pm...

So long as you keep your focus, keep pushing forward, you will get faster. I'm not greedy. I just want to be get a little faster every single week :D By nationals, i shall be a faster runner.

2009-01-30T01:53:00.001-08:00

now im ready to go.

haha went to SAJC today for the launch of milo moe TRYathlon. was pretty cool. kena interviewed in chinese and english for news -.- (haha by the time u read this, it will have been showned alr so too badddd)
lol and i got to meet clara the MGS swimming and runner. she won the intercollegiate biathlon this yr i think :D and got to know 2 SA ppl from ODEC. the trip was really more fun than i expected.

(and i was given a tin of milo and 2 cans of milo. that's AWESOME)

apart from that, it was yet another school day.

tmr marks the beginning. its time to push and push and push.

its the eye of the tiger...

2009-01-28T06:32:00.001-08:00

today was a great day that turned out not too great...

so it started with a training which i did pretty well in. i realised my speed is somewhat there and with training, i can go really fast :D

and then ______________this blanks shall not be filled yet________________

and came the news which i got unhappy about. mrram wants to scold the team cos we had a CNY gathering. he says that we will lose the championship cos of this. to be honest, i don't see the logic. i mean its CNY so what's so wrong about going to someone's hse to bainian. i dont see the link btwn celebrating a festive season and aiming for a championship. yar i know it kinda distracts us and all but then, we are humans too. we need some play we need some rest. we cant be doing visualisation every second can we? it's good to be really focused but being angry with us for meeting up one afternoon during new year is a bit too much i think. i am super eager and motivated to win the championship but if from today onwards i dont talk to any friend and just focus, would that be intellgent?

i know i am supposed to take such scolding positively but sometimes it gets really hard. i know it is not good to play too much and hence lose focus, but during chinese new year? we trained through the 1st,2nd and 3rd day of CNY and now we get scolded cos we took time out of training to meet up.

i will try my best to take it positively but i am no sage. i will need time to get myself to calm down. (sigh, if we didnt get scolded, i am really sure i would be very focused now. but now, i am disturbed by mrram's anger and im losing focus cos of that. what an irony...)

by this time tmr, i shall be positive.

2009-01-26T06:24:00.001-08:00

happy cny :D

and so it begins with a... (im tempted to say bang but...) run.

haha ok i wanted to take some rest so decided to do double instead of 1 shot and did like 11 in the morn. Went home and studied quite hard, then couldnt concentrate so i left for starbucks to get a mocha and continue to mug before i wanted to try something really erm, creative.

i went down to orchard just to see what orchard looks like in the afternoon and all shops are closed. it was like a dead town. you could do suicides on the road and probably won't die. (pun intended only if you know what suicides are)

then i went home and did afternoon run :D

and now im here typing away...

sometimes you have to think to yourself. should i listen, or decide. should i have faith, or be logical. should i experiment, or stick to the status quo. should i try even if all odds are against me, or should i forget. should i follow my heart, or my head.

may you all collect many many angbaos. i'm happy with my erm, "harvest" this year :D i shall invest it well ^.^

p.s.: see that bike lance armstrong is riding (look at top of blog). I WILL SO GET MY HANDS ON ONE OF THEM WHEN I GET DAMN RICH NEXT TIME. THE TREX TTX WITH DURA-ACE COMP, DISK-WHEEL AND HED.3 IS LIKE FREAKING A TIME(SHAVING)-MACHINE. and i aspire to have the off-the-charts VO2 max lance has the luxury of enjoying.

2009-01-23T05:19:00.001-08:00

sometimes you are too slow. sometimes you are too fast. once you know the 2 ends, u dont screw up again.

so it was cny celebrations today. woke up at 4 to go train. went with Jriders :D never headed down that route before. went from longhse to woodlands, then to westcoast then vivo there (wow the flyover was freaking fun. i got on my aerobars and literally felt like flying. ok only ppl who cycled there before can understand)

CNY in school was erm ok. i totally pangsehed my class. sorry guys :(
well lets say i wasnt in the celebration mood today. maybe its cos of TT on thurs, maybe its cos of training this morn or maybe cos of SATs tmr. either way, i just went one side to chill during market.

CNY is the time to slog damn hard. come on lets whack!

//and i still think of you//