Beautiful

Mr. Green, our caterpillar has transformed into a beautiful butterfly. Cheers...pom poms... conffetti! yay!

8 weeks starting from Now

The art of being Goofy

I am now without bike frame. ): I'm sure the separation anxiety will set in soon now that I have started to really like the trails. So for now i'll just have to head out to the Rebound Center as often as possible to fill that void and perhaps i'll stick to hiking for now... no punn intended. Actually i've just sent "Spur" for a new custom paint job. I trust that it will come out as intended and am feeling secure and positive vibes from the artist himself. I'll upload it's progress as soon as I get any.

OH yes

And not to mention my souvenir from the wet and wild ride this morning... (: oouuch.

Wet and Wild

After the downhill... heh...

I'm loving the switch over to the trails (for a while though I haven't abandoned the roadie and the SBR events). The thing about trail riding is it keeps your adrenalin pumping all the time. You can't really zone out or wonder what you're going to do later in the day because it needs your 101% concentration. It can get technical but once you're ONE with the bike, the feeling is so satisfying. The thing is to commit to the line you've taken when negotiating the uneven paths! I have to much more to learn. SHIOK. Today, we went to Bukit Timah for the first time (for me at least) and at first I was a little horrified from stories and descriptions. But as we went on, and I started negotiating the downs and ups, I started to enjoy it so much. I think i'm starting to get addicted. Bruises and falls goes without saying. It was Wet and Wild. The rain probably made life a little more difficult but it definitely made the weather more inviting. It's not easy but it's heaps of fun. We manage to treat ourselves to some really yummy Boon Tong Kee after. On a separate note, the waitresses there were super nice. They didn't mind that we were dirty, muddy and wet. Kudos to all your mountain bikers out there. I have new respect for you! What a great way to end the weekend. (: happy joy.

(Wo)men at work!

Ah huh! A souvenir shot of myself thanks to Lai Jun Wei of RedSports at the National Stadium during one of the friendly soccer matches early this month. They say they're gonna tear down the grand ol' dame but they still haven't. And the last match that was supposed to happen there during the Australia vs Singapore continued on with many many more matches.. The problem with that place is that it's not being maintained right now and the rubber track is MELTING. Our monopods have sunk into the ground and shoes have come out all red and stained and sticky. Ahrgh.

Blue screen

This surely cannot be a good sign. I've reformatted my HD on this dell 3 times in 3 years and replaced a HD altogether. I say it's time for a MAC but beggers cannot be choosers.

(:

bag #02 : all the way from nippon

I likey very muchie! Ting's got yummy taste.

GENIUS

Didn't I just mention that before? Well.. one more time.. If you believe me. Go check it out. http://www.levyland.com/

Music Feeds the Soul

Stealing a moment with Paul

I can't imagine not having music in my life.

I was made to take classical piano lessons since I was 5 or 6 (that's considered late) and as I grew older, I started appreciating it more. Sure. There were times when I didn't have the energy to practice and would dread having to drag myself to piano lessons - actually my piano teacher lived right next to my grandmother's home where I was everyday after school so I don't really know what the fuss was all about. I finished my ABRSM theory and practical lessons by the secondary school and would have gone on to do a degree in music pedagogy if not for photography. I then stopped lessons and started playing by sight reading and well, mostly by ear. Tried my hand at a little jazz and got distracted by boys. Started self teaching on the guitar and even got cosy with a cello for a while. Always wanted to learn a woodwind instrument, either a clarinet or a piccolo but never got a chance too ( I will persue). Now we've moved and I have no piano and I miss it very much. However, i've always been greatful to my parents who never forced me to do anything. No art classes or ballet lessons or swimming classes but introduced me to just one humble music class which I stuck to for 10 years.Levy's Scores and a sharpie!

Jeremy Monteiro on piano

But music to me, is more than just scores and history. Its a form of expression and a universal language understood by all. Learning the piano set a good grounding for my understanding and appreciation of music of all genres. It also allowed me to pick up any other instrument without difficulty. There's something about a happy tune that I hum all day at the back of my head. I'm no singer but I love to hum a tune. It keeps me together.Tonight, following Paul Ponnudurai's suggestion, I dragged Terence out to attend Jazz at the Arts House with me. It was awesome. Everyone was there including Uncle Tommy and his wife Siew Eng who were hosting people from the American Embassy tonight. A gathering of 3 jazz musicians whom I regard as Genius. Howard Levy (from Chicago), who plays the Harmonica and Piano, Jeremy Monteiro ( from Singapore ) who's a well known jazz musician and cultural medallion receipient who also croons and plays the piano and Paul Ponnudurai ( malaysian, resident musician at Harry's @ Esplanade) on guitar and vocals.

Uncle Tommy introduces Levy to Ambassy persons

Listening to them jamming left me with a smile so wide, I could crawl out of my mouth starting with my inerts. It was awesome. It was refreshing. It made me realise how dull and flat my life would be without music. Music creates a separate dimension to life altogether. I'm so glad I went because it has re-kindled and inspired something in me. (: Joy.

Mix and Match

nate, looking very pretty

Have you ever wondered why it's nice to have pretty boys but not that cool to have ugly girls? Like how it's still acceptable for women to dress like men, in pants and shirts (which i do a lot of at work with my cargo pants and dry-fit shirts) but it'll look totally awkward if a man wears a blouse and skirt (i'm not talking about kilts)? Whatever happened to gender equality there? (:

Time Out

Have you ever felt like sometimes you wished you had a remote control that you could just use to put everything around you on "Pause"? The thing is, we can't. So the only way is to just ride the wave. There are days when I fell really tired, upset, or when things don't turn out the way they were supposed too, or when disappointment sets in. During these times, I wish I could put Nate on pause, Work on pause, family obligations on pause and just stay quiet for a while. Just for the mood to simmer down and for your thoughts and body to re-connect and re-group. Just that little bit of quiet to calm yourself down. In reality, there's no such thing. Life goes on. You take a deep breath, suppress it and concentrate on what needs to be done. This is what we call self control of which to me is one of the hardest things to capture. So there's no pausing. Then suddenly I'm sitting here thinking that the same goes for days when you are experiencing wonderful things and you wish that time would stand still and remain that way forever. You wish to pause Life right there but no- there is no such thing. Life goes on, the game continues where we live and try to find that fundamental balance. Happy and Sad. The journey can be quite similar in ways which are not so obvious.... Time to head out for an assignment because life goes on.

Something to live by

From one of my dearest friend:

Dying To Self When you are forgotten or neglected or purposely set at naught, and you don't sting or hurt with the insult or oversight, but your heart is happy, being counted worthy to suffer for Christ -- that is dying to self.

When your good is evil spoken of, when your wishes are crossed, your advice disregarded or your opinions ridiculed, and you refuse to let anger rise in your heart or even to defend yourself, but take it all in patient, loving silence -- that is dying to self. When you lovingly, patiently bear any disorder and irregularity, any impunctuality or any annoyance; when you come face to face with waste, folly, extravagance, spiritual insensitivity.. and endure it just as Jesus endured it-- that is dying to self. When you are content with any food, any offering, any raiment, any climate, any society, any solitude, any interruption by the will of God -- that is dying to self. When you never refer to yourself in conversation, or to record your own good works, or itch after commendation, when you can truly love to go unknown -- that is dying to self. When you can see your brother or sister have his or her needs met and can honestly rejoice in spirit and can feel no envy nor question God, while you own needs are far greater and in more desperate circumstances -- that is dying to self. When you can receive correction and reproof from one of less stature than yourself and can humbly submit inwardly as well as outwardly, finding no rebellion or resentment rising up within your heart -- that is dying to self.

Car Wash

single digit

It's been a good one month since I replaced my good ol' jeep for a hatch back. And the wonderful thing about having a white car is that the dirt doesn't show up so easily. About a month later, I decided to clean it out cause there's nothing worse than accumulated dirt. Nate saw me and wanted in on the washing and splashing of water.. The moment he started washing the car with the sponge, he called out to my mother: "poh poh see! I can do!". nice.....

Step by step

It's about time we started working out again. So Terence and I fought the z monsters and peeled ourselves out of bed and headed out for a 90min powerwalk. Hope to burn some stored energy (fats). It's always painful when you have to start the ball rolling. But once you finish what you've started, you always feel satisfied and the initial pain is forgotten. Take it one step at a time. I do miss all that intensive training but it's time to switch focus for a while. I'm hoping more friends can join us in future! (; yay.

Nate on Aug. 7, 2009

2 days before National Day. This is a photo record of what Nate looks like on August 7, 2009. (It's quite hard to get him to look into the camera because he's so active)

National Day

I've covered almost 10 national day parades and found that out of those, one or two in the past were nice... and then it started going downhill from there. It used to be a drag to cover this event. I found the performances boring and dated. Looked like something put together by primary and secondary schools. Performers would be all over the place - scattered and sparse. This year was different. I felt that it was more cohesive and there was some form of continuality. The performances didn't seem so cliche and the whole event looked prettier. I wasn't surprised later to find out that the parade was directed by Ivan Heng... of course.. and was just joking that they should let Dick Lee do next year's. Later to find out that that too, are part of the organising committee plans for NDP'10. YAY. I can't wait. Happy National Day peeps.

Feel hungover even though I didn't drink

Last week and a half was Crazy with a capital "C".

We seem to be increasingly busy these couple of years... maybe it's really happening. Singapore wanting to be a HUB for everything. All the sports stars and sporting events happen here in Singapore, we've become the venue for all these APEC and ASEAN meetings. Operating a one woman show can be quite trying. I love the adranalin rush but it runs out after a week of non-stop action. I basically felt like I was hung over for 3 days even though I hadn't drank a drop..The type that keeps you going till you can't stop to eat. Having said that, it was nice to be part of the action, and I even got to meet up with old classmates. I guess it's better to be busy nowadays. While the storm's past, it's time to relax and recharge because come September, things are gonna get wild. Till then, Cheers!

Congratulations Jolyn

My dear baby cousin got married over the weekend.. Dated her husband for 11 years.. that's one year more than a decade! Congratulations sweetie.. I love you and am so proud of you!