i'm feeling all tired and worn out today. It's probably from the insufficient sleep for the past few days. It's been 5-6 hour nights or non-well-rested nights. Been having all sorts of dreams recently too.

i can't believe 2009 is about to end in a couple of hours. i thought it was just the start of 2009 and was wondering how the year would ever past and what i would achieve this year... and in a blink, it's over, just like all the other years.

i refuse to properly ask myself what i have achieved this year. Like every other year, the reply is none - or at least it feels like nothing. People around me would give consolation, saying i have travelled so much, eaten so many nice foods, got a great job, etc, but i still feel all empty inside.

The past few years' resolutions have been the same. We were just chatting and OJY said why not make put this thing we were talking about as my resolution for 2010? i told him the spot's been reserved and it's what i wished for last year and every year. He actually remembered my resolution... and this time he gave feedback that if it's not really coming through, maybe i should change it.

He does make sense. Perhaps it's too big a step up to reach, but if i could make a resolution that leads me there, it would all seem more attainable.

i think i'm falling sick... having this sore throat and feeling tired. i want to take a break from life.

Ah, since i suddenly thought about it, why not blog it...

i absolutely loved the ambience of The Firestation Hillside Gastrobar. It's the old Bukit Timah fire station. The place was so obscure, totally out of view from the main road, yet accessible by bus and is so chill. i love the old buildings, the old doors, old bricks, and the whole feel of it all. It's another little Dempsey Road but much nearer to my place.

We sat at the al fresco deck to enjoy the ambience and cooling weather. Decided to share a couple of dishes so that we could try more. The Simple Garden Salad was the first to arrive and i was honestly quite disappointed that the mesclun salad was too oily. Less olive oil and more balsamic vinegar and maybe a harder squeeze of lemon should give the salad a bigger punch. How about a slightly bigger serving too? $12.

Next was the Firestation Wings recommended by the waiter. No complaints at all. Very tasty, juicy, well-marinated. Came with Thai spicy dip on the side. Not the biggest portion nor the best price, but thumbs up for the texture & flavour. $14.

Main course was a Margherita pizza. i like plain, straightforward stuffs. Basil and cheese on a thin crust. i'd have preferred more basil for the kick, but in general it was still really nice. $18.

Dessert was the Granny Smith's Apple Crumble. Took a while to arrive (probably baking the crumble...?). Presented on a long rectangular plate, vanilla ice cream on the left, apple crumble on the right, a quartered strawberry in the middle and a few varieties of berries decorated around. We thought the ice cream would be better off sitting on the crumble... i just prefer the hot+cold combo of such desserts. But yum! Good end to the dinner. $12.

And this morning i woke up and the first thing i thought was...

Yesterday night i had 2 mojitos at The Firestation Hillside Gastrobar. How come the 1st one had 2 squeezed limes inside and the 2nd one didn't have any? i didn't realize it until this morning.

Anyway service was okay. The guy wasn't the best person to ask for recommendations (he went "the pizza is nice... the pasta is nice... the wings is nice...") but he was fairly attentive.

Total bill for 2 little girls - a whooping S$115!!!!!

Note: My appetite was not very good, so i was eating way lesser than usual to feel full.

The next time round, i'll eat at Beauty World first before going there for drinks...

A couple of amusing things happened and quite tickled my funny bone.

• Yesterday, my boss called and woke me up in the middle of my afternoon nap to ask if i wanted 4 free tickets to 2 Omni Theatre shows in the evening. i asked my dad and he said "Don't want, want to watch Singapore Idol." (-.-''') It's free tickets, boy!
  

• Turned out my dad bet with my housekeeper $10 on who the winner would turn out to be. -.-''''' No wonder so enthu.

• While P and i were walking towards the restaurant at the old Bt Timah fire station, i saw a frog and was wondering aloud what sound it would make if i stepped on it. P just said,"(b)urp!" HahahHAhahaAa... i didn't quite expect that answer. Almost rolling on the ground laughing. Hadn't laughed so hard in a while.

• Met Biggie for prata lunch just now near Botanic Gardens. She was asking when my Taiwan trip was and whether i could extend the hotel corporate rates for the few days we were to travel together. Conversation went something like this...
  

Me: Hotel is just opposite Xi Men Ding, but it's a pretty quiet place.

B: Got corporate rate anot? Can extend?
Me: Can, but you want to stay in Taipei for the whole trip ah?
B: Of course see mei mei must stay in Taipei lah! Go Kaoh Siung see mei mei meh?!
Me: *laughing* Oh yah hor... But dunno mah, maybe you prefer rural type...

~~~

Some eye candy...

Birzman C10 multi-tool in a pretty package.

Fizik seatpost... Prototype!
(Sorry for poor photo quality. My house lighting is not the best at night.)

Bought chocs from Chocolate Research Facility for colleagues and friends for X'mas! Support local brand!

Lots and lots of flavours. Pretty packaging, stylo paper bag, hefty price tag too.

The other day i had lunch with Biggie at this cafe in Orchard. Big burger (beside my hp). No photoshop. And i cleaned the whole thing along with the vegs and fries. :D

Just came back from 2 shows at Omni Theatre with my housekeeper. Bears. Under the Sea. Pretty good documentaries. Go watch if you have time!

Early in the morning and i'm tempting myself to buy... the Crank Bros Joplin seatpost, some 5.10 shoes, maybe a Trek frame, and of course not forgetting my Alfine internal gear hub, Fizik seatpost... throw in a fixie......

Time to pry myself away from the computer!

As you can see, i'm so free today, just sitting in front of the computer the entire day.

i realize i shouldn't be drinking so much... especially when i'm on med. Oh well... take it as the festive season, the period of food, drinks and enjoyment. It will pass...

My favourite song. Can't play as well as her. Just around 70-80% i suppose.

Songs played on the electone never fail to bring a tear to my eye... Perhaps it's the memories of playing, the feelings when playing... Or just that the performer is too good to be true...

*tear*

i listen to what i play, then i listen to someone else's (or even worse, the composer's) playing only to get a shock! "How come the song sounds so different????¿¿¿¿"

Well, for a short period of time, i had the luxury of practising on the Stagea once a week in the music school auditorium. Although i'm the only one i've ever heard playing jazz with all the wrong notes, i thoroughly enjoyed the experience of the sound system and the equipment.

:)

Amazing stuffs... chills down my spine. Why need an orchestra or band when 1 fella does the whole job?

A good player and a damn bloody excellent player are miles and years apart... When is Mr Andoh coming to Singapore again...

i love the creativity of people's improvisations. i love the vibrancy of the music. i love the way the performers dance with the playing. i love the fact that the Japanese stand out from the rest in electone skills.

Uverworld
D-Technolife

You've been hurt by an unspeakable pain and sadness;
Together, let's carry each other's incredible pasts;
Don't give up on living!

Whoa-
Whoa-
I held your hand.

Will I end up losing them someday?
I want to protect you and your smile, so;
Even if the voice that calls to me is dying..
Even if the wind that follows along time disappears..

I will find you!

You've been hurt by an unspeakable pain and sadness;
Don't say things like "I can't laugh" or "I hate people";
There's meaning in everything that happen in the unseen future;
So stay as you are for now, I know there'll come a time when you realise it.

Whoa-
Just like a rusted person.

Lying a top one another is futile;
You said you could live on your own;
Just with the usual kind words;
You ache to a point where;
I cannot reach you!

Whoa-
Your hand that I'm holding.

Whoa-
Long for casual gentleness.

Do you remember?

By leaning pain, you can become a person who can be kind to others.

Drive your life..

You've been hurt by an unspeakable pain and sadness;
Don't say things like "I can't laugh" or "I hate people";
There's meaning in everything that happen in the unseen future;
So stay as you are for now, I know there'll come a time when you realise it.

[Beat-box]
Yeah-

How can I see the meaning of life;
It's disappearing, you're the only.

Oh-
So you will not break, you distance yourself from me;
Don't say things like "I can't laugh" or "I hate people";
Now by and by, even if you cannot see, there's a meaning to everything;
Together, let's carry each other's incredible pasts.

You'd better forget everything, remember your different life..
You'd better forget everything, Remember thought, we cannot return..

Whoa-
But as time goes by someday we'll understand each other.



Lyrics taken from here.

Christmas... was uneventful. It was my mum's birthday and we headed to Kuishinbo @ Jurong Point for lunch. i really didn't eat much, probably because of all the alcohol the night before.

The bit of sashimi i had was really fresh though. :) The maki was pretty good too.

And then i went out with D to roam Tanglin Mall and Botanical Gardens. Fortunately the rain had stopped.

And Christmas Eve was a busy day... i had to go back to office for half a day to finish up some paperwork. We had a "buffet" lunch at the retail store after that. As usual, Jerome and i were standing in corners talking non-stop about mtb and tools... so much so that Boss 1 came over to ask how come we so antisocial... then Boss 2's turn to ask the same question.

After the lunch was a dinner gathering at Chris' place. Potluck. i didn't eat much either. Some champagne later, i left for 126 at Big Splash for drinks/countdown with the TBB folks. Beer and whisky... and i was in a comfortably relaxed state for the rest of the night. YF said to me "i'm so disappointed in you. What has (my current company) done to you???!"

He was referring to my drinking... My alcohol tolerance has really dropped, but i prefer it this way. My body doesn't feel so terrible so often. It takes lesser (alcohol and money) to intoxicate me. i told him i'm happier like this.

i feel so tired. i want to take a retreat and hide in an inconspicuous corner of the world, but everything is so overwhelming and i don't want to spend a few hundred bucks for that. Someone put me in a cardboard box and Fedex me to Guam, please!!!!!!

My very long weekend started with a load of plans. Looks like nothing's gonna happen except me socialising with my stack of books fresh from the library.

Recently, the library has become my hangout place (apart from TCC and Bon Gout). It's a good distraction from buying books that i'll read only once and dump aside.

Anyway, that's all for now... time for whiskey?











the heart is weeping, but the body is not willing...

Christmas is coming once more. Somehow in the past week i visited Orchard Road quite a couple of times, twice for work, other times just to roam around. The malls and shops are playing the usual Christmas songs and that's making me feel nostalgic. It reminds me that another year has passed again.

This year's Christmas is gonna be a lonely one. There are so many issues in my life that i want to straighten but i don't know how to. The new year resolution will be the same as the past few years - to be happy (or at least happier than the previous year).

Whenever i think my wish is coming true, i hit rock bottom shortly after.

Singapore doesn't feel like the place for me to live in. Things are going too fast, i can't catch up. Expectations are overwhelming, i don't have the energy and motivation to keep up. Basically, i just don't feel happy in general.

Will moving elsewhere actually make things better? i don't know.

In Buddhism, one will say, you have to be contented with what you have in order to be happy.

It's true, but i say, economic progress comes to a standstill if everyone is contented with what they have.

That aside, i would love to be contented with what i have. However, it's human nature to wish for more. And i'm human...

i've got a great job, not a fantastic salary but a superb work environment and colleagues that i have zero complaints about. i get to cycle, travel and eat good food pretty often. i've got a house to go back to. i have about everything that i need. So why am i not happy?

What do people live for? What do people who can barely scrape through life live for? What do very successful people live for? Who's the happiest person you know? (Please email me and describe the person a bit if you can think of someone. Just like to know more.)

i don't know any particularly happy person. But in the past few months, i have seen so many people around me with hearts of gold. i never knew what this term "heart of gold" meant until i saw how sincere and caring these people are.

i would like to hold my funeral before my death. i want to know how people view me as. To acquaintances/friends, there should be more "+"s than "-"s. To very close people, it's probably more "-"s than anything else.

On a side note, i feel like throwing out everything in my room and changing to white bed linen. i prefer to experience simplicity rather than clutter. Maybe CNY will be a good time for that... Perhaps that will straighten out my thoughts and emotional clutter as well.

~~~

P and i met up for dinner at Rail Mall just now. It's really my first time for dinner there and we ate at the ba chor mee place where i had lunch at a few months ago when i crashed my elbow. After that it was coffee at CBTL. i would have loved to try Blooie's but P prefers coffee.

The place is really a small Holland village. It's in the middle of nowhere and it's got a rather cosy feel to it. The best thing - it's near my place. (Definition of "near" - within half hour of slow cycling from my home) It's not too crowded either.

Time to sleep. Hoping to ride to work tomorrow morning. i found a pretty good route to work - traffic's a bit lesser and the route is familiar coz it's part of the route to my old office. i suppose you only discover the best route after riding for a while and asking other colleague commuters.

Today i finally got a chance to dine at Sushi Kikuzawa at International Building. i decided to go Orchard to walk around and the first place to hit was the supermarket, which brought out the Japanese food demon in me. i'd passed by the sushi bar once a long time back and heard good things about it but haven't had a chance, so today was the day.

It was around 6.40pm, so there were only 4 customers inside. The place was just a bar counter of around 10+ seats. The chef said that i could sit till 7.30 when the place would be fully booked. Okay, why not. i don't think i can eat non-stop for more than an hour.

(Big regret not to bring my camera... but it was a good thing coz all my concentration's on the food.)

Started with edamame and a small sashimi assortment. Side dish of bamboo shoots. Chawanmushi. Seared salmon sushi. Eel sushi. Uni sushi. Tobikko sushi. Flying fish sushi. Tataki tuna sushi. Tamago sushi. Fugu sushi. Maguro sushi. Abalone sushi. Scallop sushi. Squid sushi. Cut sushi. And quite a few others whom i can't recognize... Cold tofu, cold somen...

All were nicely hand-pressed. The moment i tasted the first piece, i thought this is how ALL sushi should be like. The flavour of the topping fused with the rice and wasabi. Some had some sauce or garnish on top for taste and appearance. Ginger, wasabi, plum sauce, spring onions were widely used.

And all i had to do was just sit at the counter and eat whatever the chef had to present on the leaf-shaped plate in front of me.

Boy, do i love Japanese food... and eating alone has never been so colourful before.

i really wanted to try everything on the menu, but time was restricted and my stomach was starting it's protest. The chef very bluntly asked me 5 minutes before 7.30 "Any last orders?". :P

It all ended with a mango pudding for the sweet-toothed.

i like it and i will go back there again. i like small, cosy places and i like the service. Most of all, i love the food. Damage to the wallet - around $49. Boost to the morale - priceless.

Retail therapy at Muji @ Paragon after that.

Life can't get any better... :D

Brokened. Shattered. Too numb to shed a tear.

Yesterday we went out for dinner and drinks. During drinks, ojy wanted me to ask him questions, just any questions about anything i wanted to know. And so i started. Halfway through, we were almost rolling on the ground laughing... i told him, all your worms are out of the can. Or does this feel like me digging your nose with my pinkie?

Tomorrow we (a couple of us company people) will be having dinner out with a few visitors. Jumbo seafood! :)

And today i'm off, not knowing what to do. Half the day is gone and i still have my Malay class in the evening. i really want to do something nice and relaxing but am facing problem getting out of the house now.

Testing out some new products from Birzman. They look really cool and sleek and hopefully the performance is there too.

Zacoo Mini Pump 9 Presta

Feexman Stainless Steel 17

Wedge Tire Levers

There are so many things that i want to blog down so that i can look back again next time, but whenever i switch on my computer, either i don't feel like typing anything or i forget what i want to post.

The last 2 weekends were spent overseas and i'm kinda glad to have this weekend in Singapore. Last weekend was in Vietnam (my first time in Ho Chi Minh city) with our hosts bringing us (the whole company) around for shopping and great food. They brought us to the popular local food stores and restaurants (average and high-end ones) and let us try a whole variety of local foods!

It feels great to be trying different Asian cuisines... The combinations of ingredients are so refreshing to me! We had the very extreme tastes of spicy, sweet, salty and sour but there were also wonderful flavours of the local vegetables. The super brinjal... The Vietnamese ABC soup (i call it ABC coz it's fairly similar to the Singaporean ABC soup with the carrots, gourds, meat, etc)... Broken rice... strange vegetable steamboat... omg beef noodles... starfruit soup... 333 beer...

The coffee culture is also the thing in Vietnam. There are cafes everywhere and we're talking nice, cosy cafes that serve great local and angmoh coffee. On the Sunday as my boss and i were looking for a quiet seat in a cafe while waiting for the shopaholic, 3 cafes we passed by in the same building were all full.

Although we didn't shop much, i managed to buy quite a few things for myself. The exchange rate was around S$1 to 13,000 VND. Some of my colleagues had trouble converting the Dong to SGD, so we had to explain to them to drop the 000 at the back of the notes for easier calculation.

To be honest, things there are not as cheap as i'd thought. That's comparative to the locals' average salary. Most of the people rode motorbikes and the richer ones had luxury cars - we're talking Mercedes, Lexus, BMW, Audi for many of the cars we saw there. There were so few Japanese cars on the roads.

We learnt how to cross the busy motorbikers' roads. It was easier to cross in a group rather than alone. A good tip is to look at the motorist in the eye as he/she approaches your direction. Somehow the people there are so patient. They honk not to vent anger but to warn others of their presence. They don't make you feel you are the going to be the next roadkill.

The city was far more urbanized than i'd thought. At least the hotel was really clean and nice. i later found out that it was rated only 2 stars. How can that be!?!?!?!

Okay, there's so much to talk about although the trip was only 3 days. i might go back there again to backpack. It's a nice place. :)

i finally got to go Fraser Hill over the past weekend!!! It was supposed to be more of a company trip to give support to the organisers of this King of the Mountain race there, but it felt more like a holiday trip.

On Saturday, E & i left early with our bikes nicely loaded in the car. The weather was good for most of the way until we reached somewhere nearing Batu Pahat. Since i don't have a licence, i get to enjoy just sitting in the car reading my bike mag, watch the hills & skies go by and chat with my colleague.

i think Fraser's about 1500m high and after many twists and turns on the road, we reached our hotel that was right at the top! Shazan Inn. The rooms were naturally air-conditioned... and we each had a room for ourselves! But we left the door between our rooms opened all the while, so it was as good as one damn big room.

We met up with the organisers and decided to head out for a short ride after that since the sky was somewhat clearing. The new road was closed permanently because of the constant landslides and everyone had to travel via the old route, which included a 1-way section with odd hours going up and even hours going down.

We started the ride down at 6pm and it was still normal temperature (i.e. not cold/cool). Quite surprising considering it rained and it was on fairly high lands. We did only 12km down and (i) decided that it was where we should turn back. E is a roadie, and a pretty powerful (& humble) one, so i know my limits and not kill myself on this one.

The first bit before the Gap (the 8km stretch of 1-way road) was gentle, somewhat similar to SBV. After munching a bar at the Gap, we started our climb once it hit 7pm when traffic switched upwards.

For those ppl who have gone to Cameron, the steepness feels somewhat like that, except shorter and twistier.

My bike had no speedo but according to E, i was going at around 9-11kph. *pathetic* Tell you why later...

We climbed into the pitch darkness, with only our small lights to ensure cars didn't bump us off the cliffs. It was a good thing it was dark - i couldn't see the gradient ahead and all i knew was just to pedal. E must have been really bored coz i was going less than half of what he probably could do.

It was drizzling... A few cars went by... These 2 guys with bikes on the roof racks of their car cheered us on in the dark. i was thinking about my bed.

And finally, we reached the top! i felt like a winner although the ride was so short!!! :D

Dinner was at the hotel restaurant where the oxtail soup was the most spicy thing i've ever tried and the grilled fish came with the usual strange vegetables...

We were supposed to wake up at 8am to display our bikes and i suddenly got up at 5am feeling nauseated.

And i dozed off... and woke up nauseated... and dozed off... woke up nauseated... repeatedly till my alarm went off. It got colder through the night too.

i was stoned in bed. E came into my room and saw me spacing out on the bed. And shortly after, i hugged the toilet bowl, welling my guts out into it.

i was confined to my room and missed out all the action at the finish line. :( But i heard that the winner took 46min+ to complete the 20.5km climb.

"WHAT!?!?!?!~" was my response... How is that humanly possible? That's my speed on the flat road (or maybe even downhills on some days)!!!

i think he's on a road bike...

Anyway, that aside, i was really sick that day. i looked terrible, i felt terrible. The car felt cramped. The aircon felt colder and colder. My head got heavier and heavier. i got so wuzzy till i couldn't finish browsing through this new bike mag we bought.

The journey back was so rainy. It was pouring all the way from KL to probably the northern part of Johor. People flashed their hazard lights. Windscreen wipers were on high. Everyone kept their speeds way below the limit. i felt fortunate to be dry and seated in the car, but somewhat sympathised with E who was driving.

Boy, was i glad to reach home in the early evening. Took a nap to chase the slight chill, showered, had porridge and Panadol and plonked right into bed with a super heavy and achy head.

The next morning, i appeared in office, face a bit off-colour but still moving around fairly okay. They were pretty surprised to see me at work. i felt so much better compared to the day before! Wonder what went wrong...

But meanwhile, BoiBoi was down with food poisoning for 3 whole days from some Naan + mutton curry from this shop opp. Beauty World during his Saturday night ride. How terrible!!!!!

Anyway, back to work for a few more days and off to Vietnam on Friday morning!!! Looking forward to lots of nice photos there!

New bike to ride! Cube AMS 100 specced with Magura Durin SL fork, Marta SL magnesium brakes, Fizik Gobi XM, Xero Element Disc wheels, Vredestein Black Panther tires, ABR seatpost/bars/stem and full Shimano XT groupset.

Initially i thought it might be too big for me coz it's a 16" frame, but after trying it, it's really not bad. Feels very comfortable. So far it's only been on the road but will bring it offroad when i get the front D changed to the right one.

Our ride today was short but i liked it. Yesterday i installed the Avid mech brakes borrowed from BoiBoi and voila~ no more resistance from rotor rubbing brake pad or any sound of squealing rats. (Saddle is still creaking like mad... but that will be fixed this week. Fizik Tundra or Zeak?)

If i haven't mentioned before, the Intense rides so fast on the trail. It's crazy. i'm usually a pretty slow rider but the bike just pushes me on the ups and downs. i feel like i'm cheating by using it. :) Really, my only gripe is the (non-existent) stand-over which sucks. It's zero stand-over for me and i'm riding a size XS.

i've read some reviews here and there. Some ppl say the 5.5 is not a beginner's bike. i don't quite understand what a "beginner's" bike is, but the 5.5 feels like something a more advanced rider would appreciate. You have to get your sus tuning spot on and ride more to get used to the handling, then you'll find that it's really The Bike.

Amazing stuffs...

But as i'm marvelling about the 5.5, i'm on a constant lookout for 5-5.5" travel bikes with good stand-over and a slacker headtube.

FIVE DIVA GEOMETRY
Monocoque/6061-T6 Reynolds Custom Butted Aluminium Tube
Frame Size	14" Short	14" Long
A. Head Angle	67°	67°
B. Seat Angle	73°	73°
C. Top Tube	499	542
D. Effective TT	517	564
E. BB Height	+6	+6
F. Chainstay	425	425
G. Head Tube	100	100
H. Wheelbase	1051	1096
T. Rear Travel	140	140
Shock Length	190	190
Seat Tube Ø	27.2	27.2
Standover	680	680
Unless otherwise indicated all measurements are in mm. Frame angles are measured static, without rider sag. Bottom bracket height measured from axle.

Standover and effective top-tube looks good eh?

i enquired about the price from a Taiwan shop and including an XT FD, it's about S$2.1k (excl. shipping & GST). It will probably be cheaper to fly there to buy it, and hope they have a GST refund policy to claim back 5%.

Disgusting. Why do i have to subject myself to such torture by doing this...

i was just installing my rotors when my mind drifted off for a second and my hand slipped. And a little piece of flesh is lying somewhere at home and now i'm staring at the finger who's missing that piece... Ouch.

The other day we had an overseas supplier who visited. My boss chased us out of office early to bring all of us to the Flyer and dinner after that. Other than my boss, it was the first time on the Flyer for the rest of us.

We were given this walkie-talkie-looking thingy for a vocal description of the surroundings during our half our ride but everyone put it away after a few minutes because it was so inconvenient to hold it to the ear. The description was not the most exciting either...

We managed to have a cabin to ourselves as it was off-peak. It was around 6pm and the weather was good, so visibility was no problem. Other than the initial ooohs and waaahs, the ride was actually quite boring. Maybe that's because i'm Singaporean. But i took so many photos, just hoping to get a good shot (and make the money's worth).

The big wheel on the truing stand.

ECP expressway

Inside of the cabin

The timing of the ride was good for a spectacular sunset.

After that, we went for dinner at Palm Beach @ One Fullerton. To be honest, i haven't gone to One Fullerton for years, or at least i don't remember going there recently. The place is slightly more populated with restaurants and cafes now and overlooks the 3 sky scrapers of the Integrated Resorts.

By the water front at One Fullerton

The iconic Merlion

Dinner was a yummy (and rather extravagant) affair. i enjoyed most of the dishes. Lazy to post the photos but you can ask me if you wanna be tempted by photos.

Today i went to Botanical Gardens for a walk. Took a couple of photos and this is the pic of the day.

"Joy"

This afternoon, my boss' friend who's working in Shimano came over to visit. He brought this set of Shimano Airlines (gear shifting system using compressed air) with him!!!!!! i think it's only a one-time production from year 2000 or maybe earlier?

And it's the first time in my life i'm seeing it!!!!! So damn cool...

At night, we went to eat NYDC at Wheelock Place. Other than good service, i found a serviette in my salad. It was a turn-off and we got complimentary desserts in place. But i think i will not visit any of their outlets again if possible. i've sent an email to feedback to the restaurant, so hopefully they will buck up and no one else will have to encounter anything similar next time.

It's strange how i didn't flip or jump upon this incident. If i were the server, i would think that i was just asking for some ketchup.

Somehow, i'm not quite feeling much today.

But... there was this Crumpler (The Bumper Issue) backpack that got me excited for a few minutes...

Oh mama, it looks 10000x better in real life. i was clutching it and so close to digging out my wallet when i took second looks at...

... and...

S$129, why am i thinking so hard?????

You know what, tomorrow i will take a photo of MY VERY OWN Bumper Issue.

Today was a busy day at work.

Went to Shokudo (Raffles City) for dinner with friends. The food was okay and it wasn't too expensive - $30 per person.

i feel like a zombie when i'm not occupied with work or acting like a clown with friends/colleagues. My movements are so slow today and i probably won't even blink if the ceiling collapsed in front of me.

i wonder, really, if the pit of emptiness i feel is bottomless. No matter how much i eat, i can't feel full (at least it feels that way today). i know i can't feel the sensation of chilli when i'm very, very sad.

i think i should control my eating. i've been gaining weight. Definitely haven't been exercising much.

i don't know why suddenly i have this urge to switch on my computer so early in the morning just before going to work.

Sian... rainy, gloomy day. Lots of stock to count at work today coz 3 shipments arrived yesterday. We unloaded a container of bikes and were sweating like mad. Now i know which models to avoid because of the weight...

i haven't been practising my Malay since the last lesson. Not much motivation. Must do my homework though. It helps.

Not much motivation to practise yoga. i don't find the class challenging any more and it's not the most unique quiet and peaceful setting for yoga, imho. i liked the class at Club St last time. Parquet-flooring shophouse, very quiet other than the occasional vehicle, yellow bird's home just hanging outside the window, the smell of the incense, the music... it really took everything off my mind.

i wanna go overseas for a short break. Like maybe Thailand for 4 days or something.

i went to the doc 2 days back to get a referral to the neuroscience dept in NUH again after so many years. Looks like i haven't improved much.

Okay, time to leave for work.

How can my boss who has a zillion things on his mind remember that i have my Malay class tonight??!!?!?!?!?!!

3D2N on Moro island (1 hour by boat from Batam, Indonesia)

Route travelled:
Ferry - Singapore Harbourfront jetty to Indonesia Batu Ampar jetty
Cab - Batu Ampar to Sekupang jetty
Boat - Sekupang jetty to Moro island, with around 4 stops on the small islands along the way

Long story... but it started with one of those typical tourist encounters in blatantly corrupted Asian countries. Get a quote for a cab trip, take the cab, reach destination only to have a gang of cab drivers asking for 50% more than the agreed amount. It's an everyday thing as you can see from what's on the number plate below...

We should have expected the stampede of people on the eve of their New Year yeah? Crazy, i've never seen something so close to a riot just to get onto the boat. Our boat was overloaded but we were so lucky to be the last ones allowed onto the boat. Plastic stools were passed down the aisle so that we could make ourselves comfortable for the 1-hour journey... *sweat dripping*

Groupie at the Chinese restaurant that we had most of our meals at.

View from the restaurant.

Someone's backyard... Taken from our hotel backyard.

Unloading off the despatch vehicle.

That's how you get onto your "bus".

Slaughtering area.
Note: big fish head under the Mickey towel.

We had to walk into the mobile phone store and pass through a dark passage before getting to the restaurant...

Sua gu (mountain tortoise) never seen/play with fireworks before. These stuffs are banned in Singapore.

Fireworks are actually really expensive... a few minutes and our S$30 worth of fireworks went up in flames. No wonder i only saw kids & families buying 1 or 2 sticks at a time.

Our 7-time firework (i.e. that thing that was supposed to shoot out 7 fireworks consecutively high up into the sky) had some defect and didn't work quite the way it was supposed to be... But someone else's sure looked good.

The town was so crowded that night with everyone on their motorbikes racing around and others watching the extravagant ones light the fireworks. The atmosphere was different.

Our hotel escort! She would follow us from hotel to coffeeshop to convenience store to anywhere we went. In return, we saved chicken slices and prawns for her. (i prefer to think of it this way.)

Bank.

Mudskipper at the mosquito (or maybe sandfly)-infested beach. My bites still itch as i type.

Goat!!!

Taking a break at the temple.

Pet monkey!

The ride back from Sekupang to Batu Ampar was short. It was around 16km but with 3 major climbs. i can confirm that whenever we climb, the sun would give us too much solar support. We had to stop at a convenience store to recharge.

And for lunch, i had Rice Noodle Take Bath. Um... i mean, i would really have loved to take a bath after the ride. Nevermind the bathing noodles.

Quick post here before i go to bed since i haven't posted in a while...

Updates on my life (in no order, literally):

• i've been reading a lot! (or at least during my 2x 1-hour train rides to work every weekday) Does not include the catalogues and manuals at work.

• i just attended my first conversational Malay lesson today! It's a language worth learning because i will be in touch with Malaysian customers in the near future. Bahasa Melayu is also our national language...
  

• i'm broke. i think my active bank account has less than $100 inside.

• Went to Moro in Indonesia last weekend (which was the long Hari Raya weekend). It's really more of an eating trip than riding trip. Total mileage was around 60km (of which around 35km was travelling to and from Harbourfront...) Love the food. Didn't really love the place too much, but it was a good change from urban life. Somehow those few days were my more jumpy days, so i couldn't really soak into the slackness. Will post some photos if i'm not too lazy.
  

• Had company lunch today! It's almost 2 months since i joined this company.

• Been feeling pretty depressed recently. Sometimes feel quite detached from everything and everyone. Just want to hide away but just have to put on a front. Maybe it's one of those times i don't feel a sense of fulfilment in work or otherwise.

• Friend is going to NZ at the end of the year. He says it's my fault that he's going. HOW IZZIT MY FAULT!!!!!????!??!?!! Someone just couldn't resist the temptation from the photographs, that's all. One of his to-dos in his life is to walk the Milford Track but he just found out that it's fully booked till Feb 2010. Life sucks.

• i want to leave everything here and travel around...
  

Someone please help me!!!!!!!! i'm behaving like a total typical female right now!!!

i'm thinking of how to spec up this frame for commuting/touring use. i really, really, really want to try the Shimano internal gear hubs. The local distributor is probably not the best source for these stuffs (the guy i know is probably at Eurobike right now) and i am just a click away from getting the entire Alfine set from my favourite online bike store.

That click would cost me S$485.

But but but... it's a long-term investment right?

i need to try new things too.

Should i wait till next week and give the distro a call again?

i think meanwhile, i should dig out some bike parts to sell and raise funds for my little hubbie...

(No no no!!! Stop thinking about the dynamo hub!!!)

i've read comments that the Alfine shifter works with the Nexus 8 hub. Maybe i should go with that if it's cheaper. i believe the performance of the Alfine and Nexus hubs won't be too big a difference.

It's going to be 2am very soon... Looks like i spent the past few hours daydreaming again.

Can you imagine the technology now?! There's the Cyber Nexus Di2 that's an automatic gearbox for your bicycle... and there's the fork that adapts to the conditions you ride in... i thought these stuffs exist only in motor vehicles!!!

i thought this link was pretty informative. Very hard to find reviews or description of this system. (More focus seems to be on the Dura Ace Di2.)

Okay, time to sleep.

The long weekend is quite over... Lots of time spent with BoiBoi! On Friday, we went out for dinner at Suki Sushi and watched G.I. Joe.

On Saturday night, it was crab @ Long Beach (IMM). The crab roe was so yummy!!! It's been a long time since i had nice crab roe... After dinner, it was shopping for Eneloop batteries! It's the most i've ever spent on batteries (60 bucks on the batteries & charger...) but i guess it's worth it. After trying out Roadster's batts in NZ, i'm totally sold. Those stuffs come in a zillion variations and alternatives, we took so long to analyse the product line. There are different battery sizes, different chargers (more expensive ones for shorter charging time), various numbers of batteries in a pack, etc.

Yesterday, we went riding with Wilson at BT. It was a good ride. i haven't had this fun on the trails for a long while. Wilson said i'm faster on my downhills!!! :) But my climbs still pretty much suck... In the evening, we went to watch the Chinese movie Qiao Ting Feng Yun "Overheard" (versus watching the National Day parade...). i like the cinematography of a couple of scenes. The angles, lighting, composition just bring out the feel of the story.

Today, we slept in till 2+ in the afternoon. Went to West Coast Plaza after late lunch and had Sushi Tei for dinner!

Lunch at the coffeeshop opposite my place. My favourite "yi mian" dry. i always call these e-noodles. Very few places actually serve these noodles "dry" like this. The egg noodles cooked with egg and vegetables, tossed in the dark gravy and topped with crispy ikan bilis (aka dried anchovies)... Love!

BBB. BoiBoi Businessman. :P

While waiting for the food at Sushi Tei, i took a random photo.

Sashimi salad!!!!! This is probably one of the most popular dishes at this restaurant. Generous topping of raw salmon, tuna, octopus, squid and another fish (sorry i forgot your name)... i was in a sushi mood today, so i had negitoro (chopped tuna belly with spring onion) maki and salmon maki.

Ahh... good meal.

Very cute miniature food display at the cashier. It's really small... Check out the next picture and you'll know what i mean.

Normal-size name cards on the right.

i also bought a whole bag of stuffs from Cold Storage... which included a mini domestic paper shredder!

i tell you, it really works (although only 2 layers of paper can go in comfortably at a time, anything more and the little fella sounds like it's protesting big time). The other day, i was just thinking why nobody is selling small shredders for your bank slips and receipts and today, i found my godsend baby shredder.

On my way back, i saw someone flying his spaceship at the field opposite my place. Since i had my camera, i just snapped a pic. i kinda like this photo. It makes the estate look so different.

i should get some early sleep. It's gonna be an interesting week ahead.