Somebody's place is about to be ready... :D

Today feels like a super long day I've had in a long time.  I rode out to see the Chinese doc to fix my stiff shoulders and stubbed left thumb. Had some really good grilled japanese fish for lunch. Sat at the cafe and had 2 big cups of teh c while doing my jap homework. Then headed to the park to sit around for a while before riding back for steamboat with the family. 

Haven't felt more relaxed than today in a long, long time. 

Content in the embrace. Sweetness in the light kiss. Happy to see him once again.

Dinner at Sumiya with Pauline

Really fresh seafood prepared in simplicity. Delicious. Casual, relaxed environment for dining and chit-chatting. 

7 tries to make that awesomely delicious mochi look not like a rock

*i still look like a rock!!!!*

It's so easy to put me into work/anxiety mode but incredibly difficult to wind me down.  4 whole days was what it took, but the whole thing will kick in again tomorrow morning once i switch on my pc at work.  I wish i had a bit more time alone just to think through things and re-align my directions. 

Over the last few days, i watched some pretty good movies on tv - there was a tamil show Poojai and a thai show ATM. I love the different humour of the indians and the thais. It's just amazing how the different perspectives just opens my mind.  Ever since i became a cold joke machine, no cold joke shall be a cliché. That, i hope, will remain that way.

Today - Day 2 of the Lunar New Year. Family held the usual makan session for extended family to join us.  It's good to see everyone again (although i was the usual anti social). Biggie came over and guess what... OJY made a surprise visit with RY too.  It's good to see them again. It's good that nobody asked strange questions about them too.  

On a more irritating note, my uncle's 4 year old son was going up and down the stairs in the house. Before we knew it, he had dumped a whole load of fish food into my tank. Now, my water is screwed up and i can only hope the ammonia level doesn't spike so bad even after the water change. I know how delicate the ecosystem in the tank can be, and can only hope that my goldfish are resilient enough. 

Back to the main topic, i went for a Malaysian movie Let's Eat with biggie and the in laws. Not too bad i guess. It kinda wraps up our day with both side of the in laws. Haha!

Yesterday, we were having a casual lunch discussion about Indians putting coconut oil on their hair.

Boss: You know why hair lice cannot survive when there is coconut oil on the hair?
Colleague: Because the hair too oily?... the lice wheeeeeee... cannot cling onto the hair?

Bahahahahahaaaa!!!!!!

Bumped into an old friend yesterday at Jem. It was really good to see him happily settled down and being a father of a cute, happy 8-month old girl. He was so excited to show me his baby. :) His wifey took this pic for us. ✌ He stays near my place and we used to cycle together a lot. It's still amazing how I feel more connected to friends I've met through cycling than most of my school folks. 

I've been feeling incredibly down recently. It's been a long time since I've felt this way. I don't feel like doing any sports that i used to love so much. I feel like quitting my job. I feel like there's no point in doing anything at all. I can't seem to achieve what i want at work and no amount of effort seems to get me closer to the goal. I'm lagging behind in my jap class in terms of homework and progress. I don't know if i can do anything right. 

Maybe i should just get euthanised.

Yesterday, for the first time in my life, i spoke to the fierce uncle running the bike shop near my place. He's been there for 30 years and everybody knows him as the fierce and/or grumpy uncle who scolds you even if you bought something from him. I needed to fix the slow-leak on the rear tube of my market bike and get some new tires at the same time. It's 26x1-3/8" (37-570?) and quite an ass to find.  I somehow guessed he would have it. As expected, he had it, but only 1 piece. As he replaced the tire, he grumbled about the many hypermarts selling bicycles cheaply and not wanting to do servicing. He grumbled that it was difficult to continue his business just doing servicing and having very little bike sales. I think i understand. Times have changed, business models have changed, but the good ol' bike shop spirit... has somewhat remained here. I asked if he really meant to close his shop in 1 year, he said yes. From young, he helped his father as a kid, till he grew up and worked at a shop somewhere at havelock road, before moving to jurong where he's been the last 30 years. 

With no further questions asked, i paid, squeezed my v-brake, tilted my bike onto its kickstand and stepped on the pedal. The brake pad rubbed the rim. He stood up and got it adjusted without any prompting. He said, come back tomorrow or any time this week and he'd have stock of the other tire. Thank you uncle, i said, as i left.