Limping Marathon Runner

It has been a while, for a few months, that I did not meet up with myFTOgpx. So, we had dinner and chatted quite a fair bit. Sam was busy and could not join us for dinner. Hence, we were down to just the two of us. After our light dinner, we went to shop around. Remembering that I needed some socks, I got myself 3 pairs of toe shoes. Can't live without them. Nothing much following that and we ended our night after a mocha freeze each.

Tomorrow is my half day leave in the afternoon, which I'll be doing a bit of windows shopping and meeting my dive buddy for a while. After which I will take my "tribal challenge" before I am qualified to participate in this year's Biathlon.

Oh yeah.... I happen to dig out my snorkel and face mask last night and they look screwed.... I mean dry. As a matter of fact, I have been "dry" this year. I have not been diving...... I would have went for a local dive rescue training....but, could not match my schedule.... Too bad.

Music to my ears.. .. as I hear the cash register opens up. My pro-rated bonus is already in my pocket. This can only mean one thing. Time to shop for a bicycle. Now, I wouldn't have any chance to say that I cannot participate in a triathlon event now. Of course, the last resort lame reason that I can give is ... I have no time for training. *BS*. Well, part of my bonus goes to my parents for more pocket money and CNY ang-baos (red packets) for distribution. Hence, with this outgoing sum of money, I will be able to slip away from house visiting, unquestioned. NOT. What to do? You have to be 21 to watch certain restricted movies. But, when it comes to CNY happening once a year, questions fly like darts. Rules of engagement. Once you hit a threshold age predefined by the interviewer (usually your relatives, and threshold is subjective), the interviewee better be ready for incoming artillery shelling questions like:

1) Where is your girlfriend?
(I can memorize and have read of this question for the 349,265th number of times)
2) When are you getting a wife?
3) When are you getting married?
(Applies to question 1, if response is positive)
4) Do you think you are getting any younger?
(failure in answering question 2)
5) Are you gay?
(Question like these often comes from younger generation like cousins who are married and doubtful about your sexual preference. Just for the record, I'm straight.)
6) When are you having a kid?
(Once you have passed question 3, interrogation about your "productivity" starts)
7) When are you having more kids?
(If the number of kids you have is less than or equal to a basketball team, this question goes into an infinite loop)
Note: Questions are in no particular order and preference. Questions may vary.

Therefore, I think it is wiser to spend a smaller sum of money, get a mountain bike and cycle around the island. A definite win-win situation.

Looks like the Sun is up and time for me to do my swim. Hope I can get a good tan on my butt as well.

Although it may seem like an old piece of news, I would like to highlight that Federer seems unbeatable for a while. At least till he lost to Safin. But, I think he's really cool to last for 26 unbeaten matches.

Just caught the news mentioning that Serena Williams has won the Women's Singles for Australian Open. What a comeback since she lost to Maria Sharapova the last round.

Mmm.... when can I get to play tennis again? Seems like all my "kakis" (a.k.a. buddies) are busy with something.

Having the ability to remember dreams might not be a good thing after all. Some people forget what they dreamt of in their sleep. I happen to know how to remember them. I dreamt of Turtle last night. We were happily window shopping while I carried her laptop bag. Dreams always seem so real. I woke up in the middle of the night, laughing at what a silly dream I had. Most people say dreams are your sub-conscious that is working overtime. Due to my past experience, I have to agree. So, I laid back in my bed, falling asleep again. Around 9.30am, I received an SMS from Turtle that she is in town, settling some bills and stuff, asking me how I have been. I replied that everything is fine. Is this pure coincidence or is there a telepathic connection somehow? Anyway, I packed my stuff, got ready for my swim. Saturday's weather wasn't exactly what I expected. We had a little sunlight today while the sky is covered mainly with clouds and still I completed my rounds of 30 laps. Let's hope the Sun is out tomorrow.

Books on communication (as in human interaction) has always been my hot favorite. After my swim today, I popped by at a nearby library to take a peek, hoping to spot some books that might trigger my reading interest. I found a "Reading People" by Jo-Ellan Dimitrius (a leading jury expert - indicated on the front cover) and Mark Mazzarella. This book touches on subjects covering tips that reveal the truth behind body language. Body language that we might be using everyday, actually do tell a lot about someone's personality. Can't wait to start reading....

Walking home one day, raising my head up at the sky above, stars were seen prominently distributed across. I paused my steps on the pavement to appreciate what this fine night with clear sky has to offer. Something I have not done for a real long time. Such a sight has triggered my memories of the past...........

Several years back, when Yunyun and I were an item. I often taught her how to read stars (I'm no expert, but just some little knowledge and whole lot of interest). At times, we would stop at an overhead bridge, spending quality time in spotting every little star. Remembering when I had to spend 3 weeks in U.S., I would find time each night looking at the stars, wondering if we are staring at the very same star. Each night, I would write down how I feel about her in letters and sending them back via snail mail to her...........

Of course, anyone in relationships will have their fair bit in rough patches. Now, everytime I look at the night sky, I will remember those special times that we spend together. I hope that she will always be happy and life will be kind to her.

Totally sucked dry of energy by my work today in the office, where I was running around performing various tasks at one go. Feels like air sucked up in outer space. Sorry... I have no idea what some other co-workers are doing. Therefore, once I reach home, I do not even have the strength to do my swim. Practically, dead beat.

Remembering those younger days when I was a small little kid, I always have my swimming lessons on Sunday mornings. Till the age of 12 (something happened), I had to stop swimming. It was rather sad. Swimming to me means a lot. Yes(most of the time), as a kid, I was often robbed of my Sunday sleep and cartoons. But, most important of all...trips to the pool were considered as outings for our family. Sad memories aside. Come to think about it. If I were to swim since then till now, probably I would have a sculptured body of a swimmer. Oh well... having a jogger's fitness is not that bad after all.

Soon, I can change my Title to..... Limping Badminton Man. I was having a badminton session hours ago. Seems like these days... players getting less. Probably busy. So, we were down to 4 players. In the middle of a game, I almost spained my leg. But, what I've got, was a bad twist... I managed to finish the game. Now, I believe I would have to cancel my physical fitness test on this Saturday. Just in case I stress my ankle out. Being on the safe side. I'll swim to maintain my fitness for now..... Shall I push the blame to time, signs that I'm getting old? I choose to blame it on the same pair of shoes which caused me to fall last Monday.

Just back from my jog and I'm using a new route. After reading an article from an old "Men's Health" magazine, I've decided to stop jogging by the pavements beside roads. Well, this write up clearly states that a person jogging is likely to inhale more air (up to 10 times) of a person who isn't exercise at that moment. You guessed it... I'll be inhaling carbon monoxide.... which happens to be 2nd expended V-Power fuel from Shell, Mobil and what have you. I'll probably jog by the roadside when its really early in the morning.. *wink* (provided my trusty Casio alarm buzzer can wake me up). So, after my run at the park --> new route, I walked back home. Once I hit the main road... *phew*..... it feels like I'm stepping into a disco, pub or something like that. Carbon monoxide slaps across my face like a T-Rex's flesh rotting, stinking breath. Now.... since, I'm hoping to getting a mountain bike soon, I'll leave all the opportunity of carbon monoxide intake when I ride on the roads.... till then..... I'll be off-road.

Whoa.... Too tired to do any blogging tonight... I need to sleep soon because I'm changing my schedule to jog in the morning now. 6am. 0600hrs.... 5 more days to physical fitness test. Passing is not a problem. Its a matter of which level of achievement I can get. Nite.

My day started rather late because I had a late night due to jogging. I met up with Endless Trail and his friends to look at some mountain bikes. Since, I planned to buy one all along. I thought it would be better if I seek some advice from soneone who is familiar in this area. I need a bike to be an all rounder..... Off road, on road (for my suppers...since I need to gain weight). We went to 2 shops and I have more or less an idea of what I would be buying. We ended our search for our ideal noble steed at a coffeeshop, disgesting all the information on price tags vs. technology while we sipped our drinks away. We parted after finishing our drinks and I stopped elsewhere, meeting another friend for a show. It was "Shall We Dance?" by Richard Gere and Jennifer Lopez. Some reviews said that this show is not fantastic. But, I have a different opinion. I think this show is similar to "As Good As It Gets" by Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt. "Shall We Dance?" emphasizes on what you can do, rather than who you are, what you are and where you might be. Its about being passionate with something, an interest. One would excel in something that they put their heart and soul into. I love this particular quote from the show by Beverly Clark (played by Susan Sarandon) which says much about the meaning of a marriage:

"We need a witness to our lives. There's a billion people on the planet... I mean, what does any one life really mean? But in a marriage, you're promising to care about everything. The good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mundane things... all of it, all of the time, every day. You're saying 'Your life will not go unnoticed because I will notice it. Your life will not go un-witnessed because I will be your witness'."

I think this quote has so much meaning in it. At times, we see people around us taking relationships lightly. Why can't they spend more time and effort to improve rather than just quoting the usual line, "You wouldn't understand....". Something for all of us to digest tonight when we lie in our beds.

Just did a 3.6km run instead of 5km as it is already late. As soon as I came back home at 2330hrs, I rushed to change into my jogging gear (because its getting late). Sensing that my quadriceps, calfs and other related muscle groups are stretched and warmed up, I sped off on my 3.6km route. Dear avid joggers, Limping Marathon Runner Man - Muggs has a point to stress.... always check that you have securely fasten the string that hold your skimpy looking jogging shorts. You can forget to fasten your shoes laces....its okay. You can always stop to tie them up. You can NEVER stop and fasten the string of your shorts in public.... No, no, no... it wouldn't seem appropriate. It would look like an obscence act from as far as 10 metres.... I would get a round-house kick in the groin, if I'm spotted doing that within a radius of 5 metres. Hence, I proceeded to jog since I can't do anything about the string. With every 5 times that my right foot striking the pavement, I yanked my shorts up. Otherwise, I would make the headline on today's (since its past midnight) papers. "Midnight Flasher Spotted in XXX Neighborhood". Of couse, occasional onlookers on buses would throw puzzling glances at me, trying to figure out if I have gold bars stuffed in my pockets since my shorts keep slipping lower. I ended my 3.6km run and I had to skip my chin-ups too. Imagine my shorts greeting my ankles if I were working out at the chin up bar. Another headline would read, "Bold Midnight Flasher Strikes Twice Within An Hour".

Now, averaging 60 times that my right foot strikes the floor, it would equate to 100 metres and if I were to tug my shorts once for every 5 times that my right foot strikes the ground:
Number of times I yank my shorts upwards for 100 metres:
60/5 = 12 times.

Number of tmes I yank my shorts upwards for a Marathon distance of 42.195km:
12/100*42195 = 5063.4 times ~ round off 5063 times.

Hey, who knows.... it might be a good lottery number....That is provided I can survive
60/100*42195 = 25317 times that my shorts brushing against each of my inner thigh, giving me abrasions.

Need to catch some sleep now....start mumbling nonsensical gibberish.

*Pant..* Just got back from another 5km slow jog. Breatheless due to 3 sets of chin-ups (max number of pulls) with interval of 60secs each.

Now that I've posted my Shanghai pictures online... I shall try to target to scan some of my Krabi photographs and post them by next week?? My profile is still waiting for me to update my photo..... Yeah.... I just need to settle my drivers for my Windoze before my digicam permits photos via USB.

No swim night - waiting for my cuts to heal (soon...another day or two).
No jog night - designated rest night for my knees *eyes roll* or knee caps, if you prefer.

I spent the whole night, X-boxing (new terminology), reading people's blogs.....
Spent a small fraction of an hour for some online gaming updates.....
More work on my online album editing and uploading....

I can't wait to get wet..... read my lips, S-W-I-M, that is. Jogging resumes tomorrow night.

I sent a book, "Icecream for Breakfast", into the hands of someone so near yet so far.
An sms of thanks arrived at my mobile phone.
My email reply was simply a "No problem, No worries".

Unintentionally, I just found my "Pink Elephant".

I finished the book, "Open Water Swimming", and I started another new book in the self help section, namely "Drop The Pink Elephant" by Bill McFarlan. This book is about personal communication, dropping denials (Pink Elephants) and talking about facts instead. Suddenly, I have found my first "Pink Elephant" with my actions in the scenario above.

No, I can't swim yet... Wounds should be healing by tomorrow... It looks promising.... I shall commence my 5km jog in just a while....
*Mouse Click on Publish Post, Sign Out*
*Alt-F4, Click click Shutdown, Carriage Return*

My off day seems to kick off with a rather slow start where after my breakfast with my parents, Mr. Sunshine went on leave. Mr. Cumulus Nimbus took over instead and I knew that it was the end of my sun-tanning plan. Still, I proceed with my swim with the following configuration:
Appetizer - Warmup
2 x 100m Freestyle

Maincourse - Objective
1500m Freestyle

Dessert - Fartlek a.k.a. Interval Training = Sprint, Rest, Sprint, Rest Repetition
(It is not a bad word, you couch potatoes!! See Fartlek explanation here.)
3 x 100m Freestyle with 30secs rest interval

Done with my workout, I changed at home and went off to look for some video capturing card. By the way, I think I'll postpone the Arts Museum visit to Friday. I went to look for my bag. But, I could not find whatever I wanted. As I approached my meeting place to meet up my friends for dinner, I slipped and fell. Fortunately, I landed on the right side of my body. But, I suffered some minor cuts and bruises. I'm going to throw that pair of shoes away. There is not enough friction on the soles by Mr. Limping Marathon Runner's standards. Although it's relatively new, I think my life is more important than a pair of shoes. I will replace my dress shoes for work too because I feel like I'm wearing a pair of rollerblades.

What a day for my off day from work......

Since I've finished my DaVinci Code, I'm reading a new book on Open Water Swimming due to the fact that I'll be doing a biathlon. Life is a never ending path of learning new things and revision of knowledge for oneself.

I'm currently arrange my photos and shrinking them in size. I'll be posting them soon. Talking about photography... I passed the Arts Museum on Friday and saw Russell Wong's exhibition. I think I'll take a look at the exhibition tomorrow since it is my off day from work. I shall take breakfast with my family in the morning. Go for my swim after that because I will be busy and can't swim on Tuesday and Wednesday night. So, after my swim and some sun-tanning (hopefully sun is bright), I think I will head over to look for my backpack. Following by Russell Wong's photography exhibition before I meet up with Kitty, Lambie and Beng for dinner. My treat. So.... lots of things to do in one off day.

Today, I had a long and fruitful day too. Played some Xbox games. I swam around 1pm when the sun was torching my back (my bum was sheltered by my Speedo, of course). Occasionally, a cloud or two did cast shadows over the pool. I clocked a 42min30sec timing using freestyle (arms only, without legs kicking) for 30laps. Rather satisfied with the timing that I should be able to qualify during my trial swim. Keep training for now. After my pool workout, I did some early Chinese New Year (CNY) shopping, buying some soft drinks for my parents, in case guests were to pop up on CNY day. After dropping all my shopping bags at home, I changed and proceeded to my usual 3.2km route for my jogging session. I completed my 2.4km with 10min 45sec. I am 30secs away from a higher remuneration. 2 weeks away from my Physical Fitness test date.

Bad english... This name reminds me of two things. One, an 80's band (if they were from 80's anyway). Two, really... just plain simple bad english, literally.

Two accounts on bad english....
Case 1: Ever wondered why people stand on the right side of the escalator at all times? Signs are up everywhere tell commuters to keep left if standing. The right "lane" of escalators are meant for people who wants to walk or overtake. Our locals have actually contributed much to the travel industry during "reported" economy "gloomy" times. Who knows.... these people might be touring places of interest, buying out every items that has a sale tag on it. I can't help but wonder have our locals actually observe the citizens' (of the country they are touring) behaviour? Japan for example, most people are very social conscious. Probably these people are confused about the signs that we have. "Keep left, if stationary". Maybe they have too many problems to worry about. Perhaps bo chup (simply not interested in social gracefulness).
Commuter: *Mumbling to oneself* "Your left or my left? Left on ascending or descending escalator?"
Conclusion: Everyone has something on their mind. Or put up signs with more specific instructions in simple comprehensible steps. Example:
Step1: Step onto escalator, going up or down does not matter.
Step2: For adults, raise left hand to waist level. For kids, raise left hand overhead.
Step3: Keep moving left till left hand touches something rubbery.
Step4: Wait till ride on escalator to end. Step off.
*Extracted from Dummy's Guide to Using Escalators* - written by a pissed engineer who happens to documents instructions and networking setups as part of his multi-function role, where even a non-IT personnel can understand. A.k.a. Muggs.

Case 2: During lunch hour, after my meal, I headed over to a "One and only one" fruit juice store. Looking at a list of healthy beverages that I can select from, I made up my mind. Orange juice... healthy, plenty of Vitamin C. An orange a day, keeps "ha-choos" away. Smiling at some 40 or 50 something lady, I said
Muggs: "Orange juice, please."
Lady: "Or leng joo? Okay"
*Muggs was staring at the lady as she reaches out for a peeled orange, before she pops one into the juicer, I let out a sign of relieve*
Lady: "To fitty*
*Muggs performs a lightning speed of 300Mb/sec seek time on the menu*
Muggs: "Ah.... two fifty...Here's five."
Conclusion: We all have our bad hair days..... here's something for a change. A bad mouth day. No, I'm not laughing at this lady's pronunciation. As a matter of fact, at times, we might shoot off sentences like "Orange juice, please" as quick as we say "Shit". Now... "Orange juice, please" might sound like, "All rain jude, peace". Take a breathe, slow down what you want to say. Speak with clarity. I trip over my own words, entagle my tongue in a "fisherman's knot" too, when I execute the 300Mb/sec seek time as "speak time".