collage madness

Ooooh this newly discovered collage function is keeping me very entertained.

The malls are playing cny songs which i have severe allergy to (which i have the same towards annoying and noisy kids). Allergy symptoms include facial contortion, use of profanity, instant repulsion away from source of allergy. Why did x'mas go away so fast :((

This Christmas seemed to have passed especially fast, shortened by CNY looming around the corner. Wish Christmas could have lasted longer. My break is almost over now, I suspect come 5 Jan 09 it will be even harder to maintain a weekly gym and run schedule. Gonna go do some last minute reading now...

realised picasa has collage function, pretty cool. here's what I made of the crabs outing

Desaru II (26Dec-28Dec08)

A good break from the cycling trip. Lots of time to be quiet and listen. Can't be helped that sometimes what the bunch of kids do is beyond my comprehension. Plus I was excessively poked at my biceps and stomach by my juniors the whole tripBut I enjoyed the quietness. The scenery - cows, lalangs, nature. The sea, its waves.

Seafood dinner was yummy! Buttered baby lobsters, black pepper crab (better than eng seng's!), steamed prawns, cereal prawns, oyster with eggs, vege, curry pork dish, lala, deep dried man tou, yam ring. Super cheap too. And on the way back from the dinner, the night greeted us with a clear starry night, and I thought how great it would be if my friends were there with me to watch them sparkle as well.

The cycling itself was yucks, but great workout for the thighs, calves and butt. Going-to-desaru journey was uphill slopes, slopes, and more slopes! I thought I would curse out loud if i saw another slope, but exhaustion kept my mouth shut. Also saw a few roadkills this trip - 1 iguana going to desaru; 1 monitor lizard (with spilled, or should i say burst guts) and a snake (squashed) on the way back. Coming back journey had less killer slopes, but nonetheless still a few torturous ones. It was the state of the ass that made the return journey more painful.

Itinerary

Day 1
0830	Meet Up at Changi Village
0900	Leave for desaru
1000	Arrive at Pengerang Jetty
1100	Arrive in town / lunch / collect bikes
1230	Start Cycling
1330	Ostrich farm
1430	Commence Cycling
1830	Arrive at Resort / Check In
1900	Wash Up
1930	Dinner / OTOT
Day 2
0900	Wakey Wakey / Wash Up
0930	Breakfast
1100	Check Out @Damai
1200	Check In @Pulai
1300	OTOT
1700	All Activities to stop / Wash Up
1730	Set off for HUAT seafood dinner
1830	Arrive @restaurant
2230	Back in resort
Day 3
0700	Wakey Wakey / Wash Up
0730	Breakfast
0830	Cycle to town!
1330	Arrive in Town / Return Bikes / Lunch
1430	Set off for Mango Farm
1500	Arrive @ Mango Farm
1515	Depart for Jetty
1545	Back to Singapore
1645	Arrive In Singapore / Home Sweet Home!

This is Christmas

Christmas, has snuck up. It didn't seem too long that we were in Hong Kong, walking down the mid-level escalators everyday. A trip I will never forget, because on hindsight, my instincts were right, and on hindsight it still hurts.

Eating krispy kreme, drinking toffee nut latte, trying hard to enjoy the trip.

This is Christmas again. But spent differently, with different people, first time since 2005. An older me, a more resolved me is spending this Christmas eve thinking about 2008, and 2009. I did the things I said I would. I found my ways and knocked on doors. I will pray now that 2009 will be kind to me. I will learn to love differently in 2009, and not ask for more. I will free myself of hurt and pain, and not be slaved to confusion or jealousy. I will be a pillar for people to depend on, and a shoulder for friends to lean on. I can see the goals to focus on. This is a Christmas unlike the last, it will not bring more pain, but rejuvenation.

somewat not sure about roughing it out

First thing, about the party today, I need to complain on inflexibility, ask-(idiotic)qns-and-provide-no-solutions and boh chupness. yup that just about summarized it all.

Second thing is, i figured out another thing on why marriage and me don't click. I just told a friend today that you can't believe when (and what) another person promises you about the future. e.g. Let's try again and things will be better this time blah blah blah. That's why I never want to hear my partner telling me "I will love you forever." because I can't believe that it is the truth, because forever is not very real to me. Not because for the lack of trust, but maybe it is just me. And marriage is such a promise, just look at the marriage vows, full of promises. I don't like to make promises I can't keep, and I expect the same from others. So I try to say what I mean and mean what I say to my very very best effort. I believe in love definitely. To be able to marry someone you love, for love alone sounds heavenly. But in reality, love alone is not enough. Trust, honesty, responsibility, communication etc, makes marriage work. Love is supposed to be the prerequisite. I will be happy to just be able to find someone who is able to have all of that with me, and want to spend the rest of our lives together.

Last thing is that I am having many second thoughts about roughing it out for the cycling trip with a bunch of kids. I am too old to be in the group. I will stand out like a sore thumb and it will be freakingly painfully awkward. What have I gotten myself into.

After submitting the two applications, and waiting for another enquiry in progress, i felt like i had completed all the things that weighed me down for the past 5 months. Now i can say i have done all i can and it can only wait for the results.

In the meantime, this is a very un-lull december, with lots of work, old and new, and even new work is starting to become bad logs because of urgent stuff. I feel surprisingly unstressed probably because of the submitted applications. But just need to remind myself to not feel complacent and to continue and be proactive at work.

Runny nose today, and finally wrapped presents. Got more to buy, and my weekend is burnt. I am looking forward to coming back from the cycling trip. that's when i can finally rest.

holiday mood

yesterday's run was 6.1km in 37mins.  after 5 days (including weekends) away from work, I am so dreading to go back.