What Religion You Should Follow

Click to enlarge flowchart that determines the religion you show follow.

{from How to Save The World}

adidas Sundown 2010

I've been asked a couple of times why do I even pay money to run on the road. Well, since lots of people are doing it so perhaps there's something different about it. Hence, I won't reject the idea until I've experienced it for myself. The adidas Sundown is the first run event I've participated. Despite the boo-hoos of the 2-hours wait for the shuttle bus, the intrinsic reward is massive. Here's why:

• The oopsy distance covered. I wanted to take a personal best timing for 10 km, so I could gauge my time for 21 km at the end of the year. But I missed the U-Turn and ran 15 km by mistake. If I could run 15 km, 21 km doesn't seem so daunting anymore. It was very much a blessing in disguise actually!
• The first 2 km seems the longest. The rest of the distance seems to pass very quickly. Perhaps this is the same for everything in life. The first steps are always the hardest and longest. Just get past that.
• New relationships formed on the road. At 9km, I couldn't see the finishing line and that's where I realized something is amissed. I ran into another girl who signed up for 10 km but made the same mistake as I did. Instead of walking back, Wendy and I decided to run extra 5 km to finish the race together. She shared with me about the races she participated in and gave me a congratulatory hug upon completion. I probably wouldn't have talk to her if we were not making the same boo-boo.
• Focus. I was determined to take a timing, hence it's the first time I put in so much focus during running. What focus? Oh well...my legs were talking to me the whole time. They were asking me to sit and rest, or walk a bit longer. They persuaded me to stop. I have to ignore them.
• Know where you stand. At 9 km, my timing was 1 hour 08 minutes. At 15 km, my timing was 1 hour 51 minutes. I think I am capable of clocking 1 hour 15 minutes for 10 km and I'm very happy with that.
• Supper is super sweet. Fiona and I were so hungry that we went for supper. Eating feels so good at that point.

Did I like it? Yes. Will I do it again? Yes, I've signed up for half marathon for the end of the year already.

OMY.SG Interview

Bryan and I were interviewed by omy.sg when we attended a wine appreciation night at Velvet. If you're interested in watching, just click here.

How's your long weekend? I ran for an hour with Alex (because we got lost). Then the lot of us (Bernard, Alex and Fiona) hung out at Serangoon Garden. Today, I played beach frisbee with Bryan's family. I'm looking forward to tomorrow because it's my first 10km run. I hope you've a good weekend too!

{image from weheartit}

Great Sayings

As we close in for the weekend, I'd like to share some stuff that resonates well with me -

What I believe is that, by proper effort, we make the future almost anything we want to make it. - Charles F. Ketterling

Destiny is not a matter of chance; it's a matter of choice. - William Jennings Bryan

To accomplish great things, we must not only act but also dream, not only plan but also believe. - Anatole France

Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right. - Henry Ford

It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness. - Charles H. Spurgeon

{image from weheartit}

O' Wedding Days!

My girlfriend Yali started O' Wedding Days! for her own indulgent planning of her wedding. Last I heard, her boyfriend has not even proposed to her yet. Nonetheless, the blog is so pretty and romantic! If you're planning your wedding, or you're a hopeless romantic, it's the place for you!

{image from O'Wedding Days!}

The Worst Feeling In The World

I just had a random thought - what's the worst feeling in the world? Emptiness, rejection, failure, hunger, hangover, scared or (fill in the blank)?

I can't decide the worst feeling in the world for myself. Definately not rejection because my skin is at least 10 inches thick. Hangover is pretty scary because I thought I was going to die but it's still not worst on my list. Failure...not really my worst too because I'm pretty good at being a cheerleader to myself. And my skin is so thick so I seldom feel like I've failed anyways. Top of my list would be hunger and emptiness. I hate going on an empty stomach and it depresses me because eating is almost like a sacred ritual. Must savour food slowly, must respect food, must enjoy the moment of eating and be hypnotized by the wonderful plate of hot food in front of me.

Emptiness sucks too because sometimes you feel so hollow that you don't know what you're living for. Empty is different from being lonely or wanting to be alone. I think somedays, you just feel melancholic. That's not empty. It's a passing phase of being alone. Empty is like, you don't know what you're living for and that's scary. Thank God I've never felt that in my life. I'm too scared to be near that border. I've met some people whom I try to shun away from because they are scarily empty. Being with them sucks the energy out of me sometimes. There's so much to love, so much to learn in life. So, I choose emptiness as the suckiest feeling in the world. Life must be really hard.

What's your pick?

13.1 Miles

Guess what? I've signed up for Standard Chartered's Half Marathon. Sign up by 4 June and you get the cheapest rates. My goal is to just complete it and I'm very excited.

{image from weheartit}

Weekend

Had a pseudo wine-buffet on Friday night and I drank till I almost threw up. They were gorgeous wines, I tell you. Greek wine, Spanish wine, French wine...not that I am able to tell the difference at some tipsy point in time. Hell, not that I am able to tell when I am sober anyway. But the night was fabulous. I just wish more friends were with us so we can do stupid stuff together.

Spent Saturday nursing my battered self. I can't deny I'm getting older. I can't do late nights as well. Spent the day watching Style Network, E! Entertainment and Fox. Very mindless stuff, along with cups of peppermint tea, that suit me just fine. In the early evening, B and I took a walk at Botanic Garden, settled my cravings for beef ball noodles and took a walk in town. Spent a good hour books browsing at Borders. Well, today's a Sunday. It marks the end of the weekend before Monday hit us. I'm going to the gym to wake up my muscles, collect my race pack for SunDown run and having dinner with B and his family. What can I say? Do things but don't overdo things. It's the sort of weekends I crave for.

Toilet Nation

Keep Building

Last night's city run was meant to be 8km. I may not be a good runner, but I seldom stop. Last night, I couldn't take it and walked a few times. It's really that true. You must put in the consistent effort to yield results. Stop running, stop training for consecutive few weeks, you must push harder. Maintain the effort but make it consistent, it's effortless. Like the dancer who looks so graceful and her movements look so effortless, are all habits of the body built after years and years of training. Quite like sales isn't it? Keep building and selling daily to a few people, you may not see anything immediately but you're building something, getting your name out. You're building a good habit of making those calls. You're building a skill to pitch better and faster. They may not require your service of yet, but keep building it up.

{photo from weheartit}

Lessons From The Apprentice

I've browsing channels and found The Apprentice (UK) on BBC Knowledge. I thought it was another time wasting effort of entertainment but I gave it a try. Not bad really. I must say I took something away from one hour's worth of time.

Lesson #1: Check your pricing. It was a girls versus boys challenge to bid for a laundry job at a hotel. The girls priced each item (think bedsheets and pillow cases) at 4.99 pounds per sheet. Plucked the number out from the bloody air. That worked out to a quotation of 4,999 pounds in total. The boys called competitors and checked the market rate. They quoted a few hundred pounds. Boys got the job. The hotel executive looked at the girls incredulously.

Lesson #2: Don't overcomplicate your service. The girls offered a 24-hour hotline to the hotel as part of top-class service. Like who the hell would call in to the laundry service provider at 3am to check on status of pressing? Think before you offer "value-adding" frills. You might think it's quality service but your customer might have doubts about your intelligence.

Lesson #3: Always have a scapegoat. Although I felt that the project manager should be fired due to poor delegation and management of team, she found a scapegoat and claimed that the goat was the cause of project failure. It's not a new move but I've never actually witnessed the whole process of scapegoating. Project manager was reprimanded but the key is, she wasn't fired.

Latter Over Ladder

1.) Having your own business is much more work than having a job. You're everything rolled into one. 2.) As an executive role, you're a part of a company. Essentially, you're big and spoilt. Your own business is tiny and nobody cares. There's a lot of pride to swallow. How do you make people care? 3.) Having flexible time is only sweet when there's income rolling in. 4.) Having capital (ie. money) and resources (ie. skills, time, network) creates barriers to entry. When you've none, you can fight it out in an extremely competitive market. He who is most creative wins. But you might lack the stamina to run the long race. Hence, how do you raise your capital or resources?

It's not fun, it's not glamarous. That said, if I were to choose between climbing the corporate ladder or run a tiny business, I'll choose latter over ladder. As much as I love working in the office and thrive in the cut-throat environment, I see the latter as a rite of passage. Something I must go through at least once in my life or I'll regret it. I want to say, at least I tried to own something. At least I've given it my effort and time. At least I've worked my brain juice out. At least I've stepped out of my own comfort zone. At least these are words I always say to keep us going.

Tea Bath

Such a clever idea from Donkey Products. Is it available in Singapore??!

Morning Walk

B and I woke up at 7am, went to East Coast Park to take part in a Charity Walk. It's only 3km, but the heat and morning took a toll on us. Uncles and aunties were walking much faster than us. To be fair, we were strolling more than walking. Had a short, short run until I couldn't take the heat. I'm getting worried because SunDown is in 2 weeks time. Although it's just short 10km, the only work- out I've had in last 3 weeks is one Body Combat Class, that make you punch and kick for a good hour. Did much work to my arms and torso but not much kick on the legs. It's time to be dedicated to running! For now, I am craving for a nice hot cup of coffee... Have a good weekend!

Future

When people spend a great deal of tme trying to forecast the future, they fool themselves into thinking that all those forecasts represent a real level of certainty. They no longer see it as a forecast; they see it as fate. That is a prescription for failure.

- General Patton

Fabulous Twenty-Sixers

My Lian celebrates her fabulous 26th year on earth today. I like being 26. I'm sure she likes it too.

Here's a list of reasons why it's so wonderful to be 26.

• Still young enough to be reckless, but twenty-sixers are aware that they're being reckless
• Goodbye awkward twenty-ones. Goodbye I-Just-Got-A-Job-And-I-Am-Fitting-In twenty-threes.
• We twenty-sixers are comfortable in our own skin. I've grown accustom to my own body shape and height. It's not Megan Fox's but afterall, it's a 26-years relationship with yourself. You've learnt along the way to bring out the best with what you've got.
• Twenty-sixers are at a flexible age to date guys age range from 21 to 36...(or maybe even higher or lower, that depends on your preferences).
• Twenty-sixers know who they are. I'm disciplined, yet I'm easily lured away by anything fun. I am decisive, but yet I prefer someone else to make the decision at times. I like my space, yet I like good company. I like to talk to my friends, yet I'm not the sort who can see the same friends weekly without fail. Contradictory? A bit but at least I'm aware of it.
• Twenty-sixers - time to party or time to be a mommy. We're flexible.
• Twenty-sixers - time to start apartment hunting and living with your BFF/BF/the husband.
• Twenty-sixers - still well-versed with MTV, but have taken a liking to channels that actually value add to our lives, like Discovery Channel
• Twenty-sixers - can pose as 23 or 30s. We're flexible.
• Twenty-sixers - still great skin, awesome boobs and fabulous butt. Watch out for the emerging tummy though.
• Twenty-sixers - no kids yet (90% of you) so have disposable income for spa, gym, wine and dine, shoes, bags...Live like Carrie Bradshaw, enjoy it while it last. I reckon this won't last long. Soon you hit 30 and realized it's a waste of money. Ooops.
• Twenty-sixers - We love our fabulous lives. Cheers!

Life Of Now

When work doesn't feel like work, I lack structures in life. There's no clear defined time for me to go for a run, meet up a friend or go for a massage. It took me almost 4 months to get used to it.

Changes? I stopped looking at the clock. I just get down to doing the work because it doesn't feel like work anyway. I stopped going for my gym classes, because I don't plan to go for it "after work" because I don't fix a time to stop working.

Maybe a little structure is good. Keeps life balanced.

What Are You Drawn To?

The things that we choose to read or shows that we watch are more than an interest. I think it's an extension of ourselves.

What's the similarity in the stuff that you are drawn to?

{image from weheartit}

$10 Per Grope

I was told that it cost only $10 to grope a prostitute in the red light district of SIngapore

My first question was, does $10 allows you to use one hand, or both hands?

Whats a $10 grope? If you start groping but accidentally let go of your hands because you sneezed, are you allowed to grope again? Two quick squeezes in the spand of less than 5 seconds will cost $10 or $20? How much do you charge a deformed man with hands growing out of your head, such that his face will be buried in your boobies if he insist on paying for the $10-per-grope service? What if you want to grope real boobies, but she is wearing such super push up bra that you can't feel anything but sponge pads....can you demand for a refund?

It makes me wonder what's the pricing structure in place for a product as complex as that.

{image from weheartit}

Treat Decisions With Care

Yesterday, I've had lunch and coffee with Ping Ping. She's a friend of mine since Primary + Secondary school days, like Wensi is. She used to have short spikey hair and piercings all around her ears. Now, she has settled down with a family of her own. Wensi used to go through that phase of spikey hair and piercings as well. Now she has settled down with her hubby Ted with a place of their own. And just last night, I was standing in front of the mirror, wondering which parts of my body I'd like to get a tattoo on, without my mom noticing. It strikes me, at 14 or 15, we go around acting stupid together. Our thought proccesses are cohesive. At 17, you hit a new school and contact each other once in a while. You worry about fitting in or your JC crush etc. Still similar chain of thoughts but on different things. At 26, we worry about things that are world's apart.

How lives divert at some stage, and the gap between you and a friend just snowballs to something bigger. First, you guys are clones of each other in secondary school. The little gap starts off by choosing different JC. Then perhaps different university. You meet different people and do different things. The gap widens a little. You cultivate different belief systems based on environment and people you interact with. Which leads you to being attracted to different books you picked up and different shows that you watch. These things further cultivate who you are today. The gap widens by a lot more.

Which makes me wonder...are we conscious of putting ourselves in the place we are at today? What shapes the way you are today? Maybe the little decisions everyday can have that butterfly effect in your life. Treat each little decision with care. It'll land you elsewhere tomorrow.

Pet Peeve Blog

I'll like to keep this space nice, clean and unpolluted. So I'll unleash my angst (cum pet peeve) of unprofessionalism here. The choice of vocabulary is also more unfiltered.

On a side note, it's funny how we create alter egos for blogs these days too. Owning different blogs represent different facets of our personalities, taste and preferences.

What Will You Do Differently?

If you look back on your life and can do something differently for just one day of your life, what will you do?

I wish for a day, I've an enterprising mindset when I was in university. That paradigm shift for the day might change the course of the rest of my actions and decisions in university and I can equipped myself better for today.

You're Never Too Old To Appreciate Your Mother

Have you been unappreciative and ungrateful to your mother of late?

We know Mother's Day, like Father's Day, Valentine's Day and Christmas are shams. Shops push out useless and overpriced products on these special days that they've conveniently invented for themselves way back when they start getting addicted to capitalism. Sure you know they are shams but imagine how your girlfriend would feel if she receives neither flowers nor chocolates when every other girl walking past her is holding something red, brown or something sparkling shiny that blinds your eyeballs. Like girlfriend, like mother. They are all woman. I am a woman. But I still want to feel appreciated on celebrated days. Just like your mother.

So instead of pushing out meaningless and overpriced products like other retailers, we're recommending something meaningful, personal, special and best of all, on discount.

Personalize a t-shirt for your mom with that special photo or artwork you've done for her. Plus, encrypt a private message for your mommy on the inside of the shirt (printed on the back). It'll keep her fuzzy warm with that personal touch.

2 prints on a 100% cotton t-shirt for $19.90. The usual price for 1 print goes for $22. Size ranges from Size S to XL (most women, my mother and Bryan's mother wear Size S). Shirt colors in White, Cream, Pink, Yellow and Blue.

This is available only for this week. Order by Friday, 7 May. Collection at Dover MRT station on 8 May, Saturday. Mother's Day is on 9 May, in case you still don't know. We'll mail the gift to your door, nicely wrapped, if you can place your order by Wednesday.