Awesome #20 when you see pineapple tarts that are the size of a golf ball

I got home yesterday and spotted a bottle of pineapple tarts on the table. My eyes sparkled. From the size of the pineapple tarts inside, it's unmistakeably pineapple tarts from Le Cafe Confectionery and Pastry. The pineapple tarts are the known as 'golf ball' pineapple tarts because their pineapple tarts are roughly between 4-4.5cm in diameter. I have to fight the temptation to remove the scotch tape around the lid and sink my teeth into them. With only 10 pineapple tarts per container, it would be damn obvious if one's missing. There is this unspoken rule regarding eating new year goodies before the new year. Till then, I can only stare at these forbidden 'fruits' from the outside.

"if they are any bigger, i do not think they can fit into my mouth"-cj

Seeing pineapples the size of golf balls is simply AWESOME! Eating them would be 2 times as

AWESOME!

conditioned reflex

The lift door opened and there she was standing in front of me. Instinctively, I rolled back my shoulders, held my head high, puffed my chest and sucked in my stomach. She looked at me and smiled. I kept my posture and we chatted all the way to the studio. The moment we parted for our respective classes, I immediately deflated like a balloon. Like a conditioned puppy who drools at the sound of a bell, I am conditioned to maintain my posture whenever I see my dance instructor.

"lucky i do not have to do this"-cj

If not I'm going to get a earful for the next lesson. she has that silent growl.

Awesome #19 when you literally roll on the floor laughing

We started the night playing the Singaporean version of Taboo, but it quickly evolved into a charade. It's pretty amazing how scientific and animated some people can get. Equally amazing is the logical jump that some people can make. How did P (phosphorous) + Na (Sodium) -> PA (personal assistant)? It's one game that never fail to crack me up. I was laughing until my throat went dry, my stomach started to hurt and it hurt so badly that I had to bend over. 

 i was literally rolling on the floor laughing and the feeling's ...

AWESOME!

4am

I arrived home from the dance studio at around that time. One cannot imagine the amount of clean up that has to be done after 'lao yu sheng'. The traditional idea was to toss the 'yu sheng' as high as possible, but whose idea was it to toss it at other people? With 30 over people, one cannot begin to imagine the aftermath and the amount of debris on the floor. 'Yu sheng' on your hand, 'yu sheng' inside your clothes, 'yu sheng' in your hair, 'yu sheng yu sheng' everywhere..

It was fun still.

Awesome #18 when you know that there is more food than you can eat

I have been to many potlucks and the instruction given is always the same "the portion of the food should be just enough for 1-2 person". The rationale behind it is such that everyone would end up having a person's share of food. Here is the interesting part. Thus far, nobody listens. Without fail, everyone (myself inclusive) will prepare enough food for 5-6 people per dish. I can expect a spread tonight. Gluttony is forgivable during festive seasons!

"never invite a cat to a potluck."-cj

The feeling of knowing there is more food than you can eat is..

AWESOME!

12 steps to get things done

This post kind of resonates with me. So I'm re-posting it here; the original can be found in Lifehack: 12 steps to get things done.

[quote] It’s become apparent that not everyone connects with, relates to or gains value from the traditional personal development language or paradigm. Or words like paradigm (for that matter). Many of my readers have shared with me that their partner (sister, brother, mother, father, boss) needs to hear these (types of) messages but they seem to have an aversion to anything that smells like ‘motivational speaker’. To be honest, I don’t blame them. Some motivational speakers are a little smelly.

So, here it is team: my no frills, twelve-step, personal development philosophy for people who hate self-help stuff and cheesy motivational types. In order to avoid boredom, confusion and distraction, I’ve kept it simple and succinct.

Step 1. Don’t talk big. Big-talkers are notorious under do-ers, under-achievers and under-performers. They’re also pains in the arse.

Step 2. Don’t wait for things to ‘work out’. Idiots wait for things to work out. Rather than hoping things will happen, make them happen.

Step 3. Lose the bad attitude. Attitude is a choice. Better attitude equals better decisions, behaviours and outcomes.

Step 4. Don’t eat crap. Being unhealthy on a physical level means you won’t function optimally on any level: mentally, emotionally, professionally or socially. Eat crap and you’ll look, feel and function like crap!

Step 5. Actually care about others. Being a self-centered idiot ain’t a recipe for success.

Step 6. Don’t make life harder than it needs to be. Life’s challenging enough without you complicating the simple. Suck it up, Princess.

Step 7. Do things early in the day. Being productive early puts you in a better place (mentally, emotionally and creatively) for the rest of the day.

Step 8. Let go of your ill-conceived beliefs. It’s time to lose those self-limiting, disempowering beliefs. They’ve run your life for long enough. You’re good enough, talented enough and, yes, you deserve happiness.

Step 9. Bad things happen and life’s not fair – deal with it. More often than not success or failure will be determined by the way you react to the situations, circumstances and events (good and bad, foreseen or not) of your world. Better reactions equal better results.

Step 10. Don’t focus on (or obsess about) things you can’t change. Wasting your time, talent and emotional energy on things that are beyond your control is a recipe for frustration, misery and stagnation. Invest your energy in the things you can control.

Step 11. Don’t avoid things you fear. Putting your head in the sand just shows the world your arse. And none of us want that. Lasting change begins with awareness and acknowledgement. Step up and do what’s necessary.

Step 12. Don’t over-think things. Analysis paralysis is a painful, pointless and unnecessary condition. To think is good. To obsess is bad. Stop obsessing.

There you have it, Grasshoppers: politically incorrect self-help. In fact, let’s not call it self-help, let’s call it… some free practical advice. Of course, some will be offended and bothered by this type of language and message but fortunately for me, I’ve learned to take criticism pretty well. You may want to attach (nail, staple, rivet, sew, glue) these twelve steps to the forehead of someone special. And then run.
You’re welcome. =) [unquote]

voila. i need to work on 3, 6, 9 and 12. (multiple of 3? heh.)

Awesome #17 when you remember what you want to talk about earlier

Sometimes after being interrupted during our conversation, we ended up forgetting what we were trying to say. The thought simply got lost. As we fruitlessly try to remember what were we trying to drive across earlier, nothing seems to pop. That excruciating moment when your neurons fail to connect. Then suddenly, ah ha! You remembered what you were trying to say again! 'Dear sis, can you write the cheque for me?'

The eureka moment is simply...

Awesome!

dance

I got a revision of my dance timetable. It's as follows:-

Mon: body isolation (730pm), salsa styling (830pm), salsa practica (930pm)
Tue: argentina tango (730pm), zouk (930pm)
Wed: body isolation (730pm), shines (830pm)
Thurs: hip hop (730pm), bachata (830pm), salsa practica (930pm)
Fri: free day!
Sat: popping (530pm), amateur team training (615pm)
Sun: ballet (1130am), jazz (1230pm), salsa (730pm), salsa practica (830pm)

at least now I'm free on Friday evenings

241543903

As mysterious as TV Series Lost's "4 8 15 16 23 42", nobody knows how or who or what come up with this combination of numbers. But 241543903 has gained a following on Facebook and Twitter, could it be the new web phenomenon?A quick image search of 241543903 on Google will show you a whole portfolio of photos of people with their head in the freezer. Here is a youtube explanation of roughly how this project kicked off. The instructions are simple.

1. TAKE A PHOTOGRAPH OF YOUR HEAD INSIDE A FREEZER.
2. UPLOAD THIS PHOTO TO THE INTERNET (LIKE FLICKR).
3. TAG THE FILE WITH: 241543903.
THE IDEA IS THAT IF YOU SEARCH FOR THIS CRYPTIC TAG, ALL THE PHOTOS OF HEADS IN FREEZERS WILL APPEAR.

Pretty clear, pretty easy, pretty flexible.
Where’s your 241543903? Life is not a spectator’s sport, participate, have some fun.

Read more about it on 241543903.com/

Awesome #16 when you see old people embrace new technology

I was riding on the bus when my phone rang. I dug into my pocket and whipped out my trusty Nokia 2310. Nokia 2310? What happened to the HTC ( which debuts in this post) you may ask? The old windows OS was a serious letdown. It froze almost every time I touched the screen. So I reverted back to my Nokia.

Soon after I hung up, the grandma who came and sat beside me; her phone rang. She dug into her plastic bag and whipped out her state of the art technology - iPhone 4. Her grandson's picture was flashing on the screen. She slided the bar across the screen and 'Harlow'. A few short exchange with the boy and her conversation was over. She turned and saw me curiously peering at her phone. She pointed to her phone and said, "My grandson." I smiled at her. She saw herself as a old lady connecting affectionately with her grandchild, I saw a hip grandma who carries an iphone 4.

"my 5 year old technology"-cj

The feeling of seeing old people embrace new technology was.. 

AWESOME!

Awesome #15 eating something you have not eaten for a long time

For me it's prata. I love prata; all sort of pratas. It's not just the taste of crispy prata soaked in spicy indian curry that excites me, it's the whole prata experience. I eat pratas with my family on Sunday mornings for breakfast after my run, with my running mates at Thomson Road after a run at MacRitchie reservoir, with engin club after orientation at Fong Seng behind nus, after soccer at Kallang Bahru street soccer court, with my army buddies during guard duties, with my outdoor activities club friends after interval trainings at Bukit Timah, with my classmates and instructors after dance classes and with my friends at Jalan Kayu after taking photos at Seletar. Talking over pratas are usually light, funny, familiar and with a lot of sharing of personal experience. Thus, for me, all good things happens with prata.

Unfortunately, the indian prata stall disappeared from the neighborhood coffee shop 3 years ago ( that was before I left for Paris). I hadn't had proper prata for breakfast since. Today, when I went down to buy breakfast for myself, I saw a prata stall! The elusive prata stall that had disappeared from my neighbourhood is back! My universe is complete! So today, on 25-01-11, I figured out that (for the answer to everything in the universe to be 42)

25 + 01 + 11 + prata = 42

Prata has to be equal to 5. I could be wrong, but it does not matter. Now that the prata stall is back. 

"always order prata with milk tea or milo dinosaur"-cj

I can have prata for breakfast again on Sunday and it's going to taste...

AWESOME!

Awesome #14 when your friend dye her hair bright orange

I walked into the dance studio and there was no body at the reception. I hit the bell. At the first 'Ding', she popped out from behind the counter. Her sudden appearance at such close proximity made me jump back a step and raise my arms into a defensive position. I almost gave a Bruce Lee scream as well. Peering from between my fingers, her hair was bright orange and her smile was as bright as her hair. My brain went into spitfire mode and came up with a few suggested reactions. Should I ask 'why did you do that?' or 'why orange and not some other color?'. Should I just laugh 'HAHAHAHAHA'? I eventually decided on, 'So you dye your hair into a festive orange to welcome the lunar new year?' 'Yup, I look like mandarin orange right?', she chirped and grinned. Now, in our studio, we have one blond hair girl, one red hair girl and one bright orange hair girl.

"hey if you spike your hair you will look like Naruto"-cj

The feeling of seeing your friend with bright orange hair is


AWESOME!

haha

fail

My sister lent me her HTC for a day so that I can get used to the functionality and the feel of a smart phone. At first I was a bit scared of its many capabilities. I fiddled with it for a day and managed to get used to pressing on the small buttons on the screen with my big lumpy fingers. Sending out short messages is no longer a problem. At the end of the day, I thought to myself, "It's pretty cool to have a smart phone." When I got home, I switched on my laptop and then tried to click on the windows <start> button by pressing on the screen with my finger. FAIL.

i need a touch screen PC too.

Awesome #13 when an extra can dropped out from the vending machine

Press onto the change dispensing button, give a hard kick on to the side of the machine and a bottle of Coca Cola will dropped out from its holder. That was how we used to get our free Coke bottles from the vending machine 10 years ago. Who knows how many foot prints we left on the vending machine behind the grandstand, but boy, those cokes tasted great on a hot afternoon after soccer. 10 years later, I cannot imagine my more civilized self doing that anymore. I guessed good behavior gets rewarded.

I was dehydrated after the run and I only had a dollar coin. It was just enough to buy a can of drink from the vending machine. But today, right after I slotted in my coin, two cans of coke did not dropped out at the same time. Instead, after I pressed on the Return Change button, a dollar coin dropped out! This works equally well for me.

"maybe this one fights back when you kick it"-cj

That extra can of coke that I got from the vending machine tasted refreshing cool and... 

AWESOME!

burlesque

The show felt like a 2 hour music video. I was mildly aware of the plot, but I was blown away by the killer sexy moves, the spot lights, the skimpy dresses, the flesh, the vocals and the ladies. It was a visual feast and nothing more. The simplicity of the solution to Cher's problem was such a letdown. If only all of life's problems can be solved so simply in the last minute. Somehow, for me the pomp saved the show.

burlesque means mockery

accepted

"Dear Mr. JY:

Congratulations ! We are pleased to inform you that your paper #xxxxxxxxx has been accepted for presentation at..."

should I am add publications to my resume?

quote

"Three o'clock is always too late or too early for anything you want to do." - Jean-Paul Sartre.

That's why in the army we go for tea break at 3pm and prepare to book out after that.

Awesome #12 when you receive that unexpected parcel

I was lucky to be at home to receive it in person when it arrived. The parcel was sent as a registered mail and delivered to my door step. I was not expecting any parcels since Christmas was a few weeks ago and my birthday is still months away; so I was a little surprised. Who could it be? What could it be? Why am I receiving a parcel? Maybe I have a secret admirer ^^ ! Though it feels good to have an unexpected parcel delivered to you, I am not one who allow myself to bask in this feel good suspense. I waited for the postman to leave, closed the door, did a little victory leap into the air and promptly ripped the wrapping into pieces.

The card reads "Dear jy, we look forward to having you on board in 2011. Happy New Year to you and your family! Rgds, MD" The handwritten card was signed off by a managing director. I was touched. Maybe I should just swear my loyalty to the company right now.

To know that someone remembers you during festivities is...


AWESOME!

Awesome #11 when the bus arrived right after you reach the bus stop

Often I find myself waiting for a bus for more than 20 min. With the given time, I would observe the other people at the bus stop, fiddle with my hand phone, stare blankly at the infinite end of the road from where the bus will be coming from or read whatever words that come into my field of vision. This was how I found out about the SBS Iris services which one can use to check the arrival time of the next bus at a particular bus stop. How many of you actually use it? I do not use it myself. Perhaps at this point of my life I have a lot of free time so I do not mind waiting for anything. Even with time to kill, I rather not waste time waiting at the bus stop. I am usually at the bus stop for a simple reason - to get to my next destination. I want more to be on my way than waiting at the bus stop.

So whenever the bus arrives soon after I reach the bus stop, I feel... 

AWESOME!

Awesome #10 when you end your dance with a dip right on the last beat

"There are a hundred kungfu dancers out there; people who know the moves and follow through motion without listening to the song. There is only a handful of dancers with musicality who will move with the flow of the music. Be one of them." said my instructor. I danced with him today and it felt 100% natural. Nothing gay about it. It was the only way for him to test my lead. He taught me how to listen to the music, stepping in sync with the beat and cleaning up my footwork. Today's lesson has a larger social dance component to it. Faster songs were chosen to clean up our techniques and to drill every movement into muscle memory. As the pace picked up, feet have to move faster, brains have to think faster, girls have to be sweep across the dance floor with a stronger scoop of the arm. The 2 hour lesson felt like a mini workout. But once you let yourself indulge in the energy of the song and not engross yourself with your footwork you will find yourself flowing with the music. And if you are able to catch the right moment, you will be able to end your dance with a dip perfectly on the last beat. Like a perfect ending.

The feeling of being able to end the song with a beautiful dip finish is simply...

AWESOME!

説説就好

説説就好
説了又不听
听了又不懂
不懂又不問
問了又不会
.会了又不做
做了又做錯
錯了又不認
認了又不改
改了又不服
不服又不説
説説就好

don't say say.

Awesome #9 the first meal you eat after strenuous exercise

I found out the hard way. 3 times up and down the steepest slope of Bukit Timah as warm up for interval training is no joke. To make things worse, I had almost a whole day of racquet sports and dance yesterday and the adrenaline rush kept me awake the whole night. After the "warm up", I was already fully worked out. It is amazing to see that some of them are still breathing regularly; myself on the other hand is panting like a dog. The humidity of the tropical rain forest makes me sweat buckets. My spectacles fogged from the heat radiated from my body. While I was drinking up to prepare for the core training exercise, I was told that we are going to climb the Dairy Farm loop three times for stairs training. Well, stairs training should not be too bad right, I mean how high can a flight of stairs at Bukit Timah be? Erhm, if you want to know it's 240 steps! So three times means 720 steps... It's climbing an equivalent of 45 floors in a HDB. Top top that up, the steps are rocky, slippery and uneven. You spend as much energy balancing yourself as you climb the steps. But I made it through all those and the subsequent trainings that followed. 4hrs of leg exercise. After the cooling down and washing up, we went for lunch. woot!

The feeling of seeing the famous satay beehoon from Bukit Timah market and Food center steaming hot and right in front of me is heavenly. You can literally feel your blood sugar level rise with the intake of food and the energy flows back into your system. The softness of the tau huay bean curd, the spiciness of the popiah, the oily fried carrot cake worked out the perfect assault plan to attack the sensory of the taste buds.

Every mouth of food after the workout was..

AWESOME!

position

"I got a feeling woohoo. 

It's time to close position on Sino Grandness. 

It's time to close position on Sino Grandness. 

It's time to close position on Sino Sino Grandness."

Titled: 37% return

Released : 15 Jan 2011

Lyrics by : cj

Producer : cj

maybe this should go into the awesome list too.

Awesome #8 when your code complied successful on its first run

I know this does not apply to everyone, but I believe every developer agrees with me. The feeling of anticipation before clicking on the <RUN> button. Many languages and platforms later, I have to admit that this feeling wanes with experience. But I can still vividly remember the first programming module I took. First bless the guy who introduced me to gVim years back, if not I might still be using the primitive text editor..zzz. The first time, I sat in front of the computer teeth clenched, brow knitted and jaws clamped. I could almost feel the beads of sweat rising up to the pores as I stare at the <COMPILE> button. The rising excitement felt like a thousands horses (not butterflies man) running through your gut, I felt constipated. "Click". The rush. The hope that the error message will not pop out. The wait for the prompt icon to appear.

>> |

WOW! The prompt. It feels like striking a lottery. The feeling of a successful compilation is...

AWESOME!

computational

The main part of the final interview was an extremely strenuous computational assessment. The multi-part problem consisting of data conversion from text file to excel, cleaning and smoothing of data points, graphical presentation of results, programming and optimization the of trading algorithm. All these took me a nearly a whole day of programming.

During the session, I heard the guy across me curse quietly under his breathe. The guy to my right throw up his hands as his algorithm got trapped in an infinite loop. I told him 'Control+C' can help him exit. Nonetheless, there was a general air of confidence. Everyone churned out the lines of codes with a single mindedness to be the one hired. One position and five candidates; statistically, my odds are bad (20%).But I felt that I was among the better half of the candidates.

After the interview, i felt like this job was made for me. now i want it bad.

suit up

I'm not looking forward to the whole day of assessment. I do not want that job really bad, but I do not mind having another offer to consider. I just have to go there, enjoy the whole process and kick ass at the same time. Wish me all the best!

I'm ready for it man! Because I'm..

AWESOME!

Awesome #7 knowing that there is sustainability in your blog

After 6 awesome posts, I realize that I probably can keep up with this for very very long (I am going to include some other posts as well). There are so many awesome things happening in our lives that we take for granted or we do not see. Our lives are blessed in so many small and simple ways.

The thought of seeing this awesome list getting longer is simply..

AWESOME!

Awesome #6 when you avoided stepping on a snail

Every one loves to listen to the crunchy sound when they break potato chips into pieces in their mouth. It feels good to send potato chips into your mandibles of death to break them and chew on their salty tastiness. Everyone loves the crunchy sound when they crush the empty bag of potato chips in their hands too. It feels like a job well done. But nobody likes to hear crunchy sounds coming from beneath their feet, especially not when you are walking along the pavement after a rain. Well, if you do not want to see what you step on, then do not check it out or look at it. You could very well have stepped on a snail! Yea I know that look. That half disgusted, half guilty, wide eye, open mouth, shell shocked look with blood drained from the face.

Today while I was running, I almost did not see the small creature camouflaged among the brown fallen leaves. Then from the corner of my eyes, I saw something move right before my right heel landed on it. I did a little hop/ jump and quick sidestep and rolled on the outer edge of my foot like how runners with under pronation lands. I missed it narrowly; keeping its shell intact. The creature continued with its perilous journey to cross the pavement. I hope there are not any runners after me on this wet morning.

The feeling of having saved a life, even that of a small creature, is simply...

AWESOME!

Awesome #5 taking off your shoes after distance running

The early morning distance run makes you feel good. It warms your body up for a good start for the day and it lets you know that your body is fit and functional. There are other extrinsic factors too. The cool and fresh morning air, not many cars on the roads, pretty office ladies waiting at the bus stops (you can be sure they are checking you out too), the well regulated breathing, the last 200m before the finishing line; so many things makes a run awesome.

At the end of the run, your heel makes an extra hard strike on the ground to mark its last stride for the run. Your legs come into an abrupt stop. Lactic acid trickles into every sinew of your leg muscles. You took in a first deep breathe after holding it for the last 50 metres. The distance running causes your feet to swell, the dry fit sock is not as sweat absorbent as it was marketed and your ankle is weak from the all the flexing to cushion your landing. You found a good spot under the shade to stretch and cool down. You sat down and (wait for it) you took off your shoes. awwww... Freedom. Ventilation. It's the exact same kind of feeling as when you take off your combat boots after a 24km road march.

wiggling my freed toes and letting blood flow back to my feet feels...

AWESOME!

Awesome #4 bumping into your geography teacher from 10yrs ago

Guess who I bumped into at Vivocity today? My Secondary 1 Geography teacher Mr. A. Ikhwan. That was back in 1997. He still looks the same. 10 years later, it's still the same white short sleeves shirt and khaki brown long pants. I doubt he still keep the Teacher's day present our class got him - a Victoria's Secret brasserie. Well if you know which secondary school I was from Victoria's Secret would seem a fitting brand. But you get the idea. He is someone who will receive such gifts from his students. He was fun, we loved him and his lesson. I went up to talk to him. He didn't remember me, but we did some catching up.

He appreciated my coming up to say hi, I told him bumping into him today was just..

AWESOME!

Awesome #3 when you get to sleep in when it rains in the morning

The mattress is cool to touch, the only warm core comes from the heat generated by your body which is trapped underneath the blanket. Better still if you have someone else beside you. Hahaha. Studies have shown that the fetal position is the most comfortable position to sleep in. So maybe the blanket acts as a protective womb?

 

The extra thought of knowing that everyone else is either in school or at work makes it even more..

AWESOME!

Awesome #2 lying in bed after a weekend of strenuous exercise

The end of last week basically looked like this. A 4km run on Friday morning, a 4hr tennis on Friday evening, a 4km run/walk on Saturday, a 2hr badminton on Saturday morning, a 4km run and interval trainings on Sunday morning and finally a 3hr dance on Sunday evening. I know this is not a good idea for some one who had not exercise for a year. I totally understood what it meant my pain and fatigue flooded every sinew of my body. I am not able to hold and write using a pencil right now. my spoon shakes when I eat. I almost spilled Caramel Cappuccino on myself when my wrist suddenly went limp while I was sipping from the cup. I almost added a few strangers on Facebook because my hand shook and hit the touch pad while my mouse was hovering above the 'add friend' button. I cannot climb up stairs without the support of handrails. I am having difficulty hitting the right key right as I type now.

Despite the discomfort, I feel awesome right now. The limp that I am walking with now felt like the vs-post-whole-Saturday-soccer limp, the butt pain whenever I sit down felt like the post-hockey-training butt/back pain. The collective laugh as we 'ooh' and 'argh' all the way to the bus stop after trainings. Here is the best part. The cool shower after the exercise and the sudden contraction of the overworked muscles when the cold water runs over them.

"everyone has a favorite position"-cj

this is going to be a weekly routine. The feeling of having worked out is


AWESOME!

Awesome #1 when the person you like baked cookies for you

The cookies may or may not carry the intended meaning you hope it comes with (probably they did not). The intentions are good nonetheless. At least you know once a while she thinks of you. They were packed into a translucent container in a blue lid; 8 of them. The cookies are oatmeal raisins flavored, but my favorite flavor is chocolate. But after one bite into it, the flavor did not matter any more. Had she added too much sugar to it or had my taste buds been compromised by my mental euphoria? It was sweet. Then it gets better. My parents loved the cookies too, but thankfully they did not question their origins. So am I going to do anything about this?

not now for sure. maybe later. some time later. but eating those cookies, they tasted 

AWESOME!

strained

I guess I will never schedule a badminton session right after tennis again. Now my wrist is weak and my right hand shaking. With a twitching hand, I cannot handle anything with a touch pad now. I sprained my left ankle too. The right half of my body/ back is aching so much, I wonder if I should just lie in bed the whole day. Is this what they meant by the plight of the weekend warrior? While I work through this discomfort, I was encouraged by TED: Neil's 3 A's of Awesome. His 1000 Awesome Things Blog highlights simple things in life that we should appreciate and feel awesome about. Maybe I should do the same and I will call it My Awesome List. 30 years down the road, remind me to create my Bucket List.

yea. Despite my physical inept, I'm awesome alright.

healthy lifestyle

Trying to distract myself from what is on my mind now, I called up some of my friends to fit me back into their schedules. Guess what. All of them obliged and I found myself packed with tennis, runs, hikes, cycling, night shoots, badminton, coffee breaks, lunches, dinners, community service, movies, pool and job interviews. I wonder why I pursue these activities with so much endurance this week. Had I regained my hunger for life or was I just trying to fill up the void in my life? Let's hope I can still keep up with this once my part time work and my dance classes start.

Using the computational Search Engine : Wolfram|Alpha . i counted..

190 days to official start of work

youtube surprise

To play snake on youtube, follow the link given below.
1. Click the video
2. Hold the left arrow and up arrow button together
3. Play Snake

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrzY8mBeXg4

cool ain't it

everest

I bumped into a friend in school; he just came back from an ice climbing trip in Sichuan. He was excited to share his 'cold-until-wet-tissue-froze' experiences and I ate them up like a puppy eager to hear. He relived his bitter sweet memories and I experienced them through him. Every moment felt real and I wanted to have them for myself.

One of his Facebook photos showed him standing on top of snow peaked mountains in China. He called it his 'Everest' photo. 'Everest' is an expensive dream which is not possible for most people (climbing permit is $25,000). Next year, he said he will climb a 5000m peak the Himalayas. This led me to ask myself a probing question..

what is your 'Everest'  for 2011?

dance

After taking to the course coordinator, my dance schedule for the next 6 months looks something like this..

mon - 7.15pm body isolation, 8.15pm salsa styling, 9.15pm salsa practica
tue - 7.15pm zouk, 8.15pm argentina tango
wed - 7.15pm isolation, 8.15pm shines
thurs - 7.15pm salsa basic, 8.15pm salsa intermediate, 9.15pm salsa practica
friday - 6.15pm yoga, 7.15pm isolation, 8.15pm hip hop bollywood
sat - 5.15pm popping, 6.15pm-8pm amateur performance team training
sun - 11.15am ballet, 12.15pm jazz 1, 7.15pm-9.15pm salsa

i'm sorry if i disappear for a while. maybe we can brunch sometimes?

happy new year

The old blog began to feel a little bulky and abused by spams. I like to keep things lean, so voila, a new blog for the new year. I'm sorry if some of you were not informed of this, but I did reached out to some of the more obvious readers. I have not set my new year resolutions in the old blog. So here they are


1. train and run Sundown 21km and Standchart Marathon
2. join NUS MIR in one of their expeditions
3. complete my dance certification (tentative)
4. double the capital in my portfolio and reap at least 15% return
5. spend more time with family and friends
6. smile more
7. i shall keep this to myself

[update: after reviewing the modules for the dance certification. It turns out that resolution 1a and 3 are mutually exclusive.]



this year I am going to win my life back.

in the hood

Walking around with a camera is therapeutic. I was just roaming around the neighborhood aimlessly thinking, feeling; when I saw a stray white balloon. It had descended from high above the sky and was floating around at eye level. Maybe it was a stray balloon from New Year's Eve. I'm not sure if it's cool to spend a good part of my late afternoon chasing/ stalking balloons before I went to catch a movie dinner. But I appointed myself as the balloon's unofficial biographer anyway, watching it float up stairs, under void decks and flirt with the pull up bars. The random walk felt like Brownian motion and (hahaha God forbid) totally possible for me to model it using the continuous time stochastic Wiener process. By 7pm, I had to leave and the balloon had foolishly floated on to the Malaysian railway tracks. So I gathered my equipment and here is one of my random pictures.

"walking out of expanding universe."-cj

random post on post new year day.

on my way out

If I were Christopher from the book "The Curious Incident of the Dog in Night Time", then today would have been my unlucky day. Three yellow cars parked side by side.

"yellow"-cj

If I ever own a car this yellow, then it can only be a Lamborghini.

quote

"The last time I bathed was last year.." - t.y.s

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moments

To think the fireworks went off right after I turned my back after receiving a new year wish. It was almost a cinematic moment. A few things were on my mind then, among them were a confirmation and a resolution. But you guys are not entitled to them. what a way to begin a new year..

happy new year nonetheless.