OCBC Cycling Prize Presentation

I can't believe Nic got the photos and the blog post out before me. HAHA... First and foremost, allow me to thank JJ for insisting on signing up for this race. If not... none of this would be taking place in the first place. The Prize giving ceremony was held at El Toro restaurant, somewhere along Penang Road.

The prize giving ceremony was a simple yet throughly enjoyable affair. The mexican/ latin/ spanish food dished out was awesome and could, simply put, be the highlight of the evening. It was fun chilling out with the guys over drinks and awesome food planning our future escapades and adventures. 

I've uploaded some of the pictures below of the 4 of us receiving our prizes. It seems like the only picture we could take was that of us holding up the shirts. Nic refused to agree to us wearing the safety glasses indoors in the evening... if not I think it could have made a great shot... :)

Kudos goes to the our school NUS for supporting us in what we do and our parents for providing us the means and support to pursue what we love :) Till the next race!!

P.S. : Does anyone have pics from Singapore Biathlon and the meal after that? I don't seem to be able to grap the pics of Facebook... I wanna write about it too!!

The Heat is ON.

Had a lovely run this morning. Got back slightly before 8.30 am. Showered, watched the world continue to break down on CNN. Blog-surfed. Will head out for a quick break fast before heading to my first class for today. 

Things to do:

Mathematics Tutorials ++ (The Latest one and Tutorial 2... yeah I am in deep shit.)

Two more chapters of Econometrics and the latest Macro notes... damnzy...  

Swim Training in the evening

and... Dinner!

Will blog about the great food and fun time the 4 of us had at the OCBC cycling prize presentation tomorrow... 

NIE Biathlon

I just saw the team list for the NIE Biathlon. I am so not going to screw up this time. Sick mode: ON. 

8th March 2009

Alone. That was how I spent my 22nd anniversary on this miserable piece of rock we call earth. No fanfare whatsoever, just a nice book, two to three good movies, coffee, and slices of green tea cake (Thanks dudes!) to keep me nice and warm on the inside. 

I was supposed to ride in the morning, but I woke up running a fever, with a terrible headache and terrible muscle aches. The pain and aches subsided as the day went by, but from what I heard, I missed out a rather enjoyable ride. My appetite's not been too good and I could only manage a small packet of "char siew" rice and two slices of birthday cake for the whole of today. I hope I recover in time for the race at the end of this week. 

Yesterday wasn't a good day for me personally but I guess "you reap what you sow", and I paid the ultimate price for my absolute lack f discipline and focus. I blame no one but myself for the poor showing. Lunch after that episode more than made up for the earlier disappointment and I must admit that I was really touched by the birthday cake and all. Thanks a lot guys and gals. I meant everything I said during the lunch before I sliced up the cake. Uni life thus far has not been turning out as how I expected it to be but your company and companionship, through the ups and downs have more then made the journey thus far worthwhile. I have been been quite an arsehole at times but... hey... it comes with the package aye?

My parents and my sis brought back a really nice cake from Taka too and that was pretty much the highlight of my 22nd Birthday. So... with that... I guess its time for me to hit the sack... 

Saturday blues

Singapore Biathlon: 8 am in the morning.
IPPT: 3.45 pm in the afternoon.

Damnz. What a way to end the week.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Teaser Trailer

Some queries on the trailer that I'll address here:

The giant robot you see is Demolisher, a giant mining excavator which forms up with another 5 more bots to form the Constructicon, Devastator. Demolisher will form the main torso of Devastator. 

The Audi R8 is Sideways, a double agent apparently for both the Autobots and the Decepticons.

If you watch closely, the three robots chasing it are the three respective motorbikes which will combine to form Acree, an autobot, and the only female one in the show.

Ravage is the one eyed jaguar thingy you see which pops out of Soundwave, who takes the form of a cybertronian jet in this movie. 

The Red and Green Chevolet Trax and Beat are the Autobots Mudflaps and Skids.

The Stingray concept Tamiya looking Chevolet is an autobot... by the name Sideswipe.

Thats all you need to know about the trailer I guess... till its release!!

Brand X Bike Bag for Sale

I purchased these a while back. After purchase I realized they weren't suitable for the type of traveling I intend to do with my bike. The details are in Togoparts, (as most of you are probably linked here from the hyperlink there anyway). Feel free to drop me a line or leave me an e-mail at the address listed under the Togoparts' advert. Cheers. 

PS: Dog not for Sale :)

Detachment

The mind ain't willing and the body ain't moving... My patience wears thin as my disinterest in whatever I do grows at an exponential rate. I am faltering... straying from the path. I am not but a prisoner in my own mind, looking on just as a pilot looks on, helplessly, as his craft spins and twirls out of control in a never-ending spiral... jostling with the controls and praying in vain as he counts down to the inevitable... 

I blame to total lack of self control and the absence of that drive to succeed, that commitment to stay the path. Its a bit hard to do anything right now, with the race around the corner and the mid-terms just days away. I will salvage whatever can be salvaged and get my feet back on the ground. I will depart on the 5th of July with no regrets, no regrets at all. 

On a side note, I brought the 112 for a spin last Sunday. Apart from the loose rear bottle holder, detached rear break and loosened break cable... (haha...) the ride was superb... there's a couple of stuff I still need to do before the 22nd but all in good time, all in good time :) 

"Sweet Dreams are made of these..."

Mind Games

I couldn't move much today. I was really tired and slow. I hope things will turn for the better soon. 

Sunset

She was strict. I didn't like her much when I first met her. She gave tons of homework, pulled my already deformed right ear and rapped my knuckles when I didn't get the homework done. However, its only fair that I state that I wasn't an easy student either. Locking her out of my house. Check. Locking her in the balcony. Check. Throwing an item at her (Orange, Glass mug, Telephone... etc.). Check. I wasn't easy and I can say for certain that I most definitely gave her a run for her money. The journey was long and arduous but it finally paid off with me getting an A* for my PSLE Chinese. The only A I would ever get for a Chinese paper. Ever. She bought me a really cool stationary set and a set of stickers for that A*, a testament to my hard work (Thank you...) and more importantly her success at taming and grooming me to succeed and like the Chinese Language. 

The message came at a most awkward time. My family members had just finished a rather delightful dinner when my cousin got the message. I am not at liberty to disclose the details but it was rather unsettling. Nothing was confirmed and we all just hoped and prayed that it would all be a bad scare. 

I had just finished a rather eventful ride with my mates and was having dinner with my dad when the call came. There wasn't much melodrama or anything, just a sad resignation acknowledging the harsh realities of life. I threw on a shirt and a pair of jeans and my sis, dad and I were out of the house in the blink of an eye. 

She looked at me with her great big eyes and a grin on her face. She was in immense discomfort, no doubt about it, but looking at her, one could hardly tell. She was thin yet so full of joy as she shook our hands and whispered hi. I smiled and we talked about stuff. Its hard to summarize 10 years in 5 minutes but we did it. I grasped her hand and she held on to mine. Thats all it took. We chatted and laughed. She couldn't speak well yet she was still full of advice. "Study hard", "Don't get attached so young". It wasn't easy for her and it sure as hell wasn't easy for me nor for anyone who knew her. Her husband gently moved to her side, a gentle reminder to us that she needed rest. She held my hand and told me not to go back if there wasn't anything serious. Even under such dire predicaments, it was still others before herself. 

My mum asked why I was so quiet on the ride back. I told her I was tired from the bike ride. I lied. I have not cried for the longest time ever and tonight the tears just couldn't stop. Memories of her. Thoughts on Life. Anger at how unfair it all can be. There wasn't a particular reason why I did what I did I guess. 

I told a friend once, or maybe more than once,  "Life's too short to sweat the small stuff". I guess I never realized the true implications of that statement till today. I hope you'll recover. Thanks for the memories and most importantly, thanks for educating me and not giving up on me. Thank you so much.