Bike Route
Biking in Singapore is very enjoyable. Yes, there are cars, buses and trucks on the road. So there is a need to be careful. I've been out a few times now.....and it's really very enjoyable. I always wondered where all the cyclists go. Well, today I shall try my best to recall where we rode.
Started off at the Al Ameen Kopitiam where we meet. It's near Hillview - Jalan Remaja to be precise. Then it goes something like this:
Straight up Upper Bukit Timah Road - Woodlands Road - Left on Kranji Road - pass the beautiful bridge with Kranji Reservoir on left & Johor Bahru on right - Neo Tiew Crescent - a nice windy road - past Bollywood Farms - Left on Lim Chu Kang Road - a broad 6 lane runway - where I was left in the dust as the seasoned bikers accelerated - left on Choa Chu Kang Road - Sungei Tengah Road - Bricklands Road - then end up somewhere on the Bukit Batok Roads.
We stopped to refuel with yummy 'sui jiao mien' & H20 w China Apple Juice. Then an easy cruise back thru Bukit Batok roads, left on Hillview then finally up left to Jalan Remaja again. That's about 40km. It was nice. Very nice. And healthy too!

Mrs Horn
Picture this. Mixed nouveau riche couple. In their mid to late 30's. 3 Labrador retrievers. Designer house. Argue with other neighbour over boundary wall even before moving in. Drives a big black gas-guzzling SUV. Other car is a convertible sports. Toddler son. Expecting another. Very 'gung cheong' about son. Has recently developed annoying habit of horning every time she comes back to alert her maids. Suspect the maids are usually in the basement/dungeon and so they don't hear it the first time. So 'towkayneo' horns again. The maids then scurry and stand at attention as she backs the car into her porch. Sigh. This has been a very quiet and peaceful neighbourhood for the last 10 yrs. And now this. She goes in and out of the house several times a day - morning, noon and night. Each time she comes back she announces it with her horn. The sound - absolutely jarring. It shatters the peace and serenity. What's a neighbour to do?

Half-Marathon here we come....

I belong to a Saturday running group consisting primarily of veteran men. That's 45 yrs & above. Last Sunday we braved the rain (along with 8000 other nuts) to participate in the 10km Mizuno Wave Run @ Bedok Reservoir.

The trail around the reservoir was very pretty and the weather comfortably cool. But our shoes got really dirty because of the puddles. It also took just as long to stand in line for the goodie bag as it took to complete the run. Silly things people do on Sunday mornings. Anyway, the reward was a delicious Yong Tau Foo lunch at Goldhill Hakka Restaurant along Changi Road. Spent most of the afternoon completely zonked out.

Anyway, our fearless leader See Chin, has got it into his head to take his running to the next level. Half-Marathon. Our consultant, Nicholas, a seasoned marathoner, says if we can do 10km......we can do 21.1km. At the most....walk. So we signed up. The date - 2nd December! Yee hah!

GOOD GRIEF!!!!!!!!!

And so the most important question of the day is..............is there hope?

Renergie Morpholift

" My face is lifted & re-defined. I challenge the law of gravity."

Thousands of micri-lifting effects work to tighten & lift my skin, whilst maintaining suppleness and comfort. Wrinkles appear visibly smoothed, skin feels firmer. My facial contours will look re-defined.

Doesn't that sound good? Yes, these things are now my beauty regime courtesy of a dear friend, who is looking out for my skin. Toying with the idea of taking a close up pic of my 'crow's feet' eyes for a before and after look. Might be a bit too revealing though. Hmmm....see my mood.

My Cannondale R600 CAD2

She's hand-made in the USA. Petite frame size of just 45cm. Fitted with 650cc tires instead of the usual 700cc. Has a Selle SMP ergonomic saddle. Her previous owner is an Ironwoman who recently came back from Kona. I just upgraded my compononents from the Tiagra group set to Ultegra. A world of a difference. Cost me more than the bike itself but well worth it.

Gave me the confidence to do my first road ride yesterday. We started out at Hillview, went all the way to Lower Seletar Reservoir and had yummy dim-sum on the way back near Mandai Road. Think that was about 40km. My legs today are a tad heavy and my bum a little sore. But boy.....that was fun. Looking forward to next Tuesday already!

Triladies 1st Sea Swim

Lucky Draw Winner!

I won for myself a Orca Race Tri-top. Have the black & white on top left. Apparently it's worth $70. I can't imagine paying that amount for such a little bit of special cloth. It's made of 'Aqua-glide' - one of the most advanced fabrics in the world to be fast, have air permeability etc.

I shall wear this for the race (unless I get given a nicer one for my birthday) but may have to fork out to get the bottom.

1st Sea Swim Training
This morning I skipped church (gasp!) to attend the 1st of 3 sea swim training sessions. We met in East Coast Park near Carpark F2. Nice sunny and windy day. Medium tide coming from south. Lots of junk in the water. Plastic bags. Sea weeds. Durian husk. Packet drinks. Pretty yucky. The tide was shifting so the current was all over the place. David (aka Yellowwfish), our Triladies swim coach, set up 4 floating buoys as our course. We did triangles and squares about 50m.
Decided to swim breaststroke as am most comfortable with it. It was choppy. Several times when I came up for air, I also gulped down some frothy East Coast water as well. As forewarned by David, we should just swallow it as trying to spit it out might cause us to choke. Later I realized it's easier to swim free-style. Easier to cut through the swell and less water injested. After about 11/2 hrs of zig-zagging these floating buoys, I really don't want to think about how much un-necessary sodium I've injested. The other awful thing about East Coast is the oil. Don't really see it nor feel it...but it's there. The evidence - bits of it on our feet. Perhaps when we're standing in the shallows. Last bit - there was quite a blob I stepped into. The way to get it out is to rub sand - need the friction to get the slick off.
All the way driving home, I kept thinking about whether I'd get the runs from this pollution I've drunk.

Uncleating
I've fallen down twice because I couldn't uncleat in time. Both times on the right side. Yesterday was after 4 tiring loops at Lim Chu Kang. We finished the ride and I was almost at my car. Then my left foot did not do as told and I slowly fell on the right. Just now was just down the road from my house. Making a u-turn on the narrow road and started leaning right. Have to keep practicing this cleating and uncleating business. It's simple. To uncleat my bike shoe, I just twist my foot outward. But then the foot doesn't always go it's told....

New Toys
The corner of my dining room has all my new toys. My 'get started' tri shopping list is done. The damage was just over $1500. I was blessed with many great deals. The best deal was a Cannondale R600 CAD2 bike for $300. It was fixed up with new handle, new seat, new bottle cages, cateye, saddle bag, cleats, levers, bike tool, high compression pump etc. for a little over $300. Also got the bike stand & rack for a song. Thank you to Joshua Ngo. What a knowledgeable & generous fellow.
Also picked up the top of the line Bell Sweep R helmet, Sugoi RS Flex shorts, Pearl Izumi neon yellow top, Shimano tri cycling shoes, 'hot pink' Nike lightweight gloves, UVEX racer shades with 3 lenses......all at excellent prices. I am grateful for the divine intervention. I'll have to take a pic of my spoils and post it......soon, I hope.
Last Wednesday I went for my orientation bike ride at Lim Chu Kang. Got acquainted with the gears. My palms were starting to ache. Was biking at an average speed of 25km/hr. But did hit 33km/hr for a few seconds. I was trying to explain to Buzz I wasn't interested in speed.....but I know it's me that doesn't get it yet. After all, it is called a triathlon race....and I did buy a racer. I was learning how to drink on the bike and enthusiastically bit off the whole top of my water bottle in a furious bid to open it.
Felt like a real VIP as Buzz was telling me all this technical stuff about cadence, optimum cruising efficiency, big & small gears.....some numbers as well indicating which spoke combination....biking alongside me talking me through the shifting. Also had Joshua observing my gear changes and bike fit which led to some more tuning and tweaking for perfection.
We did 4 loops with lots of stops. The target this Wed is at least 5 loops with no stops. I am getting the hang of uncleating my cycling shoes....but do feel a tinge of desperado when I keep twisting and it doesn't click out.

Tri Shopping
I'm having a jolly good time gathering information about all the tri equipment I need to get. It's a long list and I think the $$ dent is substantial for something I'm not even sure I'm going to like. So far I've invested in a pair of TYR swim goggles (only ones available at the club), private swim lessons (expensive but no choice) and group swim training (need it as it includes 3 open water sessions).
Next purchase is going to be a road bike, helmet, cycling shorts, cycling shoes, gloves, pump etc. That'll be about $2K. I'm going to go for a second-hand Giant with upgraded components Campagnolo Centaur. If I end up hooked on road biking, this will keep me happy for quite a while. I spend a bit more upfront but I won't have to incur upgrading costs from entry level stuff. If I really don't like road biking, I can still offload it. Sounds like a good plan.

Swim Lessons
Today was the third morning in the last 6 days that I'm up and in the pool by 7am! Doing laps....getting private lessons on correcting my front-crawl technique. Never even imagined I'd be doing this. Well, the discovery of the week is that the club pool water is actually warm. I always thought swimming in the early hours of the morning was torture because the water would be cold. Not at all.
At the first lesson, I was told I'm very 'buoyant' and that my arms look 'small'. That's putting it diplomatically. What he meant to say was that I have a big floating bum and puny, weak arms. Such were the obstacles to my quest for front-crawl skill and speed. He did compliment my breast-stroke by saying I had some 'potential'. Anyway, I worked hard.
At the end of my second lesson today, I graduated from the swim board. My technique is almost there. Just have to find a comfortable rhythm. For the first time in my life, I actually swam a few laps of front-crawl halfway decently. My goal is to be able to join the club Masters' swim training on Tuesdays. Put that together with the Triladies swim training on the weekend....and maybe a 3rd session by myself. That should build up my swim fitness. Hope to do my 750m swim in 15 minutes.....or less.

Triladies Triathlon - 23rd Sept 2007 @ East Coast Park

Yup....I've signed up for this. It's going to be the first Asian Women's Triathlon. I'm really excited. This is going to be a stretch for me. But I'm looking forward to the personal challenge. I'm doing the Sprint Distance - 750m swim, 20km bike and 5km run. Think it's pretty 'doable'. The Olympic Distance is double that so no go.....not yet anyway. Maybe never. Anyway, I've been wondering why I want to do this. What's my motivation? Well, one of my goals was to exercise daily anyway.....so this gives it more focus. Besides.....why not? Live a little. Take a risk. I was spending a lot of time in the gym looking for non weight-bearing exercise machines to supplement the weekly runs. Swimming and biking fit the bill.

There are a lot of obstacles to overcome. I tried to join the Masters Swim training at the club today but when the coach saw the way I swam front-crawl, he just shook his head. I need one-on-one coaching on my terrible technique. I was bashing around in the water most unelegantly and lifting my head at the wrong times. Taking big gulps of air like I was desperate. Sigh. Nothing at all like a shark that slices through the water with no wake. All these years I've been swimming breast stroke. Never really liked nor learnt front-crawl properly.

So my first swim class is this Friday at 7am! Stay tuned for daily updates on how I'm going to go from.....zero to hero! Ha!

That was my new car. Junction of Jalan Haji Alias & 6th Ave. Red light for me.....so I was stationary. I saw a black car on 6th Ave coming from my right skidding out of control. I was a sitting duck. I knew I was going to get hit but couldn't move anywhere. The other driver. Barely an adult. After she hit me, she hit the lamp post. The lamp smashed on the road & made the pole lean. She was driving too fast & lost control. The blessing - no one was injured. I was pretty mad as I had two of my sons with me. What can I say? These things happen. Now it's just a hassle. A real hassle.

Wise Words from Dr Seuss

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
You're on your own, and you know what you know.
And you are the one who'll decide where you'll go.

Check this out!

This is a lungfish. It lives in Jakarta. It's about the length of my arm. It's formative years was spent in a bathroom in an office. The type of bathroom that has a tiled "kong" to store water where one bathes by scooping water out of it. According to the owner, nobody bathed with it but it had many visitors who used the bowl next to the "kong". Yes, the t bowl. This is a a really weird but wonderful looking fellow. One of the few fish that hasn't changed much from.....a billion years ago.

An email story you've probably read before.....but good to read again!
When things in your lives seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous "yes."

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things--your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favourite passions---and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car. The sand is everything else---the small stuff.

"If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

"Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first---the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

An Honest Mistake....and a Very Generous Act of Kindness
The petrol kiosk fellow, after topping up my engine oil (actually unnecessary but I was silly enough to believe him) did not put the cap back on. So I drove around a day and the engine oil was going all over the place. Everywhere I parked I left a puddle of engine oil. Figured something was amiss but didn't have the foggiest idea what. Quickly brought the car into Kah Motors. Desmond cleaned up my engine, topped up my engine oil (2 small bottles) and.........did not charge me for it. God Bless the kind man....really....this is the most generous act of kindness I've experienced in a while.

Mizuno Mount Faber 10km Run

This was how we spent last Sunday morning. The fellow who took this pic of us is even nuttier than us. He runs marathons (42km) every month all over the world. Right now, he's in Vienna.

Anyway, we're all smiles here because it's pre-run. Post-run we all looked rather dazed. This run was tough because of the Mount Faber gradient and also because we had to run alongside lots of traffic & fumes. The traffic police had to 'man' so many junctions for us. I only enjoyed the bit going up and down the hill because I didn't care about looking good and chose to walk! I enjoyed peering into the lovely residential houses there and the lush jungle. The Danish Seamen's Church building was also very unique looking and I wanted to walk in and take a look.

I felt abnormally energetic all of Sunday and embarked on a furious home spring cleaning. Paid for it for the next 3 days as my posterior muscles just screamed at me in agony. I strongly believe I have never used those muscles before and they had been rudely awakened from their 41 yr slumber. I did entertain the delightful thought of having a nice muscular butt but.....no, think I'll just live with the one I have now.

When was the last time you questioned your perspective?

In the movie Dead Poets' Society, Robin Williams plays a professor who challenges his young students to the joys of literature and also, issues of life. I'm sure we all remember the part where an excited Robin Williams jumps up one of the desks in the classroom and imparts a chunk of wisdom.
He asks his students: "Why do I stand here?"
Then he answers his own question: " I stand on my desk to remind myself that we must constantly force ourselves to look at things differently. The world looks different from up here. If you don't believe it, stand up here and try it. All of you. Take turns. "
"If you're sure about something" , " he says as they take turns standing on the desk, " force yourself to think about it another way, even if you know it's wrong or silly. When you read, don't consider only what the author thinks, but take time to consider what you think......Risk walking new ground."

Risk walking new ground. Yeah, I like that. Take a risk. Live a little.

Trolley Glaring
I was waiting in line at Giant with about a dozen items in my trolley. I noticed out of the corner of my eye that lady in front of me was staring at the items in my trolley. It was a long stare......almost like she was examining each and every item I had selected. Next thing (and I knew this would happen), she looked up from staring at my trolley and looked at me instead. Like as if she was making a judgement of who I was and what kinds of things I selected. At this point, I really felt like sticking my finger in my nose and being totally gross just for her benefit .....but instead I continued staring into space. Now, why do people do things like this?

Education....or should it be entertainment?
I was asking my teenage sons about school today. Instead of the usual "Have you done your homework yet?", I asked how they liked the subjects they were learning. To me, learning should be life long. I'm excited about what I learn in coaching and I can't get enough of all the books, new tools, new ideas etc. I can't wait to apply what I've learnt. Most importantly, nobody has to tell me to study. I study because it thrills me and I don't consider it work.....it's pleasurable.

I know that's not the case for the boys. I've been trying to figure out how to change that. I don't like being 'chief nagger' and I think the key is to unlock their internal motivation. Anyway, the bottom line of the separate conversations I had with the boys was that they liked the subjects that were taught by younger male teachers who knew how to crack jokes. The subjects were social studies, geography, history and biology. I wonder why it seems that math is always taught by older women who have no sense of humour. Sigh.

I think teachers can make or break an interest in a subject. Most kids entering secondary school have no pre-conceived biases or notions about the new subjects they will be learning. That's a perfect chance to get off to a flying start. So my boys' favourite subjects are the ones where the teachers enjoy themselves whilst teaching and are able to share some humour with their students. So.... do we need to change the mindset of our teachers so they realize they are actually in the entertainment business?

Baobei Goes Sailing!!
Here are some pics from our 'whole' family outing to sea. We dragged the dog along. She doesn't look it but she's actually very happy to have been included. Never mind that she doesn't like water, got extremely nervous everytime the boat rocked, started to hyperventilate from the searing heat....and due to Tim's madness was also overheating because he made her wear a lifejacket.
So we spent more time getting the boat ready than actually sailing. There was no wind and the sun was blazing hot. We just about ran out of drinks onboard and everyone was getting rather grouchy. Then....a fish jumped on board and slammed against the sail. Dog and fish exchanged a few sniffs and licks. It was a moving experience and very special....not to mention, highly unusual!

What is your intelligence?
There are 7 different kinds of intelligences.
1. Linguisic Intelligence (the ability to use words)
2. Logical-Mathematical Intelligence (working with numbers and logic)
3. Spatial Intelligence (thinking in pictures and images)
4. Musical Intelligence (perceiving, appreciating and producing rhythms and melodies)
5. Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence (knowing the physical self)
6. Interpersonal Intelligence (understanding and working with people)
7. Intrapersonal Intelligence (knowing the inner self)
This is taken from Thomas Strong's book "7 Kinds of Smart".

Duh!
I'm reading John C. Maxwell's The Success Journey - The Process of Living Your Dreams. Good stuff. This is sad, true and a wake-up call for all of us.

Did you know that most people give more time to planning their vacations than they do to planning their lives? Based on the way people spend their planning time, you'd think they put in two weeks on the job each year and fifty on vacation.

Great Quotes
Whether you think you can or think you can't - you are right. Henry Ford.

Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude. W.W. Ziege

Fear breeds inaction
Inaction leads to lack of experience
Lack of experience leads to ignorance
Ignorance breeds fear. John C. Maxwell

Think about this.....
If you had unlimited power, unlimited resources, unlimited time....how would you transform the world?
Ah....well, it's been done actually. It's available for all to read in the best selling book of all time...the Bible!

Great Advice I Read Today.....
Live your life boldly and with passion.
Make a list of at least 10 activities you would like to do but somehow never seem to make a priority.
Set a date by when you will commit to doing each one.

Fun....fun....fun!

These pics were taken on St John's Island. That's the "Wai Keng" (a converted chinese junk) with Singapore's financial district in the background. It was so nice to be able to sit in a motorized boat for a change and not to be working like a dog trying to maximise the wind all the time. It had a lovely deck with a huge dining table and a delicious spread that we porked out on. The top deck had a huge comfy cushion that I took a nap on enroute back to RSYC. The beach and water at St John's was lovely. Why can't all weekends be like that?

Mt Ophir

This pic was taken just about a year ago. Unfortunately no mountain climbing this year. The fond memories are still pretty fresh and the hope to do Mt Kinabalu is still there. If you're wondering why I look so terrible, it's because I felt empowered by wearing that camouflage bandana wrapped around my head. I really didn't care what I looked like. But of course now I'm thinking I really should pay more attention to my looks.

His Name is Arkad

This is what I'm currently reading. It's a old yellowed copy dug out of the nearby community library. The first edition was published in 1926. I like these oldies but classics. Anyway, the richest man in Babylon goes by the name of Arkad. It's a neat story with good old fashioned wisdom that is as valid today as it was in 1926....and I suppose back 2000 yrs ago in Babylon.

Here they are:

1. Start thy purse to fattening

2. Control thy expenditures

3. Make thy gold multiply

4. Guard thy treasures from loss

5. Make of thy dwelling a profitable investment

6. Insure a future income

7. Increase thy ability to earn

Excuse me while I go about fattening my purse now.....ha!

Thoughts on Time
What exactly is time? How does it work? What's the best way to relate to it? I hear so much about time management and just about everyone I know, including myself, have wrestled with this issue. Is there really such a thing as time management? Or is it self-management? Time just is. It doesn't do anything. It's just there. We know it's coming, it passes and then it's history. No way to get it back. We have a real knack of getting ourselves into situations where we feel trapped by time.
These are some distinctions that I feel helpful to reflect on.

Time is a tool that is exclusively mine to play with.
How I spend my time will give me 80% of the fulfillment I desire.
Time is not manageable, but my choices and actions are.

What should I do with my life?
By Po Bronson
Need to return this book to the library. It's a week overdue. It was a good read. Many different stories of people and how they found fulfillment through the journey of their lives. We each have a wonderful story to tell. We just need to sit down, reflect on how we've become who we are and what it is we want to do with what's left of our time here. What do you really want? Do you know what you're passionate about? Do you absolutely love what you do? If not, what are you going to do about it? Good thought-provoking stuff.

My mind is a bit of a blank lately. But I shall post a question I find humourous & challenging:

Are you sucking the marrow out of life every moment of the day?

Outrageous Desires
There's a question I really, really like that I'm planning to put on the back of my future business card. It goes like this:

What would you do if you knew you couldn't fail?

I know most of the time I'm so busy doing whatever it is I'm doing that I don't day-dream or even night-dream (too shack!) anymore. That's no good. I believe we should all reconnect with our dreams.....and make them BIG dreams. I now firmly believe in an "abundance" mentality. Whatever I want to do, it can be done. Just have to figure out, in detail, what it is I want to do.

That's where dreaming comes in. Problem is. Most of our dreams are scaled down because they may not seem very realistic. As we get "supposedly" older and wiser, we also get more realistic, and so our dreams get smaller and smaller. But it's a dog-eat-dog world. That reality may then lead us to conclude.....why bother to dream at all?

So, my challenge to myself and you as well, is to set aside the rational side of your brain and think BIG. Start thinking and making (yes, writing it down!) a list of the most outrageous things you would do or create if nothing held you back. Set the wheels in motion for acheiving everything you desire.

I can if I believe I can.

And so can you.

Do you love your work?
I like these two quotes about work.

I never did a day's work in my life: it was all fun. Thomas Edison

The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labour and his leisure, his information and his recreation, his life and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him, he is always doing both. James Michener

That sort of sums up how I feel about being a life coach. It feels great!

Hynotherapy
Bad attitudes are a real pain to deal with. The ones I'm dealing with are long standing and deeply ingrained. I give it a lot of credit for turning my brown-black hair to white. So I have a brainwave. I need to enlist the help of a hynotherapist to cast out those bad attitudes and replace it with attitudes of gratitude.

How early does your memory start?
This is an interesting conversation piece with children. Ask them what their earliest memory is. For my son, two things came to mind. The first was that he was on holiday in America. He remembers waking up, being in K1 (the year he turned 5 yrs) and thinking that's the beginning of his life. The second was going into his brother's room and that his brother had no hair. Oddly, that memory would have been when he was younger (3-4 yrs old).

There were so many things of him as a toddler which I thought he would have remembered but he doesn't.

He doesn't remember biting his brother (a major issue for us parents which stretched for a seemingly long time). He doesn't remember moving into our present home (a traumatic event for him and us because of a strong attachment that required some severing). He doesn't remember how much he disliked attending nursery and how the teacher had to forcibly pry him from me. I felt such guilt as I walked away. Then on picking him up afterwards, I would have to gently persuade or extricate him from under the table (positively heart wrenching to see him there).

Good thing is he doesn't remember me caning him either. What a relief! And to think that I may have felt partially guilty or responsible for all the 'abuse' my children had to bear because of my experimental parenting. There's no memory of it. All those tears they shed are probably harmless. Now that's something to think about.

SO NICE AND BREEZY......
I just love this windy weather. I went running on Tuesday morning and it was actually cool....for a second there I thought I was in Cameron Highlands. I went running earlier this evening and it was super breezy. I just love it when the leaves of big trees are just swaying to and fro. It was so, so pleasant. I felt so happy just to be out and about. Wish every single day could be clear, windy and cool like today. Never realized before just how much influence the weather has on my mood. So used to being hot, sticky and semi-grouchy most of the time. This weather is really refreshing! I love it!

I've been feeling lately that there aren't enough minutes in the day. All 31 days of January have just whizzed by and my 2007 routine is still not fully in place. I've not been blogging because I haven't been sitting down to reflect on what's going on. Reading today's Mind Your Body interview with coach Robin Sharma has reminded me the value and joy I get from journalling. But now I have to get back to attending to my "I should have done that yesterday" list of things and strive for better balancing. I've been studying about the Law of Attraction (which is simply the idea that what you think about, you bring about - whether good or bad). So I resolve to focus forward positively to bring about good things I want.

The Strategic Value of Naps
You must sleep sometime between lunch and dinner and no halfway measures. Take off your clothes and get into bed. That's what I always do. Don't think you will be doing less work because you sleep during the day. That's a foolish notion held by people who have no imagination. You will accomplish more. You get two days in one - well, at least one and a half, I'm sure. When the war started, I had to sleep during the day because that was the only way I could cope with my responsibilities - Winston Churchill.

Thought for the Day
This is taken from John C. Maxwell's book titled "Today Matters".

Today is the only time you have
It's too late for yesterday
And you can't depend on tomorrow.

Another quote I came across has also set me thinking.

If a person will spend one hour a day on the same subject for five years, that person will be an expert in that subject. - Earl Nightengale

Now what shall I focus on for the next 5 years?
That's something to think about. All I need to do next is to settle on a regular time and place to do some good thinking. At the moment, I do my best thinking when I'm stranded in the car in between appointments and have nothing to do and no distractions. It's pathetic and awfully sweaty.

Farewell Spacewagon

We got this when No.3 came almost a decade ago. It was great for carting around my 3 monkeys all under aged 5 because those mandatory car seats were so bulky. It served us well. It made countless trips up the Malaysian North South highway fully loaded with seven people, seven golf bags and all our hand luggage. Looking like people moving house, we bought the roof rack and the Thule box on top to stuff even more rubbish. There were a few memorable trips to Cameron Highlands where we came back with a dozen head of cabbage, strawberries and all variety of green leafy vegetables. It also witnessed a few spells of vomitting and was home to whole families of cockroaches. It also absorbed all manner of smells....never quite recovered from Elliott's biweekly post rugby sweat. Then there was the time a mysterious putrid smell that baffled and poisoned us for weeks. Finally the workshop people took the engine and aircon apart to find that a lizard had gone exploring in there and died. There was also a lizard that was squashed by my door as it tried to get into the car. I was driving along quite happily until Matt pointed it out to me. I spotted the be-bodied critter out of the corner of my right eye and detoured to the Botanics (nearest safe spot to stop) for help. Think I shall miss being the road bully it allowed me to be as I bulldozed cars to give way to me. Alas...those were good times.

Hyundai Getz

This is the zippy little rental I'm driving around nowadays. It is so cute. So far I have squeezed into gaps between cars and yellow boxes, teeny tiny parking spaces, spaces between gridlocked cars. I just "make like a sardine" and inch forward. Filled up 3/4 of the tank when I got it and that was only $40! It's a little lacking in va-va-voom as it's only a 1.3 litre but city driving is what I do most anyway.

Getting a new car!

Scrapped the old big MPV clunker and eagarly awaiting this spiffy new piece of metal. But there's a 2-3 month waiting list. So many great minds thinking alike! In the meantime, am zipping around in a rental. It's so liberating driving a small hatchback. Feel like Rapunzel who cut off those heavy locks of hair in favour of a crewcut.

Reflections
These numbers were taken from the Straits Times Special Report on 23 Dec 2006. I saved it and would like to take some time to process it now.

Strife: 3.6 million people killed in war since 1980
Poverty: 1.1 billion people living on less than $1.50 a day
Disaster: 91 million people affected by 267 natural disasters in first eight months of 2006
Child Victims: 8.4 million children working as forced labourers or sex workers
Disease: 39.5 million people infected with HIV in the world
Battered women: 1 billion women who have been beaten, coerced into sex or abused

How do I make sense of this world I live in?
The truth is....I've had a very blessed life and I can't relate to all those numbers. I gloss over them and there's not much empathy. I'm just a tiny little carbon unit living on a small red dot of an island in the backwaters of a blue planet - one of a multitude in the vast universe.
Most of the time, I'm pretty obsessed about my life and the lives of people close to me. It takes intentional effort to think beyond that.

ST interviewed several religious leaders and I like Father Simon Pereira's quote the best. He said:
I'm a great believer in the One Person theory. Change begins with the individual. It just takes one person to reach out, bring it forward.

In a nutshell, I believe the one person that makes all the difference in this mess of a world we live in is God the Son, aka Jesus Christ. The human race was rescued some 2000 years ago, and there is reason to hope in better things to come.

I'M BACK!!!
Apologies for the silence. Blogging took a back seat as new interests consumed me. Also, I wasn't taking the time to think about each day and what I liked or not liked about it. I was catching up with fun, friends, family and food. I had a super duper farewell to 2006 and pretty eagar to start going into 2007. Wow. We're now 12 days into 2007 and I'm proud to say I didn't tear the wrong year for my carpark coupons nor any cheques. YES! I AM THE WOMAN!

Our Roots in Jimei, Xiamen
Big fuss welcoming us 'back' to our home village.
Firecrackers galore & welcome brigade in red.
(Top) Tan family home built 1937. Now occupied by people who won't budge because they claim to be descendants but are not recognized by our bunch of Tans. (Middle) The Tan ancestral temple for the families of Tan Kah Kee, Tan Lark Sye & Tan Boon Khak. It's pretty elaborate inside too. (Bottom) Tan family's own ancestral temple located behind the Tan family home.
I always thought all temples were public. It's pretty cool to have not just one, but two, temples that are family specific. We also went hiking around the cemetery (a stone's throw away) to pay our respects to the great & great-great grandparents.

Women's 10km. I placed 2304 out of 4692. Took me 1 hr 23mins 42 secs. Average speed 7.2km/hr.
No blisters this time because I slapped on the petroleum jelly to prevent chafing, wore toe socks underneath & running socks on top. Kiasu! So that was kind of fun. Got a nice tee & gym bag. My Finisher's Medal is now an ornament on the family Christmas tree. Next year......work on the timing.

Capitalist Indoctrination?
Just back from Xiamen, China. It was a 'roots' holiday. Took plenty of pics of temples, scenic vistas, people, food etc. but I went out of the way to take these two pictures. It's interesting and worthy of sharing.
The setting of these signs: a primary school playground. Just what every child needs to be brainwashed as to what's important to grasp - money & power.
Find it particularly amusing which word was mis-spelled.

Clutter
Clutter is not just about clearing a physical space. It's an emotional and spiritual act - Lesley Garner
Do you get a sense of lightness after throwing out a bunch of stuff? I do. I find it incredibly therapeutic. Problem is.....I have too much stuff. And so the process doesn't happen often enough and seems endless when I do get round to it. I find it works best when I have a sudden burst of energy and devil-may-care attitude. Like being trigger happy....I get dustbin happy.
Where does the emotional and spiritual aspects come in? If my junk could talk, they'd be going:
Think about all those good times we had together. Don't they count for anything? How can you do this after all I've done for you? Call yourself a friend? Do this and you'll regret it. Life will never be the same again. Come on....just let me hang around a little longer....I won't take up much space. Promise. Infact, if you leave me here in this dark corner, I won't say a word.

De-Cluttering
I feel the need to spring clean. My motto shall be: If in doubt, throw it out.

Warning!!!!!
That's why he's also got this nasty warning to those of us who might be tempted to gobble any cookie up.
It reads:
DO NOT eat a cookie or be prepared for crazy screaming and to bake a batch of cookies too.

Choc Chip Cookies
Son No.2 has always enjoyed baking. We also enjoy it when he bakes. But.....this batch is for his class party.

2nd Link Singapore Johore Bridge Run
If you find yourself scrutinising this pic and wondering where I might be.....well....good luck! Tim & I ran across the bridge to Johore (without need of our passports)...just a few km shy of Sultan Abu Bakar Immigration Complex, made a U-turn & back....together with about 7000 other folks. That was 10km. This time....although I wore better socks, I managed to get a blister started between my third & fourth toes on my right foot. I'm kind of bummed about how long it took for me to complete. I couldn't get into the breathing-music-rhythm pace that I wanted to. I was very distracted by the incline. Never noticed that before. I hate running up inclines. Some highlights were the African runners that hardly broke a sweat, the Ang-Moh with his kid in the pram that overtook me....and the older lady that climbed over the barricade so she cut short the distance. I realize now that I am not prepared for the Standard Charted race coming up 3rd Dec. Oh well....

How do you react when you see signs like this? Well...it just tickles my toes & gets my heart beating excitedly. The game goes a lot quicker because I just don't bother looking for all those stray balls anymore.

Here it is.....my alligator shoe....about 2 holes later, the whole sole came off. It was a lot easier to walk after that. It was only noticeable when I was putting....then I felt a little self-conscious.

Definition of Sabotage
deliberate damaging or destroying of property or equipment by enemy agents or disgruntled workers. an action taken to hinder somebody's efforts.
Origin: Sabotage derives ultimately from a French word meaning "clog". The underlying idea was of clattering along in clogs. Through the implication of clumsiness, this came to mean "do work badly", and then "destroy deliberately."
Ha! Dedicated to my two Saboteurs!

9 holes, Alligator Shoe & Chipped Golf Ball
I have some swell pics of the above but can't seem to post them. Bug in PC. Anyway, I totally embarrassed myself yesterday by playing like a beginner. My son played much better than me. I lost 3 balls to the jungle & pond. After the 3rd hole, my right shoe decided to do an alligator on me. Y'know, the sole detaching from the shoe. This same thing happened while golfing with my pal in Bangkok. The only way for me to walk was like Quasimodo. The couple that joined our flight was polite & didn't say anything....but I felt like an idiot. Later we found a chipped ball. Either a really cheapo ball or a very powerful swing. By the way, the inside of a golf ball is pink. That was fun though. I need to go play golf again.....real soon.

Words of Wisdom......
I heard today.

Live simply
Walk humbly
Give freely
Care deeply
Love unconditionally

Recognize this ad? I think it's very, very original.

A Funny Book
There is, by the way, no mention of screaming or microwaves inside. I like the title though. So funny. This book is about life balance. She has tried the usual things like time management, prioritizing, delegating etc. Her conclusion is what she calls:

The Connection Solution
1. What should I do?
2. What do I want to do?
3. What do I need to do?
4. With whom should I connect?

I find these examples she cited as quite funny.

Before I leave on a business trip I have forty-seven things to do. As I prepare, I ask myself four questions. For example:
Q. What should I do before I leave?
A. Go to the charity board of director's meeting.

Q. What do I want to do?
A. Exercise

Q. What do I need to do?
A. Wash the clothes so the family will have some clean underwear when I'm gone.

Q. With whom should I connect?
A. My daughter Emily. The charity's board of directors will forgive me (or get over it), I can exercise on the road, and clean underwear every day is an overrated concept. ( I mean, who is going to ever know?)

I must try that on the boys. Clean underwear is an overrated concept. Nobody will know.

A Thinking Book
First Edition: July 1960.
I didn't know this was so old when I read it....can't tell at all. So this must be what is called quality, timeless stuff. Too lazy to do a book review. It's not just about $$ riches. We are rich in so many other ways too. So I'll just borrow lines & whole paragraphs that I enjoyed reading.

You have absolute control over but one thing, and that is your thoughts.

There's a section titled: The Brain. A broadcasting and receiving station for Thought. This is good stuff.

Sometimes men speak lightly of the intangibles--the things which they cannot perceive through any of their five senses, and when we hear them, it should remind us that all of us are controlled by forces which are unseen and intangible.
The whole of mankind has not the power to cope with, nor to control the intangible force wrapped up in the rolling waves of the oceans. Man has not the capacity to understand the intangible force of gravity, which keeps this little earth suspended in space, and keeps man from falling from it, much less the power to control the force. Man is entirely subservient to the intangible force which comes with a thunder storm, and he is just as helpless in the presence of the intangible force of electricity.
Nor is this by any means the end of man's ignorance in connection with things unseen and intangible. He does not understand the intangible force (and intelligence) wrapped up in the soil of the earth - the force which provides him with every morsel of food he eats, every article of clothing he wears, every dollar he carries in his pockets.

Haze
Can you see it? The psi reading is 95 at the moment. On the brink of unhealthy. This is the narrow road on which I live. Same road where my neighbour's cat was found in the drain (left side of the road on the otherside of our wall) knocked down by a speedy, heartless person probably living on this same road.
How to exercise in this haze? It's even invading the house. All this is making me really, really appreciate clear, blue skies.

Pompei & Vesuvius
Walking about in the archeological ruins of Pompei & Herculaneum was the trip highlight for me. They're so well preserved because of Vesuvius' angry eruption 2000 years ago. It was like being time-warped back. We inspected many houses of the people who lived back then. Some of those 2 millenia old mosaic decorated floors look better than my 10 yr old terracotta tiles. The attractiveness of the courtyard house with the bedrooms looking into the indoor garden & water feature welcoming guests as they enter the house is timeless.

Capri
Yes, it was truly breathtaking. Abandoning the boys & my myriad of committments for a week to play the 'good wife' was lovely. There's a popular antipasti the Italians enjoy which we ate just about everyday. It's a big ball (about the size of a football) of fresh mozarella that is usually served with sliced tomatoes. You cut away what you want to eat. Was beginning to think that with all that mozarella in me, I was beginning to resemble the food itself. You'd have to see it to know I mean.

Have you ever had such a BIG blister?
Yes, that's my foot. This is the souvenir I'm nursing from having conquered 9km. Apart from having to run in the rain (it stopped raining when the run was over) , I also had to contend with knowing my sock was somehow moving around & doing something nasty in my shoe. The moral of the story is - wear good socks. It can prevent this eyesore.
It's finally drying up & I am looking forward to the gigantic scab it will become. When the skin heals completely & the scab drops off, I'm going to send the scab to my friend in Hong Kong. After all, how often does one get scabs this big? Treasure should be shared.

Run for Hope 2006
Sentosa. Tanjong Beach to Sentosa Cove and back. 9km. 67 mins.
I'm pleased. What a great way to start the day....esp today.

Stephen Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Haven't read it but I've borrowed a copy of the Personal Workbook. Flipping through, this quote caught my eye and I like it.

Life is not orderly. No matter how hard we try to make life so, right in the middle of it we die, lose a leg, fall in love, drop a jar of applesauce. - Natalie Goldberg

Anyway, in case you haven't read it also, these are the habits:

......for Private Victory.....
Habit 1: Be Proactive
Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind
Habit 3: Put First Things First

......for Public Victory........
Habit 4: Think Win-Win
Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then be Understood
Habit 6: Synergise
Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw

I have a bad habit of just skimming books for what catches my eye & not reading them cover to cover front to back. Anyway, this thing sticks out. He calls it "The Time Management Matrix" .
We spend time in one of four ways.

I. Important & Urgent
Crises, pressing problems, deadline-driven projects
II. Important & Not Urgent
prevention, pc activities, relationship building, recognizing new opportunites, planning, recreation
III. Not Important & Urgent
interruptions, some calls, some mail, some reports, some meetings, proximate pressing matters, popular activities
IV. Not Important & Not Urgent
trivia, busy work, some mail, some phone calls, time wasters, pleasant activities

Near the end of the book there are some pointers on how to start living the 7 habits. Again, this sticks out for me.

4. Spend more time in Quadrant II. Decide what is really important and work on that. Say no to those things that are not in Quadrant II and work on empowering others to free up more of your own time and energy.


This calls for a little practice.

No, I don't think so.
Sorry but I have to say no.
Hmmm.....I can't. Count me out.
That will be a no for me. N-O.
Nah....no go.
Nope.
No. No. No. Yes....it's a no.
Nada. No comprendez.
Bu ke yi.
Hmm tak.
Beh sai.
Tak boleh.

Aerial view
See the two dark blue parallel lines from left to right. That's the coral reef.
On this trip, we saw plenty of stuff. Personal favourites sighted were three turtles, a pair of baby black tip sharks, an adult black tip, flamenco dancer (floats just beneath the surface & related to nudibranch), a school of barracuda, also a lone barracuda lurking at about 10ft looking for prey (!), garfish hovering near our heads, trevally, parrotfish, a giant moray eel, a big puffer fish going in & out of the tabletop coral, a school of squid (it's squid season now) and much, much more.
We saw plenty of staghorn coral, tabletop, sponge, fire (don't touch!), fan coral (about two or three) and all kinds of soft coral. Apart from snorkelling at Renggis a few times, we also went to Tulai, Tomok & Genting.
I don't know all the names of the small coral fish but the variety & numbers seemed countless.
It was an excellent vacation.

Renggis Island off
Pulau Tioman, Malaysia
I was 13 yrs old when I first visited this island. Been going there, on and off, ever since. Renggis is only 100m opposite the Berjaya Tioman Dive Centre. But it is teeming with marine life. Matt is posing in front of the blue boat that belongs to an old family friend & boatman Hamzah.

Discover Scuba
Brings back memories. I was in Sec II when I took up the NAUI dive course. It took 6-8 weeks to learn & my open water was at Pulau Hantu, Singapore. Yucky. Nowadays, you still need to be at least 14 yrs old to qualify for Junior Scuba. But these two lucky fellows got to try it out because one need only be 10 yrs old to do Discover Scuba @ Berjaya.
They sat through a 1 hr crash course watching a DVD & then did a shore dive. Later they were dropped off at Renggis & did another hour at an average depth of 12m. That's Nazri the dive instructor. I trusted him with my children's wellbeing!!!!

Focus
There was a programme on Animal Planet (my fave channel) where prison inmates turn unwanted & rejected dogs into very obedient companions within a 30 day training schedule. My gut reaction was: of course they can, after all they have nothing else to do. That reminded me of a quote somewhere that some of the deepest books have come out of authors while they were imprisoned. There's something to be said of solitude.

Reckless driver, rude behaviour......
I was early for my next appointment after sending Elliott to school. So I parked in the school lot to sit out the awful traffic & drink my coffee. Cars were whizzing in and out. Noticed a black Lexus SUV that came zooming in maniacally. Thought to myself, " With people driving like that in school, I hope no student gets hit."
I realized later that this car was parked hastily a few lots away from me. This man, in home clothes & looking very irate, shouted at the top of his voice at another man who was standing near his car.
Rude man shouting (RMS) : HEY! WHY ARE YOU TALKING TO MY WIFE? (who was sitting in the passenger seat)
Teacher (T) : I was just asking her about parking here.
RMS: I JUST PARKED HERE FOR A MINUTE. BLAH BLAH BLAH...
T: You don't have to shout. I just noticed that ......
RMS: THERE ARE SO MANY LOTS HERE. WHAT'S WRONG WITH PARKING LIKE THIS? BLAH BLAH BLAH
T shouting now: Why do you have to be so rude? These are reserved lots and I was just asking....
RMS: DO YOU WANT TO GO SEE THE PRINCIPAL? LET'S GO RIGHT NOW!!!!
The long & short of it is that this RMS was completely unreasonable & looking for a fight. After a good 10 minutes of shouting at each other, he drove off in a huff & a puff.....as maniacally as when he drove in. I was so glad I wasn't dragged into it. They were, after all, shouting at each other right in front of my car. I thought it was a bit like watching little kids at war with each other. Except these were grown men....in their 40s.

Reframing my son's perspective
I invested some time talking to one of my sons today. A real conversation. Not the usual stuff like if he had any homework or what he ate for recess etc. I asked him what his perspective of life as a student was. It's very telling. Here it is:
Too many exams. A lot of homework. Teachers do weird things like switch off the fan in class. Not fun & makes everything dull.
It was a painstaking process but I think I was able to reframe his perspective after asking him a whole bunch of questions directed at helping him see things differently. It was like extracting teeth from a new born hamster. Very, very hard work. It helped that I was very motivated.
Now his perspective of life as a student is:
Exams will be over soon - about 7 weeks to go. He does have the knowledge to do the exam questions. After exams, he will have no more tuition, I won't nag him anymore and he can do whatever he wants.
If he finishes his homework fast enough, then he wouldn't have to bother with it anymore.
He does have fun as there are weekends to look forward to.
School is not all boring because there is only one teacher that is weird. Of the other two teachers he has, one is rather fun and makes class enjoyable, and the other one is OK.
The circumstances have not changed but his perspective has.....a little.

Appetitizing Dinner Talk?
The setting. Multi-generational family meal. Some are finishing the main meal and others are starting on fruit & dessert. The conversation is usually light & intermittent.
Kong Kong: Elliott....eat some prunes. They are very sweet.
Elliott: (no reply)
Kong Kong: Matthew.....eat some prunes. They are very sweet.
Matthew (looking curiously at the bowl of prunes but finishing his rice): Hmmmm...
Kong Kong: Luke....eat some prunes. They are very sweet.
There is a wide variety of fruit. There are oranges, apples, a lone banana, several mango....and of course, the bowl of prunes.
Kong Kong: These prunes are very sweet. Matthew, eat some prunes.
Matthew (in complete innocence asks this question): What do you call it when your poo is stuck?
Me (an incredulous look on my face & somewhat speechless): What?
Matthew: What's the word you use when your poo is stuck?
Tim (in a soft berating tone): Matthew!
Luke: I think I've just lost my appetite. Can I leave now?
Elliott (laughing disgustingly loud): HA HA HA HA....
Ma Ma: Constipated. The word is constipated.
Matthew (with glee): Oh yes!
A few minutes later......
Matthew: MUMMY! Remember when you were constipated in Mammoth (a ski resort in California) and you had to eat a lot of prunes?
Me: Yes, Matt. Thank you. I do remember.

Militant Mothering!
Think I've finally found a way to get around disputes with my boys about time spent on Xbox, computer, TV etc. Anybody who enters this play room now has to sign in! They log in & log out their time. This simple act of recording does wonders. After all, we all know how time flies when one is having fun. We don't believe that 2 hrs flew by when it only felt like 30 minutes. But now.....it's in black & white. It's been rather effective & I'm incredibly pleased. Now I wonder what other military procedures I can enforce around the house....