Seize the day

always preached about how we should show appreciation and cherish our loved ones coz we never know when their lights will go off. Yup. NATO. No Action Talk Only. I'm good at it. This is common theory to all but whether you really consciously practise it, is a different thing altogether.

When was the last time you affected people you love coz of something unhappy that happened at work? or best..affected them coz of your own bloody PMSal mood. which we can't help, but certainly, we CAN control the amount of damage.

When was the last time you showed concern for your loved ones by remembering and calling them, with the mountain of pending emails staring at you, just to ask how their day was.

When was the last time you sat down with them without any form of distraction, totally focused at just holding a 10 min heart to heart conversation?

I was perhaps a bit too young when grandpa left and I was closer to grandma. So it really hit me right in the face when grandma left me.It's time to turn all the talk into action. There is never a second chance with the cruelty of how sudden things can happen.

Don't procrastinate. Live everyday as if it's your last and you'll probably live your life without regrets.

In one of my pensive moods again. Ignore me.

Pengarang Cycling Trip 15 Feb 2009

it's been like a week plus since the 38km cycle at Pengarang. Slipped my mind to blog about it as well. Managed to drag my fatigue body into the gym and jogged for a good 35min. Told myself I gotta keep up with my exercise as I had conscientiously worked out for the whole month of Jan and didn't want to lose the momentum.

Pengarang （四湾岛) was good. I think cycling is a good sport if you dread jogging. At least you're seated and the only part you need to work out would be your legs. I had a good tan with minimal peeling of skin. Love the wind in my hair and enjoying the nature. The scary thing was the speeding vehicles we were cycling along with. Just gotta be abit more careful. Seafood was passable coz the portions were meagre though price is cheap. The crabs were hopelessly puny. urgh.

Okay, less talk more information on the trip if you intend to go. A few have asked me about the itinerary, so here it goes. Thanks to Matt for planning this whole thingy with such a detailed itinerary. oh..as it's part of Malaysia, pls remember to bring your passport.

1 day Pengarang Itinerary:

0815 Meet at CHANGI CYCLING SERVICES, check and receive our bikes. Matt reserved 6 bikes. Each at $10 for a day. Try to go on Sunday as parking is free at Changi Village.

BLK 4, CHANGI VILLAGE ROAD,
#01-2056, SINGAPORE 500004
Tel : 6545-0872

0830 Proceed to Changi Village jetty for bumboat to Pengerang. Bumboat has to have 12 persons to depart. $9 per person. Additional $2 for transport of each bike. $11 in all for 1 way.

0930 Arrival Pengerang Jetty

0930 - 0945 Immigration. Get a copy of the map here.

0945 Start ride to Sungei Renggit. 45 mins to an hour depending on pace.
18km from jetty to/fro S. Rengit.

1100 Arrival at Sungei Renggit town. Proceed to Ostrich Farm for a tour.

1130 Arrival at Ostrich Farm. RM10 entrance ticket. You may want to try ostrich egg and ostrich meat satay @ RM5 - RM10 per portion.

1230 - 1330 Cycle to Lucky Seafood Restaurant or Jade Seafood for lunch. Famous baby lobster @ Jade is a must order! Crabs are reallly reallly small and aneroxic. Can give it a miss.

1330 Start ride back to Pengerang Jetty. About 18km. So you'll get about 40km workout!

1500 Arrival at Pengerang jetty. Have to arrive early just in case coz last bumboat is at 4pm. And trust me, you won't want to spend the night there.

1600 Depart Pengerang when bumboat is full.

1700 Arrival @ Changi Village. Home Sweet Home. BATHE!

23 and 24 Feb 2009

have been busy at work. it's good to see colleagues again, as if being thrown back to the big world which everyone plays her little part in.

Monday was blue and I felt cooped up and solitary. Not used to speaking, laughing and talking rubbish. Stuff I excel in and skills which are pretty useless but practised little in the past week. Just wanted a little time to clear my 160 unread mails and clear out some space in my cluttered mind.

Words sneaked into my ears and came zooming out at turbo speed. Nothing could register and for once, I felt life took a slower pace.

Today was normal. at least I felt more normal and sociable. irritable mood though and ended off today with an irritant who is totally unempathic, irritating and proud. Is it not possible to let that pride down a little to exchange for a smile of your loved ones? I felt alone all over again.

Wednesday shall be a better day. Yosh. Babu intro this song to me during ktv. Beautiful song. It's an OST from 12 lotus.. which I didn't watch but music connects anyhow, anyone and anytime.

同花顺 词：小寒 曲：Jim林倛玉

要是你心里真的没我
你不会剪去了长发
闪动如蝴蝶在双颊 那是眼泪吗

要是你心里真的有我
你不会嘴边无火花
静静观察 人世浮华 心已麻

假如说钢铁磨成针 只要愿意等
只要肯爱得深
是不是就有这可能
有可能打动这铁石心肠的人

可惜就算梦能成真 有谁猜得准
能分到多少福份
生命的同花顺 底牌没有你
我也认

假如说温柔是谎话
你不会颠覆这想法
你撑着眼儿都不眨 是眼泪吗

假如你真的放得下
你怎会一言也不发
漂泊天涯 苦苦挣扎 心已麻

1923 - 16 Feb 2009 - Grandma

totally konked out on bed just now. my eyes and body gave up trying to stay awake. ES was with me but I totally ignored him,unintentionally, as I catch up on my brain food.

Appreciate him being there today. The support among relatives and from friends in times like this makes everything less bleak. Thanks babu and gang and those who shared my grief for my grandma. Your condolences and words of encouragement kept me going.

Death is part and parcel of life but when it comes to the crux, it is humanly impossible to display such rationality.

Just managed to read in detail the exact cause of death stated on the death certificate - Spontaneous Subarachnoid Haemorrhage.

Subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) affects a person suddenly and usually without any prior warning.

It is a leakage of blood beneath the arachnoid membrane of the brain from a major blood vessel.

SAH causes the sufferer to develop sudden and severe headache, which is often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, neck stiffness and sometimes collapse, seizure and loss of consciousness.

That explained how sudden the whole episode took. She was well and all. There was indeed no prior warning. No time to even say goodbye.

The week seemed to zoomed by and it was routined. Wake up, wash up, go wake, go home, sleep. Minimal time is wasted between the last 2 activities. It all seemed like a dream. The cremation jolted me out of my dream telling me that grandma has left us. No matter how much I regret not spending much time with her, no matter how much tears i shed, how many times I call out her name, I will not be able to bring her back.

This butterfly was circling around the tentage for the past few days. For a period of time, it rested on the front end of the coffin. After I took the picture, it started flying around me. I am not a superstitious person but at the right time, right place, is it you ah ma?

Life goes on but I am missing you already. I believe you are at a better place now.

Mochi san will be back in action soon.

16 Feb 2009 - Grandma

every smile, every chuckle, every step, the rehearsed and repeated pats she likes to shower on the back of of my hand, the kind sparkle in her eyes when she listens to the stories I tell her, the peaceful look she exudes when she nods off at the sofa...

These will keep my memory flooded for sometime.

Buckeroo

had dinner at buckeroo located @ 12b Andrews Ave, 1st right turn when you see the Sembawang Park wooden sign on your left. It's far though. There's a reason why it's called ulu sembawang. Pls travel there by car or cab if you intend to try it out.

It was American fare, similar to billy bombers. Abit more pricey though. Nice ambience but as it's non-air conditioned, I started feeling humid and sweaty.

Food portions were generous. I'll definitely be back to try other dishes! They all looked so yummy! BUT only when I get my paycheck. heh. We spent about $105 for 3 pax...and that amounts to $35 per pax.

~ Our main course: Pork Ribs. My least fave dish coz the meat was tough and dry. Mdm Hu.... your fave texture for meat. you'll love it lor. haha~

~ Caeser Salad. Huge chunk of fibre with sinful dressing. No comments coz I think caesers taste the same everywhere.~

~ My Fave!!!! tada! buffalo wings!! We ordered level 2 of spiciness...and we could already feel the heat. Imagine the max level...level 10. You might want to serve these to your most hated enemy!~

~ Deep Fried mushrooms and chilli. Nice but very oily. Just eat la.!!!~

~ Deep fried golden brown mushrooms.. doesn't look very appetising ah? haha.. but taste quite good.~

Happy V-day mina san! ----<---{@

ipod shuffle

Konbanwa.. In response to Em's query on the comfort level of that arm band.....

sad to say, it IS uncomfy. i went jogging that day to test my liking for it. Although it wasn't tight, I still felt like I was measuring my blood pressure. The strap material is pretty rough. yup..but i think it needs getting used to.

Btw Em, that arm band is velcro-ed to the max already on my arm. your arms are thinner than mine, so it'll definitely be loose on you I think. You might want to try out other designs.

Getting an ipod shuffle might be a better choice..

my jogging companion has found a companion

ES's job was easy.. i just picked out stuff I needed and he chose to pay for this nike running arm case for my nano! used to hold my keys and nano in my hands when jogging..quite lehcheh. hope this is useful!

always liked practical stuff as gifts..best is if I can pick the gift myself and I will ensure it'll be practical and cheap. my taste is not very atas and I'm easily contented. Surprises are nice but I value practicality over anything. No latest in town soft toy or limited edition figurine. onegai!

友情万歳哦！

caught the super bitchy Bride Wars and yes, it was a super girly movie and I'm glad ES found it better than expected. I thought it was a great film portraying the type of friendship among gals.

You can have a best friend who knows you better than you know yourself. How true. I think sharon san knows me better than I do. better than my parents do. better than ES does.

The bond is strong and there to last. I am glad I have an ichiban tomodachi!

met up with 98A03 for a healthy CNY cycle at ECP...exactly 10 years of friendship..that shows how young we are now! 98a03 banzai!

me, myself and mochi

I've been always fascinated with the idea of being self sufficient, independent from anyone, anything. .

Going back to the very basics..have my own plot of land, grow whatever I like on it, harvest at my own time own target, sell it to whoever enjoys what i've reaped.

Have my own well and draw as much water as the amount that would sustain me for the next 2 days.

There's no need to please anyone, anything.

Abit far fetched but dreams are free aren't they.