Dinosaur handphone

"Can I take a pic of your dinosaur?" - keke...

Is my palm small or the handphone big? - haha...

Upon comparison, Xian's Nokia 6510 suddenly becomes so much more 'tahanable'.
(相比之下，还可以看... the power of "relativity")

BUANG

I was ‘cruising’ along happily when my right handlebar hit an out-of-nowhere something and made me lose my balance. *BUANG* Wah liew… in-front-one never give warning, siam also never tell me! (Shit! Mistakes: Never assume there’s nothing blocking my path; Never follow too closely behind). So Baby GT suffered some scratches on the handlebar but was still in perfect shape. As for me, my left knee (larger than 50-cents-sized wound) and palm (10-cents-sized wound) were not spared.

Someone: ... *Giggle*... “看你还敢不敢再踏?”
Me: “当然敢啦!” (*What the fish*)
Not that I "hao-lian" or "ti-ki" or what... Am I sensing it right... there's some element of 泼冷水/嘲笑/讽刺 in it... I just don’t understand why people sometimes go around discouraging others when they themselves know nothing about the passion, the interest, the effort, etc... that goes into a sport/exercise.

I mean, just imagine what would happen if a child gives up learning how to walk after he/she falls – whether injured or not? And, do you give up sometime after a little failure/mishap? What happen if Ronald Susilo give up badminton, Jocelin Yeo give up swimming or Khoo Swee Chiow give up climbing (and all his other challenging feats), after encountering defeats/failures/injuries/mishaps???

I repeat: I will definitely not give it up despite my mishap!!!
I just need to be more careful – that’s all!

P/S: This is supposed to be a secret between you and me!!! Keeping mum about this won’t kill. Just say you don’t know anything is the best reply to any question.
:p I just don’t want someone to keep nagging at me whenever I go cycling. Thks!

What is Your Exercise Personality?

Your Personality Type: SPONTANEOUS
Life is a game, and your strategy is always changing. While you aren't much for rules, you'll follow them if they're simple and help you have fun. [Right!]

Your Exercise Rx:
Short but sweet activities that allow you to accumulate exercise time throughout the day may be a good choice, says Ross Andersen, PhD, director of exercise science at Johns Hopkins' weight management center. Spontaneous types also tend to do well with games. [Not sure about doing well, maybe doing above average is more apt...]

Best Choices
- Short walks throughout the day [I hope it's not suggesting that I KLKK]
- Taking the stairs [I try not to take the lift as much as possible]
- Bike rides [Cool... I'm beginning to love it]
- Hiking [I just completed one at Mt. Ophir]
- Tennis [Neh, dislike]
- Racquetball [What's this? If it's badminton... not bad too...]
- Squash [I've got the rackets but it's usually tough to find courts... Uncle & Aunty, you shld move back to Mandarin Gardens or some condos where there's squash courts... then we can go there to play, swim, gym, bbq...]
- Basketball [Don't like - note: this is different from Dislike]
- Frisbee [Erh, dislike]

Leisure Activities
Your first priority is to work regular exercise into your week. But also think about using your leisure time to burn off a few extra calories. [Burn the more the merrier...]

Here are some extracurricular activities for your personality type:
skiing [How to ski here? No snow. Maybe cable ski?]
playing in a softball or volleyball league [too leh cheh, too much commitment... u dare to join if you are not PRO meh?]

Obstacles
Different personalities don't just take to different activities; they have to contend with different obstacles too. Here's what you might find in your path, as well as ways to get around it:

Your biggest enemy is an idle mind. Even short workouts can turn torturous if there's nothing to occupy your brain.

Solution: Watch TV or listen to music while exercising, or grab a workout partner to talk with. [That's what I normally do lor...]

Wanna take this quiz? Click here

Baby GT went for surgery

And I thought it was my problem (not reaching enough speed) when the lower 5th gear is slow to engage the 6th (the rest shift nicely). Turned out it's the bike problem.

"Doctor" KP helped to lube the cable and chain, diagnose and fine tune (adjust cable tension, limit screws, etc), and test-ride a number of times for close to an hour... but still sama-sama.

Then we went back to bike shop to look for "Surgeon" Uncle... again, lots of waiting (cos a lot of customers), plus lots more of diagnosis, fine tuning, test-drive... still slow to engage for that particular shift from 5 to 6. Then the uncle test-drive also. Hahah... cannot means cannot (how many people test also no use - only difference is the load). Change chain and repeat... alamak, still the same. After some cajoling, the uncle tests with a different cassette... bingo, problem solved and I got a new chain, and a new cassette FOC - actually nothing to be happy abt cos mine is supposed to be a new bike (so all parts are new) and I expect them to be working fine. Anyway, 没事就好 else Sat can't ride. My baby GT is now "recovering" at home.

Oh yes...

• Just realized there's this thing called Transpose on my keyboard... and all along I wonder how the keyboardist in those music cafe managed those +/- 1 to 2 keys change with ease. Now I know.
  
• Also realized I have some problems identifying the happy and sad chords (If you play both, still okay. Without comparison, I'm happy/sad-chord-deaf. Jialat.
  
• Found out that XC is also into cycling. Now I've a kaki (I'm psycho-ing Xian to join me as well)...
  
• Saw cousin ZK going to jog the day before. Hmm, looks like everyone is into exercising/keeping fit nowadays... I'm not alone.
  
• Just realized I know three person lecturing at Republic Poly.
  
• Just realized I know four SIA pilots to-date... two already co-pilots, one just passed, one still undergoing training... and I realized that they need to accumulate points to bid to fly to their desired destinations.

My Firsts...

My first trekking trip

• Went to Gunung Ledang (Mt. Ophir) last Friday night. Trekked with 20 other people on Saturday (shall write more about this when I'm free).
• It was also the first time that I experienced a nosebleed from my left nostril due to strenuous exercise (I suppose so - that's what most websites say as one of the causes). Some said I'm ('my engine' is) overheated... anyway, the Ranger dipped a handkerchief into the stream and gotten me to place it on my forehead. No giddy spells, no headaches, no numbness... phew! Anyway, no worries. I'm okay. Just another case of tiny blood vessels widening and bursting during exercising.
• It was also my first time drinking water from the icy-cool streams (with purifying tablets of course). Hmm, again not much yucky chlorine taste unlike what others said.

My first railway ride
[Minus SMRT (Singapore), LTR Putra Line (KL), London Tube, MTR (Hong Kong), Bangkok's skytrain - they are just different cos there's no seat number and they're much shorter rides.]

• Took the KTM train from Johor Bahru station to Segamat station last Friday night. I thought the ride would be very bumpy (that's what many people said) but still, the 'must-be-pig-alike-me' still managed to catch some sleep on it. It's somewhat the same as a bus ride in my opinion.
• It was also my first to sleep on bed (upper deck) on our ride back to Singapore on Sunday early morning (3am). Not bad. Cool. So much better than seats type where my neck is usually strained from tilting too much of my head to one side during sleeping.

I am a Bear Cub...

Was taking my lunch ("packeted" nutritional brown rice with cauliflower, caixin & a don't-know-what-vegetarian-meat) when someone asked me to do a cute test to see which cute animal am I... and I actually did... Bear cub is still okie... Luckily I'm neither a frog *yucks* nor a kitten (I dislike cats) which I almost were according to the test. Phew!

You Are A: Bear Cub!

Bears are strong and independent creatures who roam in the forest in search of food. Bears are usually gentle, but anger one and be prepared for their full fury! You have a bit of a temper -- a classic attribute of bears. Intelligent and resourceful, though lazy at times, you are a fascinating creature of the wild.

You were almost a: Kitten or a Frog
You are least like a: Groundhog or a MouseWhat Cute Animal Are You?

RA show for those under 18...

I managed to catch the whole episode (lasting only for a few seconds) of one monkey mounting on another monkey doing some RA thrusting stuff (alas, you know what lah) at Bukit Timah Hill (somewhere near the Visitor's Centre). I wonder if the little ones there managed to catch a glimpse of it and if they did, I wonder if they know what's happening and whether their parents explained. Frankly, I'm a little surprised by the openess of it all.

Those armed with cameras missed these "precious moments" (see... cameras in hands already also can miss... not to say my k750i inside my bag). But I never had the intention to disturb anything in the nature... that's why I stayed a distance. But three adults walked nearer to the two stars each armed with a point-and-shoot camera hoping for a re-take. Unfortunately, it was a perfect take. 收工 liao... haha...

This is one of the monkey involved in the RA show
[It moved closer to me (not the reverse)... that prompted me to take a shot]

Jialat... Still unfit...

Went for a training session at Bukit Timah Hill yesterday - from Visitor's Centre to its summit for four times. I realized my once a week 20+km cycling (twice so far) and slow jog of about 3.2km (two times a week for abt 3 wks) is not enough at all. My fitness is still not tuned up sufficient IMO. Maybe I should have walked to the nearest HDB to climb stairs instead of jog.

During the last ascent, my jelly-liked legs almost refused to move on the steep slope and the steps... M. and I trodded at tortoise speed as we pushed each other along. I think we are great companions given our sama-sama speed. Moving uphill is really quite punishing for the thighs... and we have no time to talk cos we are busy catching our breathes. Downhill is still okay except for the knees.

Jialat... still unfit siah...

屁股有一点痛... hee...

The key is in my hands

Holding the h/w key has its privileges.

But sharing the h/w key is a pain.

All I wanted to do is to set up a server to share the license.

But ended up sharing my com's resources instead.

The stupid me just realized that my com becomes a remote server on which the actual execution takes place... I searched the help files but there's nothing which allows me to just share the license without sharing my precious limited resources with everyone who needs to run the software.
DON'T HAVE lor!

So at times, I'm stucked with 100% CPU usage that slowed all my other applications/processes to a halt. Shit, I feel it again!

At times, I'm tempted to pull out the network cable. But I can't. Haiz.

My only hope lies with Xian.

My Minnie On Strike

My Minnie Mouse watch stopped moving. *So fast huh?*
Not sure since when. Either 10+ last night or 10+ this morning.

Naively, I turn the hands and set the time, hoping it will continue to move but it didn’t.

Miraculously, about an hour and a half later, it somehow decided to start working again... even though I didn't do anything to it.

You have got a message...

While I'm still fast asleep...

3+am: Receive an sms from Germany asking for a little help to check on some tin toys info...
*sure, no problem... and I beeped back 8 sms-es*

7+am: mL sms-ed me minutes before she board the plane for Taiwan.
*So nice...*

What I did this CNY

Celebrated CNY in Muar this year. Hmm... didn't get my hands on any fireworks/firecrackers because of stricter checks by their gahmen - they also kiasi, so never buy (Grrrrrrrrr!!! Chou Xian bluff me!). However, got to watch lots of beautiful fireworks fired intermittently by their neighbours (for almost every night - especially chu xi and first day) which my k750i failed to record nicely.

And for the first time in history, I need to take cover while watching fireworks. It was supposed to be two bungalows distance away but the wind blew it in our direction and we had those fireworks right above us. Really nice but after a short moment, we had fireworks sand-like remnants raining on us (luckily it's cooled when it reached us). Wah liew, need to wash hair...

What would you do if your nicely polished precious car is parked right below the fireworks?
Tsk tsk tsk... even though it doesn't do any damage...
You will probably F the person who start the fireworks and F again as you wash & wash (and this is what actually happens). ;p

Over there, I did practically nothing except eat, sleep, gamble (won a total of about RM60). Okie... I did follow them to the "small" temple.

Lots of smoke that makes my eyes very uncomfy

The eating part is actually quite scary. Now when I think of it, I feel like vomiting. Before I could feel hungry, they asked me to eat. We had late nights, so had breakfast was around 10+am, then lunch again at 1+pm, then tea ard 3-4pm, then dinner at ard 6-7pm, then supper. I remembered I never took any rice over there (except for one night)... just took small bites at every meal.

Mee Goreng and Ramly Burger at the "Ah Gua" makan place
(I heard it's opened by transvestites in the past)
The mee goreng - not bad
The burger - yucks (Singapore Pasar Malam ones more delicious)

I think this bbq meat is bought from a shop in Muar by the name of Yuan Zhen Xiang.
Guess what... I only took a piece of bbq meat this CNY.
I think it tastes much better than the bbq meat from a local store (of very similar name) in Singapore.

This trip is also a mini "eye-opener" trip. Minus those I see in pics/tv, this is the first time I see these real life plants (quite impressive since it's self-grown):

Top Left: Lady finger / Top Right: Long bean
Bottom: Brinjal
FYI, the perspective of the photo may show that the lady finger is nothing unusual... but it's extremely long (easily 1.5 times the length of what you normally see in the market)

Happy Birthday Xi

Luv you always...