Discovery.

ONE.


Monday. We wanted to run after School, and surprising the nearby running tracks options are out or not available. So by chance, we set foot on Bukit Gombak Stadium.

& what a surprise. Nicely located at the foot of the bukit batok natural hill and park, it was an escape from the concrete world the minute you step in thru the gate. Although only opening from 630pm on weekdays for evening (which means we, apon our 530pm arrival, have to come back again later) what we got in the end was a very cooling sun-set run.

Which I havent felt so good before during running, since i start this 'healther' activity recently. Perhaps it was already 7pm, but the air was so chilling; especially at that portion which was parallel to the Woods, where by every inhale rejuvenates. Breezes kept on flowing down from the hill, just like a natural air-conditional blowing on to you as you run by the foot of hill. So crisp, so fresh. That before i knew, i completed the run without any dragging of feet or what.


Stadiums always gave me a cold and harsh feelings. Perhaps because many are old concrete block, or perhaps it was always at Stadiums where i was proven to be the Weakest of the lot, or it was where i always fails.

But here is different. The freshness of air pumps all negative thoughts out of mind, the hilly scenery distracts me from the bad thoughts, and made me forget what is failing. ...Just run and enjoy.


When opportunity arises, i will pay a visit back there again.



Pardon this grainy picture, taken with Phone after sun had set.


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TWO.


If you had always flip thru European motor publications, you would have heard before one of the best things in the world (for car-enthu) is to drive some Ferrari or Lambo thru those long mountain-pass Tunnels, wind down the window, rev the engine and enjoy the Italian engine noise amplified via the wall of the tunnel.

That was rarely encountered by me in this Sunny Island before, not until the KPE was opened on Saturday, featured a 12km long Tunnel. Which i tried on Sunday.


What was going to be a boring drive (due to the strict speed limit) was shaken off, when i was woken up by that special noise of the V8 engine & that bright headlights coming from behind. Definatly something special, and i grabbed my camera, which gave you that pic you see below.


Indeed it was a Ferrari F430. In normal conditions it sounds good, and all of that are further enchanced when it echos in the Tunnel. The amplified sound inspirits and captivates your senses, triggering the nerves as it roars past. It shouts when it approaches, and that voice still lingers around even when it had travelled past to far ahead at the front of the pack... Dominates the entire tunnel to be it's own.


And now i understand the wonders of what the journos were describing always, after this fortunate encounter.


.

Derrick & T3: The send off story.

Setting: Airport Terminal 3, Popeyes. 17th Sept '08.

As i was munching onto the famous biscuits, & pondering over how "Popeyes" is pronounced, Dom was saying that she have been here numerious times this year, sending friends off. But this time round it was really different, 'coz as you see, derrick's flight is 11.59pm, and now is 9.35 and yet there's no sight/news of him yet.


10.19PM: Idling at Departure lobby, and he calls in. Horror, he's still at home. Finishing with packing and all the admin stuff, and is rushing to leave house now.

Shock but not that surprising...this poor guy been running up and down for weeks in preparation of this Big Trip and Exchange programme, stress'd up and really busy he is...but well, now he's going to be really late. Thankful he lives at Marine Parade.


Almost 40 minutes later at 10.57pm, he arrives. with friends awaits with trolley by the Cab. With efficiently the luggages are dug out of the cab, swiftly we move onto the now queue-less Row 3 for check in procedures.

From then on it was a sense of mixed feelings. It was sort of relieve to see him arrive almost on time, but that was on a price that he havent eaten lunch/dinner, his poor parents worried and panic, and him sort of overwhelmed with all the stuff that needs to be done. So much that you see (at the photo album) most of the photos are taken from behind, not his face, neither a group photo or what.


So after all the trying-to-squeeze-last-min-items-into-the-bag, sorting and labelling, pad-locking of zip, cards issue, tying of jackets over his neck, paparazzi style photo snapping, a brief good-bye & he's in. ...and still a 20 row length of the airport hall to run to his gate at the left-most, 'A-1'. Time, 11.30pm exact.


Only as he disappears via the glass door and us saying good bye to his parents, then that bit of emo comes in. I wonder how he would be over there? Would his 5 other uni peers in this same program know his 'pattern'? Hopeful, after that 10 over hours of sleep in the cozy SQ flight overnight, he will be recharged, alert and ready to see the First world that awaits him... Better enjoy this exchange trip, else, i thought, all the effort he puts in will be wasted..


With that, we left, and out to ECP carls jr to chill... and froze our brains with that three mind killing quiz jinie gave us.. (which explains all the serious faces you see in the photo album, at the end)

**
The photo journal of what happened that night: CLICK to facebook album ^-^
**

.

one of many.

Recently the magazine-reading me had went back to novel. "The time traveller's wife", by Nifffenegger, to be exact. It was a book i pick up to flip by chance, and end up on my desk at home by accident. Nevertheless once i start i didnt stop reading, amazed by the depth of thought and the abundant of details.

Now just only halfway (still) into the book, here just a portion i would like to share; it was a dialog between Henry, the time traveller, to his wife, with regards the past:

"It's a reminder that the moment i belonged to is dead, and not just dead, but forgotten. (...) That's why I get excited when i see little kids pretending to be punk, because i dont want all to just disappear. (...) Even when I get to do something cool (to travel back in time to the past), like say go to see a concert I missed the first time round, maybe a band that's broken up or somebody that died, it's sad watching them as I know what's going to happen."


This was one of the part that strike me, cos it did resemble what i felt at times. Especially when you had a dream a night, dreaming of the stuff you used to do, or the wonderful gatherings you used to had, and woke up feeling sad cos you know in real time all no longer exist anymore. Or looking at some other younger ones doing stuff that you used to do, and it was all these type of reminders that made you feel glad for the moment.

But eventually, what had passed by means that it is in the past, and soon forgotten. Regardless of how successful or how much Magic you had done, when you left the school/organisation all that is left is just perhaps a name or even nothing.


And well, perhaps that why it's useless to keep looking back at the past. Use the magic you had performed before to push for even more in future..


...As for the book, this small little segment definatly does not conclude about the story, 'cos there are far more themes and other inspirations inside. Just that i have to finish reading it first. 289 pages more to go.


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After 5 years of absent, I'm back on P. Ubin again, on Bicycle. That was last Sunday, the 7th Sept. And greeted by a huge rain that soaked us all, within 10 mins of the start of the cycling.

Then as we are dried by Mother nature, we abandoned the tarmac road for the beaten path, where you get to slide on gravel, splash on pool of water and navigate the bike up the puddle of wet mud.

Which was great fun, in my opinion. A big contrast from the beautifully tarmac'd and long and straight path of East Coast Park, cycling at Ubin is such an Adventure. Endless curves and uphill downhills, different sort of terrains, all the crest and teeth-jarring rocks, and never ending routes to explore to get to the different beaches and sights.

And after you conquered each upslopes, you will be rewarded with that fast sweeping down-hill ride. Effortless and yet 'shiok'. & it puts all your apex cornering and braking knowledge to practical use, on 2 wheels.

No wonder, when the sun sets, the weather-wornt and mud-spattered me still feels as enthuastic as before.
...It was only the thought of waking up early next day for work that kills the spirit.


*See the place we covered. Thanks to Sebas Ray Lala lihui & julian for making it possible:
Click to see the gallery of selected photos


** Note:
Seen on papers fews day later (this week) about an accident that took place at ubin on the same day as our visit; Not forgetting also the small injuries our friend suffered as she slipped off the bike at mid-way. Cycling at the terrain of ubin can be risky too..Perhaps we have to be reminded to slow down when approaching corners at all times, and be familiar with the proper braking of the bike.


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Ever since entering the household in Dec 07, my dear little DVD recorder seems to suffer from some major illness and shown to us how her health was weaken over the months, to eventually a death after my attempted surgery on her failed.

That is how she is now spending nights at the Agent's serving centre, and me and my sister to miss 2 weeks of Tellie Sitcoms and Variety shows.

As only my dad will be free to send it down, and certainly he is not at best explaining the fault, here's the description i wrote to whoever-that-is-going-to-revive-this-piece-of-dead-machine.




Which after writing, i really seems as if i'm doing a slow and painful description of her route to failure. ;p


..............