As of 2009, my blog here will cease operations due to ineffectiveness and inefficiency of posting an entry here.
New blog at http://fleayonce.blogspot.com
Thanks.
Disclaimer: Been trying to post this since 01st Jan, without much success.
This week is an eating fest for me, and I guess for most of us as well. There were TWO Xmas lunch at the office, one for the crews (but the rest of us were invited) on Monday and on Xmas Eve organized by the company. Everyone was encouraged to be dressed in Xmas ‘colours’, so I was decked in a green T-shirt and red shoes. I should have worn black or grey since it almost felt like Black Christmas, with the heavy rain pouring throughout the day.
The weather didn’t dampen the festive spirit though. The office was bustling, but not because people were busy doing their work. It was supposed to be a half work day, but everyone didn’t seem to be making any work contribution to the company at all including myself. We were not in the mood to face the PC or sort out any documents. 
There was another celebration in the evening with the poly mates at Bukit Batok. It was a chalet-like, standalone unit complete with a kitchen, 2 A/C rooms and a main hall. It was a cosy place and quite a steal at $60.
Xmas won’t be complete without gifts. For the gift exchange, I bought a giant pen 
and this cute looking USB Duck mini vacuum. Coincidentally both were yellow, so I wrapped them in a yellow napkin together with a yellow carrier. Margaret was the lucky recipient of my yellow-theme gift. She was actually my Year 1 classmate whom I have not seen for 2 years or so. I didn’t expect her at the gathering, who turned out to be a mutual friend of the group. In turn, I received Melvin’s gift which was a 500ml Nike drink bottle. I already had a similar one from the Nike Run race pack, in 1 litre capacity. Although I did not hang out any Xmas socks, I was showered with 
tons of chocolates and even won a 2GB thumb drive at the office party games.
The binging doesn’t stop here. Tomorrow will be a batch or crew graduation (food. . .) followed by Kiyah Splashh AGM (more food. . .) and the following day will be another session of meal sampling at SATS (more food. . . again) Sounds lucky huh. . . It will be a miracle if I don’t bust my waistline. . .
Addiction: Compulsive psychological and psychological need for a habit-forming substance.
No, I am not high on crack. Lately I’ve been called an addict, a TV addict that is, for faithfully watching every episode of Jeanette Aw’s latest drama on Ch 8. The Little Nyonya – A heartwarming story about a Nyonya who battled against all odds in pursuit of her own happiness. .*Applause*
Labeling me as a TV addict is an overstatement, although I did rush home after run without having dinner with my good friends and also forgoing gym sessions on Monday altogether cos it’s aired at 8pm. This so called ‘addiction’ incurs the wrath of Lynn and Franco, who were so exasperated at the thought of it. I have been watching Ch 8 dramas all my life but not to the extent of not missing a single episode. Just that I find the plot for this show interesting, especially showcasing the little known rich culture of the Peranakans. Prior to this, I believe there are some viewers who were not aware of the existence of such an ethnic group. Now they know where all the kuehs originated from, if all along they thought it was created in the kitchen of Bengawan Solo.
I am not glued to the TV 24/7, therefore that does not make me not a TV addict. So Lynn, do not be too upset. I will definitely join you guys for dinner after Thursdays run, and gym sessions on Monday will resume as usual with Franco soon after the series end 
This time it was the biggest dancing marathon of the year. . . ZOUKOUT! Ha. . . Definitely more fun than running a marathon. It is a unique experience, 
partying outdoor under the moonlight, and most importantly there is no strict dress code - less is more.
It was the usual gang, together with Stella and Lays. A few of Kiyah Splashh teamies were there too, so we joined in the fun together. Even the coach, Hao Yuan, the very least expected person to be there , even did not wanna miss out the event. We were at the Mambo Jambo/Hip Hop Stage most of the time and didnt even bother staying at the other 2 arenas which were spinning elctronic and house music. Everyone was waiting with anticipation at 4am for Andrew Chow. Although he was clearly a favourite among party revellers, he was not spared from jeers and even had lightsticks thrown at him when the music suddenly stopped at a point of time, maybe due some technical problems. Shows that no matter what, never ever spoils a person’s mood when he’s having fun.
It was almost 7am when we left, after around 7 hours of gyrating and booty shaking, and also the horror of watching a feminine looking guy stripped to his black trunks and did dirty dancing with a girl. Everyone was drained and just wanna get home and catch some sleep. But something unfortunate happened. . .Stella’s bag was stolen from a locker shared with Jef and Lynn. It was very weird cos the other 2 bags were not taken and the locker was still secured when they went to retrieve the bags. It happened to others as well. I can understand the frustration felt by her, having to go through the trouble to have all the cards and IC replaced, plus the heartache of losing cash and personal items.
Well, we have learnt a lesson here - the hard way. Never ever trust the lockers again. . . and forget about bringing a bag… less hassle, no worries. This will definitely be applied to the tentative-plan-to-attend New Year Eve’s Siloso Beach Party! Time to get wet and wild. . .
It was hell, torturing and painful. After 5hr 44min, it was finally over. I managed to complete my first full marathon yesterday. After losing Jef and Stella at the 15km mark, Hui Liang and I scrape through the run till the finishing line.
We were in cruise control up til the 30km mark, where we finally hit the wall. After that point, even brisk walking was taking a toll on our legs. Even slapping on tubes of deep heat rub on our thighs, calves and ankles didn’t relieve the pain after a while.
Nevertheless, the whole experience is very inspiring. Different people run for various causes - personal achievement, personal best and even set records. Of course I am referring to the Kenyan runner who broke the course’s record. Just as I was about to complete 10km, the Kenyan front runner was already crossing the 30km mark! Truly superhuman. .
After the run, everyone was saying that they won’t ever go through it again, including me. But I just have this feeling that I will go for it again, maybe to improve the timing. Even Jenn and Lynn who ran the 10km event wanted to step up the level and intending to complete a half marathon next year. Running is just so addictive. Sounds insane, but its true. . . But for now, lets apply the RICE technique guys. . .
Less than a week after I booked my tickets to Bangkok, Franco called me up and broke the stale news that Air Asia was offering cheap tickets to Bangkok. He was like bugging me to go with him though I am already going to in July. So gotta no choice but to oblige, since we kinda mentioned sometime back that we will go someday. Instead of waiting for 8 months, now its just 3 months away for this trip. Madness. . . 2 trips in 6 months.
Last Friday was Lynn’s birthday. I took half day leave, so did Jenn and Lingzi, to spend the day with her. We had a blast at E-Max Cineleisure Orchard, playing
Guitar Hero on Wii. Sharon and Jason joined us for dinner later in the evening at Pasta Waraku. Food was nice, just that the portion was 
not large enough to fill me up. We would have stayed out late if not for the Regatta Race the next day. So Jef, Hui Liang and me had to be back early to get ample rest.
Though we only managed to win a Bronze plate in the 20-men National Championship, the team were very satisfied with our overall performance. All the 3 teams for 10-men Inter Biz and Club went through to the semi and one of the team even made it all the way to the Grand Final. If not for the 20-men semi re-race which drained our strength (thanks to the Canadian cox), we would have probably did better. Oh well, shit happens.
It was a normal routine of logging into MSN after work. Lynn then frantically send me a message: ” Fadly! Its zero-dollar seat on Air Asia to Bangkok!” So I checked it out around mid July and discovered that the fare was $150 inclusive of taxes and surcharges. Definitely cheaper than the one we got previously at $172. So I got a little bit excited and told her that we SHOULD go. But then she discovered an even better deal. . .zero-dollar fare for both way which comes up to only $80 after the necessary charges! Thereafter I told her that we MUST go! There’s no need to even think twice.
That was when I started calling up Jenn, Jef and HL. Jenn sounded boringly excited and agreed, Jef was on about it and Hui Liang was busy clubbing and said that he will get back to me the next day. But the deal was too good for us to wait so we just went ahead and booked without HL. Lingzi decided not to join us this time as she wanted to go with her family. But in the end her parents didnt wanna go. Duh! But if not for her, we would not have found out about the great deal. So, thanks!
The plan was to travel from 30 Jul to 04th Aug, so that we can celebrate Jenn’s Birthday at the same time. To our horror, the morning flight for zero dollar was not available anymore though the flight in the evening was still up for grabs. We discussed that it was pointless to reach Bangkok so late in the evening and waste one day. We then scrambled to source for an alternative date. Luckily we managed to book on 24th to 27th Jul. Phew. . . Then another nightmare ensued. Jenn was happily telling us the booking was confirmed on this flight at this timing and I suddenly screamed in caps: “YOU BOOKED THE 0705hr ON THE RETURN FLIGHT!” It was supposed to be 1645hr. Guess she was kinda nervous and clicked wrongly. It was such an anti climax but I can’t really blame her. 0705hr meant that we will have to wake up at 0300hr and drag our feet to Suvarnabhumi to reach by 0500hr. . .
Jenn suddenly went quiet on MSN, thinking that she went to commit suicide, I called her up to say it was ok. But she tried to redeem herself by trying to change the flight timing. And she succeeded! It was like a dream, though we plan to travel to Bangkok again we didnt expect it to be so sudden. But its better than having regrets later. And HL definitely wont have to regret cos Jenn managed to book for him on the same flight after he wake up to his senses the next day.
It will be a long 8 months wait for July. . Meanwhile no time to waste for the Standard Chartered 42km. Hope we are ready for this gruelling ordeal.
It’s back to mundane Monday. . Last week had so much fun when I was in Bangkok. Thanks Jef, HL, Lynn, Jenn and Lingzi for making the trip so enjoyable and memorable. The situation there was very normal, no signs of tight security or movement restrictions. We stayed at Khao San Road, the very same guesthouse that I stayed in when I made my first trip to Bangkok slightly less than a year ago. Although our shopping items can be laid out out to cover 3 single beds, we felt it was still not enough! Four days just fly by and its over. Maybe we should go again next year. . 
“Going on a holiday is no excuse to skip running.” What a motivating line by Jenn. Therefore running still continued 2 days after the trip. And there we were talking about the trip yet again. Haiz. . . good times are hard to forget.
Anyway the New Balance Real Run last Saturday was a good one. Clocked my best time for 10km to date, completing it in 49min 22s. Had a free foot massage after the run, my third one this month alone, two of them I had in Bangkok. Maybe the blood flow in my feet must be so well circulated that I could run faster. Ha. . . 
The Bangkok trip is just less than 48 hours away. The situation over there has somewhat been unstable for the past few months as the protest against the ruling government developed into riots and demonstrations. And 2 days ago the situation kinda worsened when there were deaths and casualties caused by the clash between police and protestors.
BUT, the allure of of Bangkok’s shopping haven is too great for us to resist. . So we are braving our lives (hopefully not) to fulfil this. Surprisingly, all of us especially the girls were not really bothered by the situation, apparently nothing aint gonna thwart their plan to wipe out the malls. The guys were definitely cool about going, and I am so going to be on that plane unless the flight gets cancelled.
After planning for this trip way back in April and logging on to the 3 budget airlines website every night to source for cheap fares and suitable dates, it will be a shame to abort the trip. But of cos we still wanna be safe and return in one piece to update about the trip! Ha. . .
It was time to send Bee for a major servicing. Had an engine overhaul and replaced some parts so had to leave my bike in the good hands of the mechanic for 2 days. It cost me a bomb!
The past 2 days without Bee, I had to shuttle around using Singapore’s ’extensive’ and ‘world class’ public transportation. The 2 days were terrible, felt so lost and also realised that I do not own an EZ Link card! On way my to the gym after work in a bus, an ill mannered obese lady stepped on my foot with her heels. Not even an apology even though she realised it.
Also I had to wake up way early to get to work. Left house at the same time on both days but reached the office 20 min early yesterday and was 15 min late just now. I wonder why. . .While waiting for the bus, I was looking at my watch and thinking to myself that at that time I will still be tuning in to MTV at home while getting ready for work. Damn. . .
I guess I really cant get used to taking buses and MRT after riding for quite a while. It is so much more convenient and saves me lots of time especially to work. Now that Bee’s back with me, I will definitely appreciate and cherish this baby even more. . .
