Psst

Been away for awhile....should concentrate on here more. Let's see how, will visit back often.

Army half-marathon

1st Sept 2013, army-half/safra bay run. Seems many more participants and the route was congested few times. Lots of water points and plentiful of army marshalls. Wasn't a good run, left ankle, knee and calfs throbbing in pain.

After the run, doctor suspected a bruised tendon or tissue on left ankle. Looks like no running for awhile.

The Conjuring

Horror at it's best. A terrific plot and full of suspense and spooky, while also educational. A must watch, definitely 5 stars.

National Day Reception

3rd year of doing this event, till when will we be doing this?

Hari Raya at work

Selamat Hari Raya

Birthday

Was my birthday yesterday, 1st Aug. Dear treated me to dinner at Shangri La, buffet dinner. Burps!

Thanks for the new Oakley specs hehe

Pacific Rim

Cool movie, big robots, big monsters, awesome plot.

However too extreme of unrealistic level. Worth a watch though, not to be missed.

250th date

On our 250th date, we went night running....memories of our gruelling Sundown Marathon......hehe. Winnie, while being tired still showed her determination in running by not giving up. More events to come...Army half-marathon and North Face trail run to name a few.

Tales from the dark, part 1

A horror movie, interesting to watch but otherwise a generally easy plot to figure out. Horror scenes non-frightening.

White House Down

Surprisingly a very good movie with a fresh plot, unexpectedly the story also revolves around the constitution and the complications in a crisis. A little bit of unneeded propaganda at the end, the actions and things done appeared too easy but otherwise a good movie.

'Chubchub' enjoyed it though she was dozing off in the beginning.

Tioman trip

Went on a solo trip to Tioman, 2nd trip going there alone. Was supposed to go 26th to 28th June but stupid me woke up late and missed the bus at 630am. Had to go next day instead 27th to 29th June. Stayed up the whole night and did not sleep to ensure will not miss the bus again.

Bus ride was smooth and on time (but bumpy). Departed Golden Mile at 630am and reached Mersing Jetty about 930am, on time for the 10am ferry. Surprisingly the ferry appeared on time and left shortly about 1030. Usually the ferry service was delayed much longer. Reached Tioman at about 12noon but as the jetty I'm disembarking at (ABC) was the fourth, I disembarked at about 1230hrs. The ferry service will stop at Genting, Paya, Tekek, ABC and Salang. On the way back will be the reverse.

Immediately proceeded to the dive center and enquired of the dives, also learned that my previous Advance Open Water instructor had left the island last month. After finding a room near to the dive center (basic chalet with attached bathroom, fan and bed...cost 50RM per night) and had lunch, prepared for my first dive. Woohoo!!!

Went to Marine Park divesite, wreck-diving. Enjoyed the dive, last I was at this divesite was during the advance course and was busy mapping the wrecks. This time though, was on leisure diving thus appreciate the divesite more. Divetime 40 mins, depth 20.1 metres. Had dinner and then went to sleep early by 6pm...totally exhausted from the lack of sleep.

Next day, 3 dives slotted. First dive was at Golden Reef divesite. Divetime 32 mins, depth 18.8 metres. Visibility was very bad at 3 metres only and the current underwater was so strong. Came across a Divemaster trainee who's air consumption was similar to mine. We suck in air like nobody's business thus cutting short our divetime. Thus he was assigned my buddy. After surfacing though, notice a group of baby dolphins swimming around the boat. Everyone on the boat was looking out for the dolphins.

Next dive was at Labas divesite. Divetime 44 mins and depth 14.9 metres. Nice underwater rock formations and did a swim-through one of them. My buddy, the DMT, same as me had to surface earlier due to our air consumption.

The last and 4th dive for the trip was in the afternoon, after a 3hr surface interval. Went to Sawadee wreck. Depth 31.7 metres and divetime 20mins. On the way down after the 20 metres mark, my mask was squeezing my right side of the face, a throbbing sensation....nearly aborting the dive. After a while though, got slightly better. This dive, we had 3 new divers who just joined us. With their cameras, each of them were videoing and taking photos of themselves underwater using their own self camera. After the dive in the evening, the dive guide mentioned that he was surprised none of them dive onto the wreck as they were more busy with their cameras than looking at where they were going. Due to the squeezing experience of the mask, resulted in more air being consumed. Had to ascend up when low on air at 50 bar, again with my buddy, the DMT.

Back at the dive center and packed my dive equipments. Had dinner and then went back to room and more packing.

Ferry back to Mersing was at 9am. Had breakfast and waited at the dive center. At 9.05am, saw the ferry coming into the jetty. Another surprise, no delay. Made quick goodbyes with everyone and ran to the jetty. Ferry ride back was delayed a long while at Tekek jetty for reasons unknown, before finally reaching Mersing at 1130am. Bus ride to Singapore is at 430pm, oh well... a long wait it will be.

Had lunch and sat down for the long wait. 5 hours alone will be a good time for self-reflection hehe. At 345pm, saw the passengers disembarking from the afternoon ferry (depart Tioman 130pm). Again another surprise, a very slight delay. Damn, should have taken the afternoon ferry instead. Seems the ferry timings are on time nowdays. However met the bus representative later who said that yesterday, 2 passengers had to be left behind as their 2pm ferry was delayed for 2.5hrs. Oh well, I'm just thankful I'm back in Mersing. Bus arrived at 415pm, and back to singapore.

Bus ride back was fast and bumpy. Reached JB immigration at 610pm, driver skipping the rest stop to save time. Finally cleared Singapore immigration at 645pm, on way home now.

Till we meet again Tioman ;)

Happy birthday Winnie

My dear's birthday on 19th June...started with a surprise at midnight outside her home. Grrrr, she already dozed off before midnight. Took awhile to wake her up.

Went for birthday dinner after her work the next day before catching a late movie. And the haze hit hazardous levels (PSI 321) on same day...though as of writing now, it hit PSI 371 today.

World War Z

Great movie, great plot, great acting, great battle scene.....but very very unrealistic at most times. The movie also potray of one guy to be invincible and hard to die but the rest die easy. The ending was a bit abrupt but totally unexpected.

A must watch for zombie freaks but don't expect too much.

Hazy day

Haze level peaked at PSI 155 today. Thanks neighbour.....all outdoor plans had to be cancelled now.

No Easy Day

Hell of a book. Interesting read. Captivating life of a Navy Seal and the true story of the raid which killed the number 1 terrrorist.

After Earth

Wouldn't call it awesome but it's a refreshing movie instead. Great acting by father and son actors, Will Smith potraying the character well. Eventhough the plot looked straightforward, it was injected with twists and turns. However was a bit slow at certain times and the ending sequence was too fast and too easy.

TriFactor Bike 2013

Participated over the weekend on a 60km cycling event, 6 rounds of Changi Coastal Road. Cycling is way better than running hehe. Timing worse than last year but with no training, can't complain. Completed in 2hrs and 28mins, first time also cycling in the rain....quite fun woohoo.

Number 1 fan Winnie, appeared when I crossed the finish line....with her specially prepared breakfast of sandwiches....aaaaw!

Think I'm gonna concentrate on cycling instead of running. Time for a new bicycle ;)

Sundown marathon 2013

Sundown marathon 2013, did my first full marathon with Winnie. As of this writing, hopefully it will be my last. Such unbearable pain and torture, your mental well-being also has to be strong to complete a marathon. Winnie otherwise proves she's like a bionic woman, showing no signs of pain throughout the run.

The run started well till the 4km mark when toes started to feel pain, loosen shoes. At the 8km mark,  pain on calfs and have to apply deepheat cream. 10km onwards to 20km, unbearable pain on left ankle and then knees and followed by soles and calfs. Never before have I experienced such concurrent pain while running.

Finally passed the 24km mark, decided I can't run anymore thus walk the remaining distance. The swelling at the ankles, toes, soles and fingers really surprised me, the fingers due to lack of salt.

The walk to complete the marathon is indeed a torture with many thoughts of giving up. Yet Bionic woman pushed and pushed till I completed, without her I would have gladly lied down at the benches of East Coast park and just sleep.

The volunteers of the run were awesome as always, the supply of water at the water point however sucks. Few water points ran out of isotonic drinks or even both water and isotonic.

My advise for those who wanna attempt to do marathon, DO NOT AT ALL...unless you have and did proper training. Get those proper mileage, core and conditioning and nutrition.

Wonder how long the aches will last.

Pre-marathon jitters

4 more days to Sundown Marathon....wished had trained more. Am so screwed now. The pain from last weekend's run still lingers and with a busy week, unable to get in some runs this week.

Wish me luck though.

Star Trek: Into Darkness

Star Trek: Into Darkness. Movie did not disappoint, plot was unexpected yet lively. Action and suspense throughout. Cast was the same as the previous movie and there's bits of humour as well.

Definitely recommend for those sci-fi geeks, worth to watch.

Home Team Real Run

Participated in the Home Team RealRun this morning at Sentosa, 10km run with killer slopes and tough sandy trails. Was a good run and scenic route although very challenging.

The organisation of the race however was crappy,the baggage handling especially sucks big time. Total chaos when retrieving baggage:
- baggage was late.
- slow in retrieving.
- no guidance as to queues.
- total chaos.
- baggage lorries blocking road
- baggage collection point was chosen at a chokepoint, causing lots of human jams.

A shame that it's a home team event yet total chaos and disorganisation. This run event might be the second I will boycott in future.

New hobby

So...my new hobby is scuba diving. Am now an Advance Open Water Diver...but my buoyancy and air consumption still got a long way to go.

Sharing some photos of last month's diving in Tulamben, Bali. With my dive buddy and girlfriend, Winnie ;)

We dived with turturdive