Seasons greetings!
Here's looking at you, kiddo! :)
What is Singapore's national icon? The bougainvillea? Laksa? Chicken Rice? The Merlion? The Durian called Esplanade? Or.... gasp... The Singapore Flyer?
Or is it the Orang Utan called Ah Meng who has touched the lives of countless tourists, residents, and children?
I've known about Ah Meng since I was young; but I've never had the chance to have breakfast with him (something which our Zoo offered, for good money too). I don't know why, but whenever I heard about or saw marketing collateral about Ah Meng, it was always associated with "breakfast with Ah Meng" - a scheme that I thought was money-making, and somewhat commercializing a well-known resident of our zoo. For that reason, and that reason alone, I never took to trying to know Ah Meng, since in my own mind, he was being commercially exploited.
Now that Ah Meng is dead, I'm not sure what I feel anymore. A little part of me feels regret that I didn't get to know Ah Meng more - but even if I did, I doubt that the 'commercially exploited' feelings that I had would have diminished. I guess I won't ever know now that he's gone.
I seem to have a lot of friends called J. Each and every one of you is special to me.
So what is it about tennis that I look forward to every Sat? OK, so it's currently my only claim to fulfilling one of my Pillars in life: Fitness. There. I said it. I really don't do much else. Not that I shouldn't...
That's my tennis racket and our tennis balls over there on the left; but I'm digressing. I think back to the time when I used to run 5km a day - until my leg problems started to act up, Initially I listened to everyone else and believed it was a heel spur. You know the one - where you have a fishing hook growing out of your heel. I felt sorry for myself - everyone, well sort of everyone, said that the only way was to live with the pain. I saw my life flash before me - pain was there everytime I walked as it was - and I saw a life as a druggie hooked on Panadol and stronger painkillers trying to kill the pain. I think I actually got a bit depressed about this; gave up exercise altogether just trying to 'nurse' the pain away - and put on pounds that I'm still trying to lose today.
But this is a new year; (well, it's CNY but who's counting anyway) and I get to make new resolutions. I now know it's not a heel spur (hellspur!); but plantar fascitis that I have. And the pain, which was originally in my left heel area, has without gap miraculously leaped over to my right heel. I still feel the pain; but I love my tennis so much now that I can play through the pain barrier. It's always more painful after each game every week. But tennis is a start. And I won't be putting up any more excuses from now on. I'm also inspired by J's constant cycling escapades in some connector somewhere. Just you wait and see! Check out the new me in a year from now - hopefully. And I'll eat to that!
So J and I have this pact that we'll meet every Sat morn before anyone wakes up to play tennis. I've tried my very best to keep to this pact whenever possible. Sometimes due to regional travel, this meant getting as little sleep as 3-4 hours before J picks me up. The appointed time is always 6.40am; but as is evident here, we're not always able to keep our pact. The spirit is usually willing, with the flesh very weak!
You know, a search on Google Images reveals some pretty nifty entries. Like this one above. And it's exactly how I feel about missing out on a CNY re-union tea with friends like J and J that I really haven't seen for a damn long time. Why would I have assumed that it was going to be on the 3rd day of CNY and not the 2nd? What made me so certain, certainly confident that no-way-in-this-earth would it, no, COULD it, be today and not tomorrow? I feel like a fool and rightly so. Sorry to all my friends that I missed seeing - would have loved to catch up. DUH!
My First Post
So I finally did it. I figured out the basics of how to start blogging. It wasn't for want of trying thatI took this long you know. I can look back at the little trail of destruction I must have left behind at blogger; blogspot; and a host of other blog providers. You know, those little abortive attempts, baby-first-steps in trying to get a blog going. Much like the futility of trying to get a charcoal fire going, when you're armed with a baby's fan.
So why VOX? Why not blogspot; like 99% of the Rest of the World? Blame it on my little N. That's N for Nokia - the darn thing has Vox and Flickr embedded in it; making it seductively simple to get my photos onto this blog. Or that's what they promised! Did I forget to check their warranty terms? :)
Actually, much of the inspiration I got came from reading the blog of a dear friend of mine. Once I started reading her blog, I got to the links on her blog, and then I couldn't stop myself checking out every installment of these works of creative genius. All Hail the Bitter Stick Girl - you have a fan in me!
I hope in time to be able to provide for my friends, my family, and everyone who is important to me, a little insight into my life.
