how long does it take to cycle half of singapore?

2 hours and 45 minutes..
at least that was how long i took to cycle from tampines to woodlands..
i auctioned a ginori back suspension bicycle from ebay, 3 weeks' old, good condition, just that the gear change is not too smooth, but on the whole it si quite fine.. well for $90, it's good..
picked up in tampines from a indonesian guy who needed to sell it off because he's moving west..

going back by cab is out of question because bike is too big for the boot..
my dad needs it to cycle to work so i had to get it back as soon as possible but i had no friends with car available for the evening..
and and so i cycled..

tampines road > bedok reservoir road > airport road > hougang ave 3 > lentor ave > yishun road > gambas ave > woodlands st 83

by the time i reached yishun, my thighs were crying for mercy..
i was crying for mercy..
if the bike can talk, it would be crying for mercy..
not more than 10 times on the road, certainly not for 2hrs and 40mins at one go..
but it fared well.. i like it..
i certainly HOPE it will last at least more than 5 years, that includes from theft too..
and careless me.. oh well..

i'm now dead beat, and i have managed to survive a movie after i reached home..
but how's to say about tomorrow?? my thighs.. haha..
a +

swedish

finally started on this book to learn swedish..
i can already hear some people saying: "what? another language?"
yes, i am, but i guess i'll take this slower than french of course, which is already my forte.. haha..
and of course i must continue with my korean also, which i had started when i was back in troyes..

i must say i enjoy learning foreign languages, to the point that it seems to be a hobby to me already..
there are some who like to collect stamps, some like to collect coins, some like to do programming, some like to jog, some like to collect pirated dvds (why do i find it so familiar? haha), and as for me, i like to learn foreign language..
tough? maybe..
fun? definitely, especially you can swear in 8 different languages..
crazy? you bet..

so what's in the waiting list? lets see..
spanish, portuguese, thai, malay, tamil, finnish, german..
sounds like a high order. but of course i have my lifetime to do it..
so oh well.. let's see how many languages can i fare well before i kick the bucket.. haha
a +

quem vem la? capoeira

started to do capoeira again..
at substation, every saturdays and sundays..
in a dance studio, a bit small though, to accomodate so many people..
as compared to troyes:
membership fee:
there $60; here $90 (for student) $120 (for others);
monthly fee:
there $200 (for 5 months); here $90 / $120 per month;
numbers of training per week:
there 3; here 2;

i somehow preferred training capoeira there now.. haha.. oh well.. another paradoxical fact about how things cost in troyes.. but still.

it is easy to fit in because i've been doing for 6 months, so i'm quite good as campared to the rest of the new-comers without the belt.. just need some refreshing to get back the feeling..
i preferred doing moves intended for the higher belts, but i think they might find me strange to train with them, so instead i humbly (yeah right!) train with the white belts..

other than that, i have to modify some of the moves i've learnt before, because i guess different instructors have different styles, but generally it remains the same.. so these 2 lessons had been more like a refresher and re-styler course for me..

if not, i enjoyed the training, i can talk to the other trainees more readily, than in troyes where i had to try hard to speak and understand in french; oh, there is a french there too, so someone i can practice my french with(enfin!)

oh well, another of verbal diahorrea from yours truly again..
a+

no affinity with bicycle

what can i say? i just don't get it and never will..
i left the bike at the train station, LOCKED it, and left..
but when i returned - puff - no bike, no chain, no lock, nothing..
nothing..
nothing..
NOTHING..
i just don't get it..
what's with me and bike?
am i to lose a bike whenever i park one there?
if not, then why do people steal my bike all the time?
haha.. man.. grrr..
i've reached a point that i can't get angry with the thieves anymore, all i can do is to laugh cynically.. the worst is that it's my dad's bike, i don't even know how to explain..

and those who know me will know it's not the 1st time, nor the 2nd time, nor the 3rd time, but the 4th time that i've lost a bike parked at the train station.. but it just saddened me to get into the details.. haha...
oh well, guess i have to fork out money , again, to get a bike for my dad, plus a very very big lock for it.. goodbye ang pao money..
sob sob..

feeling hot hot hot

i'm feeling hot!! but not in the sense as i would wanted though..
i'm talking about the weather, 34 degrees today i think..
and a flu does not make it any better..
just made me feel more lethargic and sleepy..
got myself panadol cold relief drink, had one after lunch, made me all so drowsy even though it said non-drowsy on the package, is there anyone i can sue?
i was just formatting the pc and my mind went in and out of consciousness like a pendulum..
if not for a short visit to the toilet to freshen myself up, i would have slept just like dat..

had asked a question on msn about long-distance relationship few days back..
results came back that most think it would not work..
couple of them felt it would work only if both parties are very strong and the relationship is stable..
any comments out there?
i personally feel that it will work if both really loves each other and they are willing to make it work..
yet future is so unknown that no one knows what it holds for us..
i just take each day at a time, but make short term goals and plans..
some might say we should plan far ahead, but how far is far? how far is enough?
is 1 enough? 2? 5?

3rd week back in singapore, still felt i'm not in sync with singaporean culture..
friends said i had changed, have i? for the better? for the worse?
oh well, to all its own..

a+

the day after the chinese new year holidays..
the force of unwillingness to start work is strong, especially my eyes..
never had i felt so sleepy even after 6 hours of sleep the night before..
the fact that there was nothing to do in the morning at the office just helped me fall further..
i just fell asleep sitting on my chair..

today's valentine's day..
love's in the air, so strong you can be overwhelmed by it..
guess those who has someone esle to spend it with would feel much different from those who didn't..
as for me, i just called my friend, who's far far away on the other part of the world..
it was just so nice just to hear the voice, knowing that everything's well and fine..
and i have dedicate the following poem to my friend and to all:

Si j'avais a t'écrire

Mon ange, je te dirais

Combien tes doux sourires

Me laisse souvent muet

Et je te parlerais

De ta voix caressante

Son univers d'effets

Ses vertus bienfaisantes

Je voudrais t'exprimer

De façon explicite

Pourqoui ton être entier

Mon amour s'y abrite

J'inventerais les mots

De la langue de mon coeur

Car ceux de mon cerveau

Ne sont a ta hauteur

Joyeux St Valentin!!

sometimes things just fall into place and out of the blue, making you believe that the path you are to take is almost the correct one..
i had been practicing capoeira with matti in troyes for about 6 months now, and hopefully we can continue practicing after returning to each's country..
he had found one society at his own which does capoeira so i think and believe that he will continue..
as for me, i have found one in singapore but has yet to pay the society a visit..
they have a student body in national university of singapore(nus) and an official one in town..
i tried to go for one of the former's training session, just to find out they have move their training room to else where without updating the website, leaving me to go around like a rat trying to find where they were..
then came saturday where it saw me in the cafe where i had worked before my trip to france. i was showing my supervisor bobbi pictures about france and stuffs i did there, including capoeira.
she turned surprised when i mentioned the name, replying that she has a new staff that practices it too..
and that's still not the best part. the best? her boyfriend is the instructor himself, and he's a brazilian! see how it all match up?
it just made me believe that taking up this route of practicing capoeira would be quite correct. and i made hesitation that i might, just might, be a capoeira instructor myself..
so what lies ahead? it awaits to be revealed..

finally, after 2 months of procrastination and plain laziness, I have finally overcome them to start my first blog for the year 2005. thanks for all the applause from you guys, i know you all love me..
in summary:
had my x'mas in finland, which will reside in my heart forever;
new year in sweden, pleasant for one reason to another;
final exams in france, didn't leave any good impressions on me, especially when you discovered what came out in the exams were totally different from what you have studied (grr..);
final party of 04/05 international students exchange program at my kitchen, simply put, fabulous, but what came after that wasn't at all, the cleaning up and stuff like that;
the packing up for the final trip back to singapore;
dinner with bubu, cynthia, abraham, elideth, gaucho, marcio, and nari, nice;
trip to charles de gaulle airport with bubu, i thank you forever;
12 hours transit in beijing, torturous but at least i get to meet my singaporean friends for dinner, i must say that chinese food is rather oily and salty;
arrival in singapore airport at 525am, welcomed by mom and grandmom;
first breakfast at my favorite vegetarian stall at the coffeeshop, tasted so nostalgic;
started industrial entreprise (or stage to my foreign friends) at ST electronics, nothing much to do: lots of coffee breaks, web surfing, chatting with colleagues, but project is coming;

they more or less summed up my past 2 months' major events, which just past by like a blink of the eye. all just seemed like a surreal dream that i had for the past 6 hours of sleep, and upon arrival in singapore, i woke up..
but what a sweet dream i had that i hold so dear in my heart..
but now i must ready myself for the next stage of my life in singapore, which i do not know how long it will last, unlike troyes i knew it was going to be 6 months.. but somehow i know it is not going to be forever..
but plans are manifesting in my head, waiting to be realised..
chinese new year draws near, a chance to catch up with relatives and friends whom we were either too busy or too lazy to meet up during the rest of the year.. haha
I'm looking forward to meeting them, and funnily i have not met up with any of my friends since my return to singapore, guess i, too, am guilty of being too lazy..

i wondered if i sounded kind of down in this blog, which i felt i am.. but rest assured that it is just a fleeting emotion.. it will pass like the clouds on a windy day.. too sentimental to the past..
but i know i become cheerful when i see my friends.. which i am going to do in an hour's time..

so don't forget to check out the chinese new year pictures coming soon!! cheers