missing memories

Its easy to remember the good times.

But its getting more and more difficult to remember the person that is you..

=/

nikon coolpix s200

Finally got myself a new compact digital camera! Been wanting to get one for a long time, but have been putting it off because I have been living off the kindness of a couple of friends who have lent me their cameras throughout this period of time. =) Plus, my ancient 3.2MP Sony camera was still working fine.

Behold this brillant fusion of cool aluminium and hot technology!

Anyway I initially wanted to get the Canon Ixus 850, but I've been persuaded YET again to get another camera instead of a Canon! Haha.. The other time with Michele we left with a Fujifilm, and this time I have gotten a Nikon. Seems I am not fated to get a Canon in my life!!! =D

Exams tomorrow; back to my books for now!

PDIT: Race Report

Set off on a rather gloomy Saturday morning. My vehicle commander was Freddie, a SAFRA Mt Faber runner too, and one year my junior at NTU. He was previously a tank commander in NS so we would be in safe hands under his command. =)

Left SG customs rather late at about 10, but it was ok since our race was only going to be on Sunday. However Freddie wanted to support some of his friends who were participating in the sprint race so our H hour to reach PD was 2pm. I also wanted to watch the elite race at 4pm that day.

Quite an uneventful ride save for a couple of intermittent thunderstorms and a long convoy of Singaporean Harley Davidson bikers. Boy are they fast!!!

Harleys zooming down as far as the eye can see

Reached PD slightly over 2. If the weather in the morning was gloomy, the mood had changed drastically as it was seriously raging with a serious thunderstorm now! Apparently the sprint race had not been postponed but visibility was so bad that I could not see any of the competitors! Not surprisingly as I found out later, Uncle Chan cut short the bike route and the elite was was postponed to Sunday, starting just 5 mins before us age groupers.

Did our registrations, then went over to our accommodation at PD Perdana Holiday Apartments. Jerry and Reeves, our roomates, were already there. It was anything but holiday apartments man.. Everything was so run down! Looked like the last occupants were the PD Triathlon 06 competitors! Haha. But I guess its ok since we were only staying for a night.

Freddie and Tititi Reeves

Jerry

Went for race briefing and carbo-loading dinner at night and caught up with quite alot of friends, both Singaporean and Malaysian! Went back after the dinner for some much needed rest.

Uncle Chan at his best

Luckily it did not rain throughout the night and by race day morning the roads were somewhat dry. Sky was overcast but did not look threatening. Perfect weather to do a PB, I thought. =) Some photos before the start:

me and Whelan.. Too bad he crashed during the bike if not I think he would have done very well!

Alvin's Aquatic Angels

Race started with waves flagged off at 5 min intervals of each other. Being in the 16-29 age group, I started in the 2nd wave, after the elite category. Swim course was rather straightforward and water was calm. Came out in 32mins, which is good for me, as the swim is my weakest discipline.

Ran out of the water and went straight onto the bike. Did the course last year so somewhat I already knew what to expect. As my swim was relatively slow, the fast pelotons had already departed and so I began quite a lonely 40km bike. The course was quite nice.. A little rolling at times but also some nice flat portions. I was quite determined to catch up with the front pack and so I went along quite furiously. Bike split: 1hr 12mins. Not the fastest, but ok enough for me, because afterall I still had my run, which was supposed to be my trump card.

Or was it not to be? My calves felt damn tight coming off the bike. Thinking that I just needed some time to adjust to running, I took it easy and sort of just "spun" my legs. Hmm.. 1.5km later and things were still not easing up. Worse still, it started pouring real heavily. Die lah. So I stopped and stretched. But things were still not improving! @#@$#@% What happened to my secret weapon? No choice, my run became a shuffle, and at some point, a walk. But I managed to
run the last 1.5km.. Think my brain's pain receptors were fried already by that time.

So I crossed the finishing chute in 2hr 49mins, 6mins off my timing last year. @!#@!$% 1 hour to run 10km!!! So much for PB.. =(

Also, I heard that somebody drowned. Dunno much details, but if it is true its damn saddening. When I completed there was not much news about it too. But then again heard that they only found the body at 5pm on Sunday. =(

Oh well that's all from me.. Leaving you with a photo collage which I did. Thanks Fennel for the support and photos! =)

PDIT 2007, no. 143 Jeremy Kang.

PDIT

Will be heading up this weekend to race at Port Dickson. Wish me godspeed! =)

On another note, I went to catch Harry Potter: The Order of the Phoenix today. Not the best of the series but I enjoyed myself. Had a very good Japanese dinner as well! Nice start to this weekend.

Ok time for bed.. Gotta get up early tomorrow to drive up. Will post a race report after.. Stay tuned!

the kangtang

Hey all,

I've changed my blog address to thekangtang.blogspot.com, as I feel it more accurately reflects who I am.. Haha. Anyway if you are reading this now, you should/would have known about the change already. =)

And, if you know me well/long enough, you will understand the meaning behind this name! I added a little pun with my surname for some personalization. Haha. Anyway thekentang.blogspot.com had already been taken! I recommend you guys to go visit it; Its written by a fellow friend, and he's incredibly funny! I wish I had his gift of writing!

Anyway, I just finished watching The Road Home by Zhang Yimou again. Brilliant movie that I can just keep re-watching again and again! And no, its not because of Zhang Ziyi, although I must say she plays a huge part lah. Haha.

Ok logging off now,whole body aching due to gym and bike. Going to get some rest for tomorrow's swim and tennis! Nights! =)

goldilocks

Went to the barber today and finally the rest of my lovely dyed-in-Penang golden locks got shorn off.

What colour should I go for next? =)

Anyway I think too much hair got cut.. I'm back to looking somewhat like Mr. Potatohead again. >:-O

empathy

Went to my friend Valerie's blog today and chanced upon yet another of her brilliant works. She's really great with wordplay and very meticulous at her choice of words. Visit her blog here to read more of her works!

Anyway, the latest one really struck a chord in me, so I'm reproducing it here.. Hope that you can appreciate it and empathize along too!

Heartsong of the Hopeful

Have u heard the painful songs,
Of a wounded bird that longs?
Buried deep down in it's quavering breast,
A memory it can't put to rest.
Through the parted yellow beak,
A song from a heart so weak.
That mourns a loss so dear -
The first-borns of the year.

Do you hear the silent cries,
Of a broken heart that tries?
Somewhere far beneath the surface,
It knows it'll never match the pace -
The pace at which you walk away,
And release darkness into day.
Emptiness lingers in your wake,
The choking still without a quake.

Happier is he cast in hopelessness,
Than a fool by grappling in foolishness,
Guards unfounded hope.

familiarity

Wonder how many of us are in relationships like that. Is it more painful to let go, or to hang on and live with the truth? =(

In rememberance

Yet another year has passed. Happy birthday kiddo.. Its your special day today and I hope you are enjoying yourself wherever you are! =)

@!#$#@% friday the 13th

Damnit got a parking ticket today.. Total cost? $20 for exceeding the parking period as indicated on my parking coupon.

I knew I should have stayed at home..

But anyway I ventured out to the gym with Weiliang today. After that headed to the Army market to take a gander at the backpacks there. Thinking of getting one for my upcoming exchange. (finally confirmed last Saturday. Thanks all for your concern!)

It was too late to catch a movie then, so we went to explore the nearby Sultan Mosque area. I was hoping to smoke some shisha (Arabic:شيشة) and have a cuppa of Egyptian tea, but we ended up at Sleepy Sam's, where we spent the entire afternoon bitching away. =)

Some photos of Singapore's Arab district, and also of us clowning about at No.1 Costume Costume Shop along the way..

Haji Lane, Singapore's narrowest lane..

me neither!idiot.
bird flu.. =D

Update at 2320hrs:

Remind me never to gym in the morning before swim class.. Coach Alvin made us do sprints today.. Now my arms are fried and my legs are busted. And I have to ride/swim tomorrow morning. Great..

solo thursday

Went for a solo bike ride today.. Felt like riding even though I had just played a 2-hour game of tennis. Just felt like letting something out of my system.

So on I pedaled to Tuas. Just me, myself and the tarmac. All the way down to the second link and back.

And when I returned.. I felt that I had lost myself once again.

what is it your heart yearns?

restricted by the physical,
bounded by the superficial.
they said love transcends all boundaries.
so maybe, it's not love you felt.

tenacious tuesday

Went to gym in the morning with Weiliang.

Then went for lecture.

Then lunch with Weiliang again at Holland Village. We went for Crystal Jade and Häagen-Dazs.

Then I went down to Wheelock to collect my oh-so-new-yet-spoilt phone.

Then I went home.

Ditto.


But did I tell you that it is Weiliang's birthday today? =P

Happy Birthday Weiliang! Here's to wishing you all the best in whatever you do, and may all your wishes come true! (Except for the chin squeezing one.. that is.. <_<)

barbie kill

Think its the summer air or something.. Cos I have had 2 BBQs in as many weekends! All the chicken wings and beer are heading straight to my belly man.. =(

First up was James' BBQ at Gracie's place. Gathering of the 01S23s. Sort of calculated that last weekend we would have the largest turnout possible (think LDMR curve in Econs) so last week was it. Think at least 12 of us turned up?

Had quite a pleasant time catching up with each other less the little wrestling match we had three quarters into the evening. =P Food was great.. Thanks Honky for the preparation and all who contributed to cooking! And of course, thanks to Grace for sponsoring your nice little enclave (I hope you don't get blacklisted by the MC), and to James for organising on such short notice! =)

01S23 redux..can you smell what the rock is cooking?

taking a break from the BBQ pit. serious.

obviously the tongs had to be aimed towards me as usual

One week later, another BBQ with the Joyriders as we met up again in the evening at Joerg's swanky residence at The Shelford.

As though the morning madness wasn't enough, there was to be more fun and revelry in the evening. Guess there's nothing much to write about, except that we all had lots of fun. Happy, yet sad at the same time as Joe++rg and Andrew are going to leave us. =(

Leave you guys with some photos:

wooweet! I swear she was the cause of the 6-car pile up when she crossed the road..

Ghostrider Scott showing us his other talents other than taking all the sprint points
murli also demonstrating to us on how to get the girls

life would be simpler if we just did items 4 and 5.. =P

satay fun
hehe funny visual effect of Caroline and Garett. or am I missing out on something? =D

Joyriders, Transform and Roll Out!

What a ride! There was the whole bunch of us, in our all-new 2007 sunrise themed Joyrider jerseys, flying down the Kranji-NeoTiew-LCK loop and on to Taman Serasi for breakfast.

New jersey!

Been a long time since I joined in for the breakfast rides (Sunday is usually my run day), but this ride was special. Not only was it the launch of our new jersey, but it was also sort of a farewell ride for Sengkang Joerg and Security Andrew, but expats who are due to return to their home countries. (Germany and New Zealand respectively) So in spite of yesterday's Desaru Desaster, I pulled myself of bed at 530 and hauled my ass off to Longhouse.

Phototaking in the morning was quite a difficult affair, with at least 58 riders trying to pack themselves into a 4R photo. Haha.. Quite like the Panasonic Lumix television commercial.

The whole jink gang.. Can you spot me?

the ladies showing off their butts.. =P

Ride began after the phototaking. Thanks to the front leaders/pullers, the ride began at an astonishingly fast pace. Any ideas of a leisurely Sunday saunter to Taman Serasi or a disciplined two-by-two ride à l'ANZA were quickly erased.

moving off..

at the top of Mandai hill with le Turtle King Bernard

The first group was too fast for me to catch after the initial break, so I dropped behind and helped to pull the second group. Did a pretty ok pace inside NeoTiew and down LCK, and finally reaching Taman Serasi a little under 2 hours.

me and Jany, very strong rider from France!

Some individual shots of some regular riders:

l'esCarGot Caroline, the wackiest, zaniest and slimiest of them all

Joe++rg.. Pulling away as usual *huff* *puff*

Jihad Baoying.. Always riding with a vengeance

Change Your Helmey Benny with Iron Johnson and Jap Doll Mika behind

Con-Fusion Kenneth with another shot of Benny behind

Can't resist this, so here's a pic of yours truly!

Bonjour!

More madness ensued at Taman Serasi. We sort of colonized the entire external seating area. Joyce was nice to bake us the July babies two walnut and banana cakes and we had sort of a mini-celebration there. Of course, Joerg and Andrew were asked to give their farewell speeches, which both of them delivered emotionally.

Taman Serasi kena colonized..

5 birthday babies: Kenneth, Patricia, Judith, Sharon and moi

All in all, it was an excellent Sunday breakfast ride. Love the jersey, love the food, and most importantly, love the company! Thank you all for contributing to such an enjoyable ride! =)

parting aero-longtong shot..

desaru desaster

On the jio-ing of our dear l'escargot Caroline, decided to venture up again to the land of Truly Asia for a jaunt around its traffic light-less roads. Other that knowing that we were headed towards Sedili Besar, neither Caroline nor me knew anything about the ride.

First shocker of the morning was that we were going up to Desaru by ferry instead of bumboat. Luckily I had decided to bring $30, just enough for ferry fare!

Secondly I found out that there were only 4 of us heading up: l'escargot Caroline, Spiffy Sharon, NTU Bernard, and me. Erickong and friend were sick, so they had to back out at the last minute. Nice, I thought, should be just another Saturday social ride, with hopefully more conversation than cadence.

However as soon as we had checked ourselves into customs, we rounded a bend and then we saw it: The black overcast sky. My morale fell a few notches lower at this sight. Damnit.. I wasn't really prepared to for a wet ride!

Oh well, as predicted, it started pouring real heavily en route to Desaru.

Reached Desaru in a little more than half an hour but we had to postpone our bike out till about 9. Moped around at the ferry terminal and chatted with a fellow biker whom we met on the ferry. He had actually came here alone and had brought along a change of clothes in case he could not make it back in time for the evening bumboat! Really salute that chap.

Rolled out when the rain seemed to be a little lighter. However it was quite chilly and in my skimpy triathlon attire, I was freezing! The others seemed to be alot more prepared, all togged out in their jerseys and arm warmers. =(

Ride was nothing spectacular. We departed from Belungkor instead of the usual bumboat Penggerang, so roads were much quieter and nicer to ride on, save for a short stretch. The road leading to Sedili after Desaru was quite memorable, with burnt grass (?) on both sides of the road and just nature all around. Nice.

Caroline and me decided to truncate the ride, as the dreary weather had dampened our spirits somewhat. Sharon and Bernard decided to stick to their original game plan so they pedaled on into the unknown.

Ride back was as uneventful as our ride there. Save for a little excitement in the form of a new signboard:Caroline, with her longer-than-mine legs and shorter-than-mine shorts, was obviously the ideal criminal for the moral policemen. No wonder she kept getting weird stares all the way from ferry terminal to turnabout point! Anyway, I think that the cops there will flip during the Desaru Half-Ironman later this year! =D Who would possibly do a half Ironman in that "culturally sensitive" garb?

Reached back the ferry terminal in good time, ate some food (non-synthetic), and snoozed all the way back Singapore where Caroline was ever so gracious to offer me a ride home so I did not have to battle with the motorists all the way back. =)

Went home, cleaned, and prepped up the cervélo for the Joyriders' ride the next day, then swung out immediately to collect my new jersey. Grabbed dinner on the way back. Reached home and just hit the internal snooze button. The day had been long enough.

Now you know why I sounded so gutted when you called. That, and more.

Here Without You

A man returns home one day after a tiring day of work. He just wants to sit around and love his wife, give her warm hugs and receive kisses before he tucks in for the night. He drives into the porch in his vintage car and gives a honk while parking in the usual spot, to signal to his wife that he has returned.

Glancing out the window, he tries to spot the sweet smile of his darling wife welcoming him.

-Nothing-

He feels something amiss. Opening the door of his car, he feels a warm touch above his brow and all round his scalp. Must be the weather. Quickly he rushes to the front door, with thoughts running through his mind: "Maybe my wife is giving me a surprise! She's just waiting for me to walk through that door so that she can run to me and give me a hug. Yes, that's it."

The man carefully inserts the key into the keyhole, and his heart grows warm anticipating the warm arms of embrace that he is about to receive. The key turns, *click*. "I'm home darling!"

-Nothing-

Something is wrong. The man looks around the house, everything is in the right place. No signs of struggle or anything amiss. But where is my darling wife? The man feels a strange warm aura that resonates from his back. He smiles for an unknown reason. He feels as though there's someone there, but his eyes deceive him.

He walks up the stairs and goes to the bedroom; if there is a surprise, then it must be my wife waiting in bed with her sexy lingerie. "Oh that'd be so nice. No wonder its quiet around here."

He walks up to the bedroom door. In his heart are two emotions; one anticipating the possibility of a great night ahead, the other a sad desperate feeling. But he's not gonna take any chances, he's longing to see her. His hands grasp the cold metal of the knob and turns its gently. *swoosh*

-Nothing-

The man sits down on the side of the bed and wonders: "Where has my wife gone?" She never leaves home. No, in fact, i don't expect her to leave home. Its not normal for me not to know where she is. And what is this mild warmth that I feel all around me? Then it struck him.

She had always been there. She had always been around the house. In fact she had always been there behind him, and she had been hugging him ever since he stepped out of the car. His selfishness, sorrow, insecurity and jealousy had created a world that had covered his eyes so that he had been blinded from her. In this world, she cannot follow him; instead he has to open his eyes to find her. To find her in another world where she can care for him: One where she isn't the only person in the world, one where she has her own things to do, her own places to go, her own destiny to fulfill. He cannot depend on her to be his only other person in the world; because she isn't.

The man stands up and screams his lungs out, "Give me back my wife!" The resonant silence in the air strikes him back.

-Nothing-

It's all up to him now.

conflict

Tee hee hee.. Couldn't resist this. =P Courtesy of asofterworld.

I miss you.. Do you feel the same way too? =/

ironyman et al.

Think a picture paints a thousand words, so here you go:Sianness man.. The irony of it all! I was the first runner in today, but I went home with only a pass!!! Damn the new ELISS automated machines.. So difficult to jump far on the broad jump machine. Oh well.. SBJ has always been my Achilles' heel, and it looks like its going to stay that way for some time to come..

So no $200, or even $100 for me. At least Weiliang went home with $200 in the pocket for silver today. =(

Also amazingly bumped into good ol' crazy PC Terrence Loo from OCS at Maju! He is now CPT Terrence Loo, and OC of Foxtrot Coy, 6 SIR. He still looks as sadistic as yesteryear man. No doubt now he is still terrorizing the fresh recruits under his charge, cos somehow he still gives me the creeps even after like 4 years of separation! Weird.

Went to Vivo after IPPT to watch Death Proof. Had booked the 1910 show because it seemed that 2 hours were adequate to complete IPPT, as well as head home to shower. But alas we had forgotten about SAF's infamous "Rush to Wait, Wait to Rush" mantra. Only left Maju at 1900 because we were put in the second detail. (I doubt that we could have made it even if we were put in the first detail =/) Needless to say we were hopelessly late by the time we reached Vivo. Was unable to change the tickets we had booked to a later screening, so we had to forfeit those and make new bookings. Darn.. $15 for a weekday night show!

But at least the movie was good. As I have come to expect of a Quentin Tarantino film, it had lots of witty and sarcastic conversation, sadism, gore and ol' school terror in this Grindhouse double feature with Robert Rodrigue. The second part of the double bill, Planet Terror, will be coming out in August, and I seriously can't wait to watch it! Imagine pus-festering zombies getting their heads blown off by a femme fatale with a shotgun for a leg!!! OMG.. Maximum cool lah! =D

I so love senseless violence. =P

Need I say more?

the cinema scene so far..

Hors de Prix
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Spiderman 3
Ocean’s 13
Shrek 3
Transformers
Death Proof
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
The Simpsons Movie
Planet Terror

One French flick and three Marvel superhero showdowns later, I am none the wiser. Damnit missed Ocean's 13 and Shrek 3 because of a lack of cinema partner. But on hindsight Shrek 3 may not have been what I expected anyway. Planning to watch Death Proof this weekend, and can't wait for the last two films to come out!!! Sans toi, ma vie est comme ça.. C'est triste ou non? =)

falling apart

Comic courtesy of xkcd. Brillant artist and genius poet! I love the sarcasm, language, love and tragic of the characters. Somehow this and pbf can evoke feelings and illustrate thoughts many other comic strips are unable to do so. =)

Been feeling as though I was falling through a infinite hole these days.. Sort of like Space Mountain at DisneyLand, or maybe just like this comic (the shattering and all). I guess life's like that: Two people meet, connect, get together, but due to some reasons later they drift apart, cease being one entity and separate. And it shatters both of them. Irreversibly. Irreconcilably. And so they plunge. But I promise to bounce back. I will endeavor.

I will.